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

On tap at HDG. Deep dark reddish amber in color with a nice off white head that left a nice lacing on the glass. Grainy very hoppy aroma. Citrusy earthy hops. Orange and grapefruit. Hoppy and grainy flavor. Toffee caramel notes. Piney. Wow. Nice hop bite. Full bodied. Finish is dry. Well balanced. Very drinkable. Nice.

This Imperial IPA pours a deep orange gold color from a 22oz bottle. Large sized white foamy head. Aroma is malty, hoppy (grapefruit and pine) and a touch spicy. A medium to full bodied imperial IPA. Malts are caramel and sweet. Hops are bitter, piney, floral and grapefruity. The big bitter hops are almost balanced by the malt sweetness, the spiciness and sharpness of the rye sort of offsets the malt sweetness a little. Nice very small bubble carbonation. This beer is sort of a train wreck of flavors, but it sort of works in an odd way. The 10% alcohol is noticeable, byt manageable. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly sweet.

From www.bottletrek.com Pure copper pour with off-white head. Pine and carmalized sugar nose. Bold hoppy front, yet not to the point of over-the-top. Great balance between the malt and the hop. Medium to full mouth feel with a crisp hoppy finish.

Pours a hazy reddish gold with a huge white head the sticks around streams of tiny bubbles racing to upwards. Aroma is of a full gambit of hops, sticky pine, pineapple, peach, sticky sweet malt, oxidized hard caramel, with a nice rye spiceyness buffering all the other scents. Flavor leads off with a sharp bitterness that never really leaves the front of the tongue. In the back there is a nice rich maltiness full with toasty malt and rye. Though the bitterness is strong the hop flavors meld and sometimes ride under the maltiness the blend is very nice. The hop flavors occasionally do try and take the from seat are pine, bitter citrus, and pineapple. Full body with a very smooth palate. Nice beer.

22 oz bomber: Medium amber w/ a lasting light beige head. Crystal malt, light butterscotch, citrusy/piney hops hit the nose all at once. Rye comes in as it warms a bit as does toasty malt and lighlty nutty aromas. Piney and nutty seems to get stronger as it warms, probably attributed to the rye malt additions. Very fruity w/ non distinct fruity esters. Flavor is very sweet up front. Balances well toward the back end w/ a semi sweet finish. Herbal hoppiness toward the finish and aftertaste with a restrained fruitiness. Strong caramel malt presence throughout with rye riding shotgun. Big, thick, and chewy body, but doesn’t really seem syrupy and very smooth, well hidden alcohol, and medium low carbonation. Pretty good beer! A little light on the hops for a double IPA more like a barleywine, but still a very good beer.

Bottle into pint glass, purchased at Frugal MacDougals in Nashville. Pours thick, like a stout. The largish head lasts, is creamy, and dissipates rockily like a root beer float (but much thicker in consistency). A dense lace sheet is plastered on the glass after a few minutes. A biting piney hop smell pricks the nose, with an accent of more flowery hops and buttery malts. Thick in the mouth, it feels like a barley wine. The head stays on top in a layer (looks like melted ice cream) to add to the feel (kind of like in Guiness). This thing looks thick all the way, with deep slow sub-surface "racing" and an oily coating on the side of the glass. Lip smacking good, with earthy dry bitterness in the finish. Unfortunately, any hops flavor in the middle gets subsumed by the thickness of the beer and the copious unfermented sugars. Might be one to lay down for a bit, since there aren’t a lot of "fresh" hop qualities to it that might deteriorate.

Bottle. Great looking brew. Pours hazy amber with a good tan head. Nose of citrus, flowers and caramel malt. Taste is citrus and caramel, sweet. Bitterness lingers for a while, good amount, but not overwhelming. Much more malt than I would’ve thought.

I enjoyed this one at kp’s cellar party. Clear dark amber with a fleeting white head. Grassy hop aroma with some underlying malt. Well balanced with a long bitter finish. Not bad at all.