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!

Favorite Red Ales

As I was sipping on a freshly canned Tocobaga, I started to think about how much I appreciate a good red ale, and then I realized that there aren't a ton of red ales that have blown me away. In fact, I would argue that when compared to other beer styles, the red ale genre is fairly lacking in superb beers. Let's face it, stouts and IPAs get all the glory in the craft world.

So, I thought it would be fun to give recognition to three of my favorite red ales, and then I would love to hear from you. Admittedly, my list is limited because I don't typically seek out red ales when I am looking for new beers to try. So please feel free to add to this list, dismiss the beers I've mentioned, or argue for your favorite red ales!

My list of favorite red ales:

1. Pinglehead (Pinglehead, Jacksonville, FL). Pinglehead is located inside Brewer's Pizza, and is a place I would consider "a gem" in North Florida. It's a small brewpub in Clay County that not only makes mean beer, but they also cook up some awesome pizzas too! Pinglehead's Imperial Red is a perfectly balanced red that blends the sweet malty backbone with a floral and semi-bitter hop presence. It has just the right amount of bitterness and sweetness to make this a highly enjoyable, very drinkable red ale that's packed with flavor. Whenever visitors come to Jacksonville, Pinglehead usually tops my list of beers they need to try.

 
2. Tocobaga (Cigar City, Tampa, FL). Tocobaga was the first red ale I ever tried that had true complexity and character. Before Tocobaga, I had limited experience with reds and probably thought of Fat Tire as the ceiling in terms of the style. Tocobaga is a rich red ale with a prominent malt backbone that is countered by a citrusly-sweet-bitter note that comes from the Citra hops with which Cigar City dry hops the beer. As I said on Twitter, when this beer is consumed fresh, it's a real treat!

3. Zoe (Maine Beer Co, Freeport, Maine). I purchased six bottles of Zoe to celebrate the birth of our second daughter, Zoe, in October 2012. A few weeks before my wife's due date, I searched Google for beers that might share the same name. I found this red ale from Maine and had it shipped to Florida so that I could properly toast and welcome my daughter to the world.

Zoe, like the first two on the list, has a nice hop bitterness that balances the malt profile of the red ale. In fact, I would say Zoe is the most "bitter" of the three on this list. Zoe drinks more like an IPA than a red. But Zoe and I are forever linked, and it has earned it's place on my top 3 red ales list. Before I close, I must mention some beers that I left off this list that I suspect might be on your list.

Honorable Mentions:

• Lagunitas Imperial Red
• Grasslands Leeroy the Red 
• He'Brew Genesis
• Terrapin Oaked Big Hoppy Monster
• Saint Arnold Amber Ale (This might have made my list 3 years ago when I lived in Houston)
• Bold City 1901 Red Ale

So, let's hear from you. What beers did I leave off? Where did I mess up? What are your favorite red ales?

The Cost of Craft Beer

Taken from http://thefullpint.com/beer-reviews/the-bruery-fruet/

Since when did beer become unaffordably ugly? This question popped into my head a few days ago as I was gallivanting around Jacksonville in search of a few worthy bottles with which I could ring in the New Year. After my first stop, it became quite clear that either I no longer make enough money to support my hobby, or something has gone terribly wrong with the retail/consumer approach to craft beer.

At this particular location in a trendy Jacksonville neighborhood, I came across several bottles that I had been wanting to try. Among them being a bottle of Fruet, brewed by The Bruery. It's a bourbon barrel aged anniversary ale that comes in at a whopping 15.5%! The bottle and label exudes prestige. There is a golden wax seal that tops the champagne-looking bottle. Knowing that I had just found the PERFECT beer for the occasion, I reached up to pull my prize off the top shelf and--Gasp--$35.99? I literally gasped at the price and, remembering what my mother told me: "If you break it you buy it," I carefully eased the bottle back in it's place. Sure, did I have at least $36 in my bank account? Of course. But there is just no reason a beer should ever cost that much. Period. I don't care what it is, where it's from, or who made it.

Craft beer has somehow forgot the very thing that makes it great--it's not only good, but it's affordable You see, craft beer isn't pretentious or intimidating like wine and fine liquors can be. With craft beer, the average Joe can take his ten bucks and buy something better than piss in a can.

Let me be clear in saying I don't fault the store for setting the price of Fruet so high. They know they'll sell it because people are suckers for "rarities."  We're idiots for feeding into whatever it is that makes us believe a bottle of beer is worth that much. Heck, it was just a few weeks ago that a six pack of Westvleteren XII sold for $300 on Ebay. Come on, man. That's just insane. Have we forgotten that no matter how rare a beer is, regardless of how sought-after a particular brew may be, here's what happens when you consume it: you take a giant piss and walk away (hopefully after you've washed your hands).

Now listen, I know I am generalizing a bit and playing to an extreme. I do not mean to say there are not distinguishable differences in "good" beer and "bad" beer.  Yes, even in the craft market there are crappy beers. My argument is simple: craft beer isn't wine. It's not whiskey, scotch, or cognac. It's beer--good beer. Great beer. It might even be aged in fine barrels from one of the aforementioned liquors. But, in the end, it's still beer. And I just don't believe beer is meant to be unaffordable.

Am I crazy? Maybe. But I'll keep buying beers like Stone Imperial Russian Stout and He'Brew Jewbelation Sweet 16, both of which are superb and under $10.