HeBrew Origin Pomegranate Ale

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

22 oz. bottle shared with my wife. Pours a hazy amber with a moderate off-white head that lasted through the first two sips and then faded to a ring, leaving spotty lace. Pleasant aroma of caramel and pomegranate. The flavor is again caramel, but not quite as sweet as the aroma, with pomegranate. Moderate biiterness at the finish. Enjoyable.

Clear amber body with a solid offwhite head. Pomegranate on the nose but very light. True to name, this was a big amber beer. Rich sweet caramel malt, not overly, with a small fruit component that I would not have attributed to pomegranate had it not been in the name. Slightly citrusy with a soft, tart finish.

650ml/22oz bottle bought at Firefly in Vancouver. Poured into a curved pint glass with a good white head that diminished fairly rapidly, although leaving lace on the glass. Clear amber with moderate carbonation. Fruity aroma, detecting the grapefruit from the Centennial and some pomegranate. Taste starts off sweet, malty, and fruity; finishing citrusy bitter. Medium-bodied, getting somewhat syrupy as it warms up. Warming from the alcohol that’s less apparent when the beer is cooler. Overall, I found this to be an interesting beer that defies easy stylistic characterization. I’d like to try it with food, like a pomegranate-marinated broiled or roast chicken.

50cl bottle from Willow Bend Liquors (Tampa, FL). Pours a very dark amber with a thick off-white head that settles quickly. Still a little lacing on the glass. Aroma is sweet malt, caramel, some grassy-wheaty notes. Flavor is about the same with a little fruit and hops toward the end of the swallow. Generally medium body with a slightly bitter finish.

Carmaly biscuit aroma. Fair carbonation. Redish-orange hue. Malt has strong presence much like a barley wine. Hops are very very low, and bitterness as well. Any bitterness comes from the tartness of the pomegranate. Tartness and frutiness mingle with the malty body. Easy to drink, smooth palate. Alcohol well hidden. Overall a very good beer.

Pours a clear, pale amber colour with a frothy off-white head, leaving no lacing. The nose is more like fruity pale ale, with sugary sweet, fruity malts and that’s it; pretty boring. The flavour is syrupy sweet malts, caramel, herbal hops, rye, pine bitterness and some plastic-like notes. It is spicy, fruity and hoppy. I would never have guessed this was brewed with pomegranate, and I’m sick of that impossible-to-eat fruit making its way into everything. The carbonation is tingly and the texture is full and slightly syrupy.

pours a frothy light head, has a delicate carbonation. The beer is a light amber. Aroma contains the obvious hints of pomegranate and fruit with light hints of sweet malts. taste is rather plain no flavors that can easily be distinguished besides sweet malts and a hint of fruitiness

it’s a beautiful start to a beautiful Saturday as I sit back to relax with a glass of He’Brew Origin Ale, a malty ale brewed with pomegranate, lots n lots of pomegranate. Now, I will be the first person to say that pomegranate is not my most favorite fruit and can be rather fickle when it comes to being integrated into drinks, whether they are cocktails or beer. Only available in large 22oz bottles, Origin quickly tops off my 24 oz glass as a soft layer of foam flirts with the edge, dangling precariously on the lip. No overflow and she settles gently into a soft layer of foam. A deep rich brown, the massive amounts of pomegranate juice also lend a bit of a dark amber hue to the ale as it rests in my glass. Rich malts in the nose with a definite pomegranate essence. Not overpowering, but unlike with some fruit-flavored beers, I definitely get the pomegranate right up front in the nose, and in the immediate first quaff. Sweet malty ale creaminess with an immediate follow-up of crisp citrusy bite and pomegranate flavors. The fruit itself has a bit of zing, which comes through in the Origin Ale, adding a nice bit of bite to what could overall be a rather average malty ale. a good full meaty mouth feel gives Origin a hearty body which is just what it needs to stand up to the pomegranate. Full body aside, Origin drinks smooth and easy, the malts working in ale harmony with the crisp pomegranate. Truly, another fine beer from Schmaltz Brewing. I was definitely skeptical when I first bought my bottle because I am very picky when it comes to pomegranate drinks. I’ve had stellar, and I’ve had horrendous. Thankfully, He’Brew Origin Pomegranate Ale is the first. An excellent ale for any time of the year.