He'Brew Jewbelation Reborn (17)

Brewery: Shmaltz Brewing Co.
Location: Clifton Park, NY
Style: American Strong Ale
ABV: 17%

Jewbelation Reborn is Shmaltz's 17th anniversary ale. At a whopping 17%, Reborn is not for casual drinking. It is a beer one should be intentional with, allowing the 17 different hops and 17 different malts to dance on the palate to a slow and methodical tasting waltz.

The commercial description provides some additional context around this celebratory ale. Here's what Shmaltz has to say about Reborn:

How could we hope to top last year’s Jewbelation Sweet 16 with its cupcakes, unicorns, & Satan’s Ferrari birthday cake? massive challenge. So for Year 17, we threw in a whole new dimension to our shtick – we built our very own brewery! After 17 years of contract brewing, our first Shmaltz Clifton Park batch emerged 17 months after the first draft of the business plan. Coincidence? Renaissance means “Re-birth” in French & Italian. In Buddhism, the concept does not truly translate as “reincarnation” but instead as “becoming,” or a “stream of consciousness.” 11 syllables structure a haiku. Shakespeare penned 17 comedies. In The Simpsons episode “Duffness” Homer sings “When I was 17″ about buying his first beer with a fake I.D. “I drank some very good beer. I stayed up listening to Queen, When I was 17.” In The Office, Dwight recites Rule 17 that all Schrute boys must learn: “Don’t turn your back on bears, men you have wronged, or the dominant turkey during mating season.” Knowledge and growth come in many forms. It is taught that Nirvana is only attained when the soul transcends cycles of rebirth. Looks like Shmaftz just isn’t there yet. So with 17 malts, 17 hops, and 17% abv,JEWBEL4TIONREBORNserves as another mark of our death as a contract brewer and proof of our conversion to a new life as brewery owner…… L’Chaim!!!

Appearance: Pours a very dark brown in color with an off-white head that forms along the ring of the glass.

Aroma: Bourbon, lots of bourbon, and maple, vanilla, toffee, and coffee malt.

Taste: Raisins and bourbon flavors come flying out of the gate. There's an immediate sweetness with this beer; sweet chocolate, vanilla, and toffee. The flavors are layered though, and this is a complex beer. With each sip, I pick up a new flavor and dive deeper into the many layers that come with this beer. The finish is boozy and mildly funky.

Mouthfeel: Low carbonation and a syrupy profile makes this a big and full-bodied beer. Almost creamy in texture. But definitely lots of syrup.

Overall: Jewbelation Reborn is a symphony of flavors. I guess that's what you get with 17 hops, 17 malts, and lots of booze. At times, this beer can seem a bit disjointed and all over the place, but not at the detriment of good flavor. Reborn is good with potential to be great. As with many beers of this stature, time will likely be a good thing and allow the flavors to balance and find harmony. The various malt layers and waves of sweetness will eventually settle into something more consistent on the palate. Reborn is enjoyable now, but the ceiling his high. It'll only get better.

Cheers!

Ranger Creek Small Batch No. 3

Brewery: Ranger Creek Brewing and Distilling
Location: San Antonia, TX
Style: Barleywine
ABV: 10%

Small Batch No. 3 is an English Style Barleywine in a series of small batch releases from the Texas brewery.  Here's a little more information about the small batch series from Ranger Creek's website:

Our Small Batch Series is a line of seasonal single batch brews designed to be unique, interesting, and often experimental. Each one is made in small quantities and with a completely different recipe. The unique color, number, and QR code on each label identifies each batch, the details of which can be referenced on our website or by scanning the QR code with a smart phone. Small Batch Series releases are meant to age well over time, so drink a bottle now and save others to enjoy later. They will cellar best in a dark place around 50 degrees. Each batch is brewed and bottled by hand and undergoes a secondary fermentation in the bottle. Pour carefully so as not to rouse the yeast.

Before I move forward with this review, I have to give this disclaimer: my expectations are low. I'm even a bit wary. After talking to people who have tried this, and after reading several other posts about the beer, I fully expect this beer to be infected and funkified to the max. But despite my wariness, I'll proceed...

This bottle has a hand-written bottling date of 10-8-12

Appearance: The bottle itself is appealing. The label clearly indicates that this is a small batch, limited release. The wax dipped tip is a nice touch. The beer pours a deep copper hue with an explosive head. I poured this gently, hoping to avoid this problem.

Aroma: Smells like a saison, not a barleywine. Brett-like yeast aromas, spicy notes, hints of sweet caramel malt.

Taste: Sweet and fruity with a malted backbone and an obvious sourness on the middle of the palate that follows the flavors 'til the end. The taste isn't as funky as the nose, but it's certainly sour and definitely infected as so many others have posted. The finish is slightly oaky with sweet malts.

And sour.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a decent amount of carbonation. Flavors linger on the tongue for a while, giving it a perceived heaviness.

Overall: There just isn't the depth and complexity that I hoped for. I put this bottle in my cellar in 2012 with high hopes. I can see where they wanted to go with this beer. The sweet malt offers a glimpse of the barleywine that Ranger Creek wanted to create. However, somewhere along the way, the yeast has gone funky and has no hopes of maturing into the beer it should have.

Sadly, I must admit to pouring the remaining liquid down the drain. I drank enough to provide a thorough review, but had no desire to finish what was left in the bottle or glass.

Grasslands Funky Rye Saison

This is a recurring monthly series in which I taste and share my thoughts on a different beer from Grasslands Brewing Co. as they progress on their journey to open their doors to thirsty craft beer lovers (2014).  Grasslands is an up-and-coming brewery out of Tallahassee, Fl. that centers their philosophy on making quality "earth first ales." I will taste pilot batches and share my thoughts with the BeerApostle community. You can read past posts about Grasslands beer in the archive section of this blog. 

Brewery:  Grasslands Brewery
Location: Tallahassee, FL
Style: Funky Rye Saison
ABV: 6%

My last review highlighted Grasslands' Rye Saison. Today, I am essentially tasting the same beer with the addition of a Brett (Brettanomyces) yeast that often, but not always, produces a sour (or "funky") flavor profile.

Now that I have had multiple variations of Grasslands' saison, I am excited to get this review started to see what the Brett has done to this beer!

Appearance: Pretty much identical to the Rye Saison: light golden hue with subtle copper highlights. Looks clean and well-filtered. Carbonation is visible in the glass. The head retention is much better in this version than the Rye Saison. Not sure if that's correlated to the yeast or not.

Aroma: Sweet, sour, and tart. This nose is much different than the original Rye Saison. I can definitely pick up some of the funky smells that the Brett has produced. The spices that I picked up in the first saison are still present, but take more of a back seat to the tropical tartness that I am getting from the Brett.

Taste: Mild is the first word that comes to mind. Everything is extremely well balanced. I thought this was going to be a funk-first beer, judging by the nose, but that's not the case at all. The palate is first met with a clean spritz of carbonation that's followed by  fruit-sweetness and semi-sour tart flavors. The finish is biscuity and crisp.

Mouthfeel: This is a light-bodied beer. Lots of carbonation help make this an incredibly refreshing drink. I am tempted to say that I would like the body to be a tad-bit-heavier, but then again, this is a nice break from all of the heavy-hitting-winter-warmers and stouts.

Overall: Funky Rye Saison is a sessionable beer that adds just a touch of flair to the traditional saison style. The fruit flavors were unexpected and add nice depth to the tart and sour notes of the Brett yeast. This is an experimental beer that has gone right for Gabe and Grasslands.

As always, I need to give a HUGE thanks to Gabe for sharing his beers with me as he progresses on his journey to open up Grasslands Brewing Company's doors in 2014. I am humbled and honored to get to share his beers with the beer community through this online platform!


Cheers!

Interested in becoming a Grasshopper?
If you're interested in getting your hands on any of Grasslands' brews before 2014, register for their Grasshoppers Club which is your ticket in to getting exclusive releases from the brewery before they open. As a Grasshopper, you'll be eligible to enter the monthly lottery drawings to sample beer and provide critical feedback that may contribute to the final product. You can also check out Grasslands on Twitter and Facebook for more information.