HeBrew Messiah Bold

Shmaltz Brewing Company
Brewed at Olde Saratoga Brewing (Mendocino Brewing Co.)
Style: Brown Ale
San Francisco, California USA

Bottle from NYC. Strong raisin aroma, very dark ruby. Lots of sweet dark fruit, yet there are dusty hops giving a cocoa-like dryness underneath. Lovely rich sipping beer, balances between fruit and dry rather than sweet and sour.

I love the way a stout pours! This followed that tradition nicely while adding a bit of its own. A very smooth beer with easy drink-ability.

Bought this beer just because of the bottle. It turns out that this kosher beer has a great flavor. Wouldn’t recommend this as part of a drinking game but if you just lounging and rinking its a great beer.

Dark ruby tinted brown. Soft, medium cap of fluffy tannish foam thats fastly dissolved to its skim and collar. Lacing is minimal in a few spots and strings. Aroma is tenderly sweetened with a light roasted caramel/toffee with notes of vanilla, maple, and molasses. Taste is solid with a firmly smooth maltyness of touch and go roasted hints under some fantastic solid tones of toffee, caramel, molasses, nuts, cocoa, and maple. Very firm and boldly set along the palate. Lengthy with just a breath of citric, piney hops towards the finish and lingers nicely with a moderate coating of toasted nuts and caramel. Firm, smooth, medium body thats very fitting and easy going with a slick malty texture that screams to be drank. And by the pint full! A very solid brown.

Bottle pours a medium, light tan head. Aromas of coffee, similar to a porter. Rich, full, well balanced malty flavor of chocolate, with a really bright note lingering. Maybe a bit over-carbonated. At present I see I’m the highest rating on the page. Oy. I like it. So shoot me already.

Rated 6/12/06: Had my eye on this one for some time, picked up a sixer and boy am I glad I did. I don’t have a long history with brown ales but this one is interesting. Nice mild aroma with a creamy maltiness and ever so fragile nuttiness, there appears to be a faint hop presence. Very pleasant I didn’t rank it any higher since it’s a touch too subtle for me. The appearance is fantastic for this style. Rich deep brown in daylight yet slightly mahagony when held close to the light. There is a soft creamy tan head very similar to a dry stout. Lack of thick lacing holds this back from a perfect appearance. Mouthfeel is decent when cold but grows fuller as it warms up, smooth and creamy it trickles down with satisfaction. Great taste with a nice nutty flavor accented by lightly roasted malt and rounded out with that interesting hop characteristic found in the aroma. At first I wasn’t thrilled but I walked away and let this one breathe and warm up considerably, as I came back I was blown away by the change in aroma and flavor. Please pour a glass and let it sit, as this beauty warms up you will be happy. Mitzvah!

Bottle. Mahogany and translucent with ruby highlights. Medium-sized head settles to a nice little skullcap. Aroma is great balance of chocolate molasses, smoke, caramel, metallic herbs and other unknowable stuff. Tastes of all that, plus roasted nuts, spicy raisins and just the right amount of bitter herbs. Palate is smooth, light-medium bodied and refreshing. I really wasn’t expecting much from this one based on other Mendocinos I have tasted, but man is this one ever underrated! I love Browns and this is one of the best.

Pours dark brown with a thin, white head. No lacing. Aroma of hops and molasses. Solid mouth feel with tastes of coffee, molasses, with a bitter hop profile to round it out. Really good beer.