HeBrew Origin Pomegranate Ale

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

Medium amber, nice head, clear, attractive. Aroma strongly of caramel malt with a touch of roastiness. No roast in the mouth though. Flavor is lots of caramel malt, living up to the "Imperial Amber" claim made on the bottle, an odd slightly sour citric note that I imagine comes from the pomegranate, and a clear, unmasked shot of hot alcohol. Some hop bitterness on the finish. As it warms, the citric flavor is almost totally overhwhelmed. Not bad, but the elements of this beer just didn’t seem to quite come together. Thus ends my string of two consecutive pomegranate beers.

22 oz bomber. Pours to a slightly hazy amber color, with a tall, white head, that slowly fades, and a nice carbonation. The nose on this beer is very inviting, with lots of good fruity/pomegranate aromas, paired with some citrus hop aromas, and some caramel malt sweetness. You really smell the pomegranate is this beer, and it is very enjoyable. The palate is firm, with good pale and caramel malt flavors, paired with a nice fruity/pomegranate back ground. This beer finishes with more good malt, and pomeranate flavor, then ends with some a very bitter hop bite that lingers. This beer is a very unique, interesting beer, and the use of pomegranate is a nice addition to this beer. The hop bitterness in the finish seems to clash with the pomegranate flavor, and rather than balance, it gives the beer a harsh smack of bitterness that doesn’t really work with the malty/fruity nature of this beer. I would have like less bitterness in the finish. That being said, it is a good beer to try, and is dangerously drinkable at 8% abv.

A decent beer. Reddish amber pour with a short head. NIce, sweet malty aroma with some nuts. Syrupy malt and sugar in the taste. The pomegranates stay very subdued and don;t overpower the nice malt backbone.

Bomber from Keil’s. Dark reddish color upon pouring. Rich malty aroma, slightly sweet. Roasted malty flavors with a bit of hoppy bitterness. Seems somewhat spicy. Some fruitiness in the background. Fairly bitter finish. Not bad.

Nice copper color with a lofty and frothy head. Soft texture; slight thickness yet light on the tongue. Malts were toasty and very nutty. Pinch of sourness. Sweet fruity syrup. Pomegranate in the background. Balancing bitterness. Warmth slowly built. Decent beer.

This fruit beer pours a slightly purplish copper color from a 22 oz bottle. Medium sized white foamy head. Aroma is slightly fruity, pomegranate and earthy. A medium bodied ale. Malts are fruity and sweet. Touch of pomegranates and grapefruity. Hops are earthy. Nice balance between the fruit and the malts and hops. Good carbonation. Interesting beer. You can taste the fruit and the malts, they tend to blend and yet still keep their separate identities. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and crisp. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

THOUGHTS: The initial aroma is a bit hoppy but at it warms it turns very fuity. I liked Genesis 10:10 and while this isn’t as complex as that, it is a much easier to drink version. A nice beer and a great fruit beer. I alway thought the best fruit beers were ones where you could taste eaual parts fruit and beer and this is definitely that. Fruity malty flavor with a nice hoppy finish. Mostly well balanced, with a slight edge going to fruityness, but not overly sweet. If you take a big gulp it is very fruity. Definitely fruity, but you never forget you’re drinking a beer. Reminds my first and only experience with Celis Raspberry nearly 10 years ago. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a clear, medium orangy amber with an average-sized, white head that mostly diminished and left fair lacing. The aroma was light to moderate malt and moderate hops at first giving way to fruit (which was pomegranite I guess) as it warmed. The initial flavor was moderately to heavily sweet and lightly acidic and bitter, while the finish was moderately swee and bitter and lightly acidic with an average to long duration. The flavor was also a little spicey. The medium body was somewhat dry and slightly syrupy with lively carbonationa and a somewhat metallic finish.

22oz bottle. Golden orange with a small white head. Toasty, slightly nutty malt aromatics with a ruddy earthen component. Grainy, somewhat carboardy malt up front. Some caramel then manifests, with tinges of vegetal character. Lingering stale caramel and ruddy malt in the finish, with some earthy bitterness. Mouthfeel is a light medium, somewhat dry.