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 Shaker, Snifter

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   update pic

sampled at the final heavyweight open house, courtesy of Beastiefan2k. dark gold and orange color. aroma is sweet and floral hops. flavor is more bitter and hoppy. thanks Eugene!

Bottle: Aroma of grapefruit, caramel, orange, and a hint of pine. Pours a transparent bright reddish-orange with a small off-white head with fair retention. Starts with a big fruity and caramel sweetness that lasts from start to finish. Light rye in the background. Bitter finish with lots of grapefruit and pine that lingers for quite some time in the aftertaste. Alcohol is hidden very well. Light carbonation on the palate and feels syrupy at times. A solid offering but the fruity/caramel sweetness and light rye background don’t completely mesh well for me.

22 oz bottle, included in a nice box o’ stuff from slob! This beer definitely lives up to the name of Bittersweet, as a nicely balanced Imperial RyePA. The pour was gorgeous, a deep clear copper with a large and creamy beige head that diminished at an eminently relaxed pace and left broad shouldered lace. This has a complex aroma of caramel, overripe peach, toasty notes, spice along with citrus and spruce. The flavor is indeed bittersweet, with huge amounts of sweet malted rye and barley, with the rye perhaps contributing to the interesting mellow earthiness and astringency. Lots of tart and bitter hoppiness with flavors of grapefruit, pine and orange peel, spice and pepper show up as well as juicy tangrine and noticible, but not overpowering alcohol in the finish. Full body and creamy smooth carbonation. I’m duly impressed by this offering from Mendocino, I have to say it was better than I expected. Thanks Bert!

Pours a transparent deep copper amber with a nicely-lacing frothy off-white head. Aroma has a nice sweet fresh piney resiny hoppiness along with some earthy caramel and complex butterscotch. First sip is of viscous sweet caramel quickly revealing a fresh, resinous bittering hoppiness and a sticky piney finish with some mildly warming alcohol. Pretty well balanced and enjoyable. I generally don’t age IIPAs, but I think this would be a good IIPA to age.

A quality beer but not my kind of IPA. Amber color. Powerful, herbal hop aroma. Flavor is also of strong herbal hops. Very dry overall, as well as bitter. Alcohol very well hidden. Good.

I loved this beer. It looks great, smells great, tastes great. A big beer, but very well balanced. Makes my top 3 2IPAs with ease.

ruby brown colored with a large, dense, annoyingly long lasting, yellow head. carmel malt and hops aroma. a very bitter example but hides the alcoholic burn better than any 2ipa i’ve tried yet. maybe it has something to do with the rye malts.

Bottle. Poured brown color with a huge frothy off-white head that mostly lasted with good lacing. Moderate toasty bread malt alcohol aroma. Medium to full body with a sticky texture. Heavy sweet flavor with a medium balanced finish of moderate duration. This is a standout beer.

Dark copper color with a small, but stable taupe head. Caramel, rye and mild citric hops in the nose. Light fruit with raisins and a hint of peach start the flavors out. Later a mild grapefruit and pine. A rather sharp finish with more citric and pine pitch. A solid effort.

Bottle shared with Blankboy, GregClow, Jerc, and Hogtown Harry after the MBG 06. Dark orange, deep small white head. Booze, malt, and slight whiskey in underwhelming aroma. Decent taste - tons of malt, rye, lots of booze; hops near middle and end. Decent, but way too hot! An ok big beer, but pales in comparison to other much better in the style - but since its a Double IPA, it gets to be in the 91st percentile? I’m a defender of the site against those who rally against the big beer bias of ratebeer, but this is a tough one to defend...but by boss loved the whole Hebrew label!