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

Sampled out of a 22 oz bottle. Pours very nice with a nice thick frothy head. Flavor is very hoppy with limited malts, leaving a pretty clear brew. Overall a pretty nice IIPA

Pours a a dark amber with a small off white head. Big hoppy aroma in the nose, some grapefruit and citrus as well. The taste is very much the same. Big hops dominate the flavor, defintely get a good amount of bitterness to go along with the grapefruit taste. The finish is pretty long, with a nice full flavor on the palate. Good brew.

Bottle sampled. Pours amber with a decent size off-white head. Aroma of citrus, spices, caramel malts, and piney hops. The flavor is sweet caramel malts upfront, spices, and citrusy piney bitterness in the finish.

Big hop aroma with a lot caramel mlat, some molasses in there too. Pours dark amber almost reddish with a white head. This beer reminds a little of a barley wine, its pretty well balanced, huge hop bitterness with pine resin backed up by big malt, caramel and molasses. there’s a lot of good spiciness in there too.

bomber, picked up at Binny’s in Naperville last weekend. aroma is mostly grapefruit but had some grainy, malt notes as well. pours a clear dark amber with a creamy tan head and lacing which has lasted for at least ten minutes now. this is an in your face, I’m all about the hops kind of beer with some alcohol warmth on the back end! good stuff, but not your Grandpa’s idea of what a beer should taste like.

Vintage 2006...

6/10/2007: He’Brew Bittersweet Lenny’s R.I.P.A. pours a beautiful dark reddish amber color (red garnet). It has a tall, fluffy, dark beige head that is long-lasting. The aroma is a wonderful blend of pineapple, citrus, deep caramel, and almond/amaretto. It is very unique and so inviting! The flavor is very quite malty and moderately sweet. The maltiness is infused with some almond and dark fruits as well. There is some alcohol in the flavor, but it adds to rather than detracting from the overall flavor. The inisial sweetness is followed by a moderate citrus bitterness and then a dry and spicy rye finish. Wonderful! All that flavor is packed into a medium-full body that feels thick in the mouth and sticky on the lips. It’s so good in every way! When drinking this beer I kept thinking that it tasted like a barleywine or Scotch Ale in the front with a dry, rye IPA backend. What a wonderful marriage of flavors! I really couldn’t have asked for anything more. I definitely need to grab more bottles of this excellent beer so that I can savor it again and again!

22 oz bottle (10% Alc. by Vol.) from Dilly Deli; $5.99+tax. Peanut had recommended that I try this beer since I love rye so much and offered to give me one of the original release bottles that he had in his personal reserve. Thanks Peanut. I appreciate it! It shared this bottle with Rob after the Vanilla Creme Ale brewout at my place...

Bottle. A amber beer with a off-white head. Very hoppy, grape, piny, peach aroma and a caramel, pine, grape, peach, hoppy taste. Medium body with a dry finish.

Bottle. Small fizzy white head that mostly diminished. Fair lacework. Clear flat body with an amber color with a light reddish glow. Aroma was pine, grapefruit, citrus, caramel, grain, peach and liquorish. Full bodied with very lively carbonation and sticky alcoholic texture. Moderated bitter flavor was dominating the picture with light sweet notes as well. Somewhat dry and bitter finish.