HeBrew Bittersweet Lennys R.I.P.A

Shmaltz Brewing Company
Brewed at Olde Saratoga Brewing (Mendocino Brewing Co.)
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
San Francisco, California USA

Pour a very deep copper with 2 fingers of long lasting creamy head. Sheets of lacing occur. Looks like a big daddy DIPA. Smells like rye malt, fig, and a hoppy backbone. Loving the rye malt. Im starting to grow fond of these Rye IPAs. Very balanced, you get all the piney hops you could ask for but the expected balance from the rye malt is nice. Full in the mouth, nice carbonation. A big beer. Slightly under a sipper and very tasty.

A nice double IPA, beautiful pour. Both the hops and malts make their presence felt. Instead of balancing each other out, its like they battle for supremacy over your palate. Intensely sweet and intensely bitter. Creamy full-bodied brew

Pours from the bottle a deep amber with a big, rocky, lasting white head. Beautiful. Aroma of hops with some dark sweetness. Very big and sticky. Round and sweet up front with a dry, bitter grapefuit finish. Another great Hebrew.

Big Boy, 12/12/07 & 2-11-08. Poures a ruby red clear. Head is offwhite tan. The beer is thick and syrupy. I like all the hops, it is very bitter for a double ipa. Good beer but not the best.

Pours a wonderfull rich, dark amber with a creamy 1/2 inch white head. Very good brew similar to some stone brews. Caramel aroma with malt and hops. Nice pepper spicing on this one with a finish of bitter grapefruit. Alcohol is hidden well. Will purchase again.

What sort of mishmash of a golem has Schmaltz concocted here? It’s as strong & thick as a barley wine, as sweet as a bock, as hoppy as an IPA, and as complexly funky as a good Trappist brew. Beautiful pour, with tons of foam. I catch no floral or fruity aromas- mainly whiskey. Despite its lively foam, very smooth, almost nitrogen-like on the tongue. Wood dominates the flavor, with clear bourbon-like undertones once the alcohol fumes hit. Sweetness is understated, and is dominated by the dry hops attack intermingled with the bread/earth grains. IfI would prefer it if this were 8% or so--I think I missed some of the complex aromas because of the overwhelming booziness. Wife spat it out, calling it medicinal (& she appreciates a good & strong beer!). I sipped it, reading the awesome Lenny Bruce bottle, thinking, "This is a good way to spend the first night of Hannukah."

Pours a great dark amber color with a large, pillowy head that sticks around for a while. Very sweet, hoppy aroma with a hint of bourbon and smoke. Thick - almost syrupy mouthfeel, definitely bitter but very smooth for a strong IPA. Hints of burnt caramel, unripened citrus and even a bit of green pepper.

Wonderful dark amber color with red hue. Caramel aroma, malt (vicious like a Barley Wine), breadish, some vanilla. Strong body, a bit oily, strong caramel flavor, with some sweetness and some vanilla. Very strong bitterness, with some grapefruit too and a lot of resins. Powerful. Very good APA, the caramel is still in my mouth.