HeBrew Vertical Jewbelation

Shmaltz Brewing Company
Brewed at Olde Saratoga Brewing (Mendocino Brewing Co.)
Style: American Strong Ale
Brooklyn, New York USA

Serve in Snifter, Trappist glass

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Sampled on tap at 1702, Tucson; December 2010
The beer arrives from the tap, in its special Jewbelation Vertical glass, with an opaque, concentrated amber color that is topped by a frothy, ½-finger thick, dark amber tinged tanned head. The beer shows a touch of clear, deep red / brown hue when held up to the light. The aroma smells of vanilla soaked toasted coconut, softly spicy oak, Bourbon, some toasted malt character that has a richly concentrated caramel character to it. The aroma is appetizing and well integrated, though not entirely unsurprising.

Soft and creamy feeling, the flavor accentuates this as does the light carbonation. Nice flavors of vanilla and coconut infuse the tongue and palate along with sweet, concentrated, caramelized malt character that plays more of supporting role than being intrinsically being noticeable in and of itself. The beer finishes with some spicy and hot alcohol notes that are subdued enough to not get annoying as well as a sort of tartness that I associated with charred oak and Bourbon. There is perhaps a touch of almost roasted malt character to this beer that helps to dry out the overall effect of this beer. This has a fullness to it, enough to coat the palate and provide a creamy texture, that balances the barrel character quite well; this is definitely a sipping beer, though it is not cloying as it has enough barrel influenced spiciness, toasty malt character and alcoholic warming to keep this fairly well balanced. At times this seems to remind me a bit of some sort of richly caramelized mix of soda and ice-cream; it is more the feeling of this than any particular flavors, perhaps it is the texture that has evoked these.

This is a pretty nice barrel aged brew, while the Whiskey / barrel character is dominant, it is smooth enough to not become overwhelming and the rich, chewy malt character certainly helps with this as well. And I always like when a barrel aged brew is able to achieve the vanilla and toasted coconut character that this beer manages to achieve. This ends up being a very nice cap to my long, working lunch.

650 ml bottle. From Brooklyn, NY. Courtesy of Brandman. Dark brown colour with small tan head. Strong aroma of dark fruits, raisins, sweet toffee, plums, sugar, mild trace of alcohol, sweet malt and mild yeast. Delicious and tempting aroma indeed. Flavour is strong. Very strong. Dark fruits, vinous elements, sugary syrupy sweetness, mild bitterness, molasses, sweet malt and liqueur in flavour. Warming. Nicely. Almost burning. Smooth and rich. Lips licking sweetness. Gets even sweeter when warms. Complex and interesting but also very strong. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Bomber purchased over a year ago at Holiday Wine Cellar ($11.99). Batch 2 (892 cases), bottled 12/01/2010. Pours a dark cola brown hue with two fingers of tan foam. Aroma of rich toffee, vanilla, hints of smoke, sticky dark fruit, and boozy barrel. Tastes of very rich and sticky caramel, cocoa powder, buttery toffee, pureed raisins and figs, whiskey, charred malts, and hints of toasted coconut. Flavor is rich and complex, with a nice level of sweetness. Semi-sweet finish with some bitterness from the dark roasted malts. The high ABV is well concealed. I have had the most recent four of the seven Jewbelations that comprise this vertical, finding each to be nicely complex and hiding the big ABV well. This mash-up is no exception. (177, 680)

Bottle shared by Maniac at the Irish Chanukah tasting. Pours clear dark brown with ruby highlights, a medium, frothy tan head, medium retention with good lacing. Aroma is heavy caramel, toast, and cookie malt, alcohol and vanilla with figs, plums, and raisins. Flavor is malt dominant, alcohol, dark fruity esters, bourbon and vanilla, and a sweet finish. Full body, medium warmth and carbonation.

Brown pour with tan head and lace. Resiny hops, caramel malt, and brown sugar aroma. Super sweet chocoffee and medicine. Medium full body with good carbonation.

Bottle from Knightly Spirits. Snifter pour. Nose is loads of vanilla and whiskey. Some nice caramel malt with prunes and various other dark fruits. I also get a light buttery aroma. Wow. Pour is super dark with a khaki head with sloppy lacing. Taste is dense with flavors of more whiskey, vanilla, caramel, butterscotch, molasses, and a touch of oak. This brew is complex and filling. Boozy. Average mouthfeel and medium carbonation. Overall this in a great blended beer. He’Brew is doing a fine job.

Bottled 12/1/10.Deep dark brown with plum and black qualities.Short light brown head but with lacing and frothy ring. Very nice malt aroma complex with licorice chocolate sweet fruit malt,cherries,crisp grain/rye a hint of wisky,smells fantastic. Taste is similar to aroma with a nice maltiness smooth with licorice, vanilla,bourbon?coconut,milk chocolate cherries carmel malt along with a somewhat smooth breadiness/slight yeast, almost chewy creaminess ,nice carmely sweetness that is not overpoweringand a sharp sting of hops hits laterwith a carmel coconut towards finish in taste then drying and finishing nicley clean with a subltle good solid but subtle bittering with hints of darkroast and or a mild coffee.Drinkabilty is great on this and you dont know its this strong til it warms you

From a bottle - the body was a nice and deep brown with a creamy head. The scent reminded me of whiskey and dried cherries, thick and spicy! The taste was heavily malty and sweet - tons of fig, vanilla and alcohol. Finished nice and smooth with a big molasses and whiskey finish.

The pour looks like everyother Hebrew Jewbelation I’ve had. A thin beige cap leaves some nice sticky lacing splotches. The body is a dark brown with a highlight of amber on the bottom. Vertical has a pronounced woody and earthy nose with a noticable hop and a big rich malt. A full bodied beer with a thick but smooth mouthfeel. The first taste I get is a sweet, rich malt with a nice roast and notes of biscuit and nuts. As I swallow, a fantastic woody, casked note replaces the roast with rich earthiness and mild smoke. A bit of a resinous hop aftertaste, but mostly covered by lingering barrel notes. This is a massive brew with just a bit of alcohol presence and a hell of a lot of complex barrel aged tastes. Overall, this is awesome!

22 ounce bottle, bottled on 12/1/2010. Served in a snifter, the beer pours dark brown with about a half inch tan head. Head retention is good, but there isn’t much lacing at all. Aroma is pretty nice, the brew smells like rye whiskey, vanilla, oak, dark fruit, chocolate, molasses and caramel. It tastes like roasted malt, caramel, rye whiskey, vanilla, oak, chocolate, and some molasses. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it’s a little bit slick, but also seems a bit thin to me at times. Moderate carbonation. Overall I think this is a good brew, definitely worth a try.

Awesome aroma jumps out of the bottle. The aroma is whiskey, but not overpowering, sweet bready malts, chocolate, molasses. The appearance is deep red, brown, slight translucence. The flavor is awesome, whiskey, but again not overpowering, fruit, bread, light chocolate. The finish is whiskey warming, pine needle and resin hops. I always look forward to the Jewbelation release. This beer is a cool experiment, blending together some great beers, and barrel aging in such a way that the flavor of whiskey complements, without overpowering the beer. Excellent.