Archive for July 9th, 2009

• The @chachahut wing fest continues: hot wings, basque wings & balsamic soy wings on the grill. #

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Brewery: Shmaltz Brewing
Location: Saratoga Springs, NY
Style: American Strong Ale

While writing the Jewbelation Eleven review, I discovered a bottle of Jewbelation Twelve in the cellar. It seemed only fitting to follow the Eleven review with the Twelve. So – as a prelude to Cha Cha Hut Fish Tacos – we opened the He’Brew Jewbelation Twelve while the grill heated.

This time – the number of malt and hops increases to 12 each. That also means the ABV kicks up one point to 12%. I was not really expecting a huge difference from the Eleven and in many ways I was right.

The Twelve pours with the same deep black brown color of the Eleven. The head is still massively thick and creamy, but this time much darker – mild roasted brown. There is that massive malt aroma again – full of chocolate but also coffee in this edition. There is definitely more play between the malt and hop this time. (Note: I did server this a bit warmer initially than the Eleven as this line appears to favor the 55-60 degree range.) It starts with a big sweetness full of roasted malt, chocolate and coffee tones and finishes with a bittersweet punch thanks to the hops. The hops bring a piney edge to the back end.

A small complaint is – unlike the Eleven – the alcohol is more prevalent in the Twelve. There is a definite burning but not quite harshness. That makes this a bit more of a warmer than the Eleven. That definitely puts it into the “Winter Drinking” category for the OAB HQ. It was a fine brew – perhaps not the thing for a summer evening on the deck – that I hope to find a couple more for the cellar. I’m hoping a winter fire and a few months of cellaring will mellow this a bit.

Brewery: Shmaltz Brewing
Location: Saratoga Springs, NY
Style: American Strong Ale

We followed the Bittersweet Lenny’s with the annually brewed Jewbelation. In this case, we were lucky to find a Jewbelation Eleven on a recent cellar outing. Not sure how it came to be on a shelf two years after going out of production, but we are glad for the discovery.

The Jewbelation series celebrates the anniversary of Shmaltz’s founding with a brew using the same number of malt varieties and hop varieties as the brewery is old. Additionally, the ABV equals the anniversary. So, for Jewbelation Eleven there were 11 malts and 11 hops with an ABV of 11%.

Now that’s a stunt beer I can get behind…

It’s an almost black brown ale with a thick creamy head. There is a massive malt aroma – heavy on caramel and chocolate. The taste is intense – thick bold and sweet. Loads of roasty chocolate malt with a slight hint of hop bitter on the back end. It borders on being too sweet but thankfully never falls into the category. As it warms slightly the flavors deepen giving it a stouty edge. The hops also come into more play as this warms. The taste starts very malt sweet then ends with a perfect hit of bitter grassy hops to keep the big malts in check. I poured this at around 50 degrees, but it really come together in the 55 – 60 degree range. Keep that in mind if you’re bringing one up from the cellar.

All in all, this struck me a some sort of hybrid beer crossing a light stout or porter with a dark American strong ale. It’s a big beer. I mean – I’m no lightweight by any stretch, but even splitting a bomber with Mrs. Ohabeer still gave me a nice bit of buzziness. That 11% ABV is nicely hidden so this is a beer that can – and will sneak up on you. Sadly out of production, it apparently can be found if the luck of the Chosen Brew is with you.