HeBrew Bittersweet Lennys R.I.P.A

Shmaltz Brewing Company
Brewed at Olde Saratoga Brewing (Mendocino Brewing Co.)
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Brooklyn, New York USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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Aroma is rye and non-rye bread, which gives a slightly strange blurring of the two. The flavor is heavily malty with slightly dirty caramel being the dominate flavor, along with a balancing punch of the hops. The flavor was a good mix of malts and hops, the mix of the rye and non-rye made the flavor sort of blur in a way I didn’t expect; it was good but the malts were a bit of a curve ball.

On Tap @ Sugarbowl. Pours a very red, mahogany/amber, with a very nice creamy off-white head. The smell is quite grainy, sweet caramel, a hint of something kind of buttery. There’s also a lot of spiciness going on and some spicy earthy hop. A little bit of pine and resinous sap in there, and a touch of grapefruit rind, but very malt heavy. The taste is very caramelly as well. And given the heavier body of this beer, it almost feels eating a spoon fool of caramel. That said the alcohol produces a bit of sharpness and some nice warmth quite redily as well, but the hop isn’t totally absent here; it’s just masked early on by the heavy caramel malt character (that is carmel flavour from the malt, and not caramel malt itself, because there’s a stupid amount of malts used that I have no idea how to distinguish by taste). There’s some pineapple like character as well, and again just the lightest hint of grapefruit. I’m also getting some kind of melon like quality, I can’t quite put my finger on it, but its a soft, yet light, buttery kind of melon. I dunno, I’m probably drunk. The finish is bitter and slightly astringent with a sticky feeling.

Pours cloudy brown with a thin, light-tan head. Aroma of caramel sweetness nicely balanced against piney, and to a lesser extent grapefruit, hops. Thick and oily. flavor has plenty of hops (resinous pine and grapefruit) up against a caramel, but not too malty, backbone. The different flavor elements really complement one another.

Bottle served in a Boulevard tulip. Pours dark amber-brown with a short-medium sized off-white head. Good retention. . . . ok, really good retention. Watery lacing. Strong nose of damp earth, raisin, spice, spruce, and skunky rye. Flavorful palate of dark fruit that quickly bitters. Full body, thick-oily texture, and a very bitter, very long finish. Wowza!

12oz bottle poured into a snifter. Pours a cloudy nut brown / ruby with about a finger of off-white head. Aroma of caramel, grapefruit and other citrus with some dark fruits. Taste is medium bitter. Grapefruit, pine and caramel. Medium bodied with a creamy texture. Lively carbonation and a long bitter finish. Overall, I’m liking this beer. I wish I would have got more than just one.

12ozer into the snifter. Aromas of rye and caramel malt immediately fill the air. The hop profile gives a few aromas but mainly bits if grapefruit and light pine. The body is a dark amber color with a frothy, light brown head. Nice. Mouthfeel is quite velvety and creamy. Taste-wise, this is malt heavy up front with some good rye and caramel flavors and even some bread notes. Hop wise, the finish displays a good amount of grapefruit with, again, a hint of pine. Pretty malty but not enough to overpower the hops. Another intense beer from Hebrew.

UPDATED: FEB 26, 2012 Finally get to try this. Beautiful autumn leaves auburn colour. Soft off white/brown head. Big spicy, rye and pine nose with lots of caramel. Fullish though not heavy - gets thicker as it warms though. Gum, lemon, pine, a hint of citrus rind, rye. Flavour is ever so slightly dull, even though this is very fresh. A moderate warm finish with a bit of spicy rye. More a barleywine than anything. Lovely beer, JUST missing the true greats of the style ( ie BIG DIPAs or a barleywine).

aroma, hoppy, carmel notes mingle, some spicyness too, color, beautiful amber hue frothy white head, taste, spicyness on the tongue, mellow hop floraness, combinded with the rich malt profile, well balanced, the rye adds a spicyness to this brew that sends it out of the park!

Dark copper colored beer with an off-white head. Strong aromas of caramel, and dark fruit. Tastes of caramel, butterscotch, notes of dark fruits, lots of pine hops as well. Finishes on a bittersweet hop note. Very malty backbone, nicely balanced beer. Hoppy without beingtotal overkill. Very good.

Sampled on cask at Valhalla in NYC. The pour is muddy brown amber with a creamy head... not all that appetizing. However the flavor has intense notes of peppery rye that really complement the citrus character of the hops. Finishes clean in spite of the rich mouthfeel. I’m not used to hoppy ales out of the cask, but this one really shined in this format.