#250: Shmaltz Brewery Co. » Visit & Tour (St. Lenny's, Slingshot, Rejewvenator 2014, Death Of..., Jewbelation Reborn)

Back in mid-July, my partner and I decided to skip out of town to Albany to visit friends and swing up to Clifton Park to visit the new Shmaltz Brewing Company site.

For those out of the loop, Shmaltz (and their He'Brew line) were a contract brewing company from 1996-2013 when they the launched this new site, with their aptly named Death of a Contract Brewer Black IPA.

The brewery itself is nestled in new industrial/commercial park among plenty of greenery and a few residential and business pockets. Inside, rustic barrels and tables - even a wonderful old door used as a table, are augmented by modern seating areas for an inviting, comfortable, and varied tasting room.

He'brew St. Lenny's (Belgian Rye IPA) ABV: 10% | Rating: 9.2
I've enjoyed this one before, but not on draft, and it does up the ante. St. Lenny's introduces itself with a big, hot nose of rye spice and malt sweetness emitting from a deep amber body and ivory head.

The rye / Belgian-style hybrid flourishes with expected elements of both styles, flecked by notes of cinnamon, sharp and bitter hops, pine, and even star anise, all delivered with prickly carbonation, concluding in a drying finish. Solid and worth seeking out above the bottle.

He'Brew David’s Slingshot (Hoppy American Lager) ABV: 5.5% | Rating: 8.7
This one took us both by surprise. Flavor-packed lagers are on the rise, but I wasn't expecting this from a summer offering.

Slingshot kicks off with a sharp hop nose full of rind, pith, and herbal pine. Onto the palate, it's a strong, dry, bitter beauty that's unabashed in flavor, but retaining a light, summer-ready body. Hints of sweet, raw coconut peak through bitter piney hops that distinctly lack typical citrus notes. The finish is delicious, building subtlety sweet notes of apricot.

He'Brew Rejewvenator Dubbel Doppel 2014 (Dubbel) ABV: 8.0% | Rating: 8.5
East meets west in this 2014 edition of Rejewvenator, combining Merlot and Concord grapes. This fruit dubbel serves up a dark amber with an ivory head that has just a touch of pink to it.

For a fruit beer, the nose is surprisingly transparent, but onto the tongue, it's a burst of hybrid flavors. Smooth, wine-like dark fruits play with a drinkable malt backbone that is midly dry and semi sweet through the mid & finish. Bright and vapory up front. Overall, one of my partners favorites of the day but a bit underwhelming for me personally. It's well balanced and crafted, just not quite my cup of tea.

(tour break)
After the first two rounds, we started chatting more in depth with the head taproom manager about Ithaca, a few places in upstate that may have some unique barrels, and general beer-geekery when he offered to take us on a tour of the new facility.

One of the key things I learned was that, while their Coney Island brand was sold to Boston Beer Co., they're still brewing it, including their barrel aged offerings. We got to see Terrapin Reunion collaboration magnums and barrels that were about to launch and learn more about what's coming next for Shmaltz.

It was of the more in-depth and knowledgeable tours we'd been on and he was quick to answer any question with quality, unscripted info. On our way in, we filled our glasses with some of their commemorative brew...

Death Of A Contract Brewer (Black IPA) ABV: 7% | Rating: 8.9
As expected, Death Of... serves up jet black with a tuft of head. The nose is green full of grassy hops. It's a robust Black IPA packed with plenty of roasted goodness, strong citrus hops, and some wonderful esters and just enough booze peaking through the veil. At $5 a piece, it was a steal so we grabbed four bottles.

He'Brew Jewbelation Reborn (Strong Ale) ABV: 17% | Rating: 9.1
And her we have the major reason I wanted to head to Shmaltz. Jewbelation has been one of my favorite insane-ABV brews for several years now and the chance for it on tap was a big draw. This 17th anniversary brew is 17 hops, 17 malts with a matching ABV.

Jewbelation pours up an opaque brown with a ring of head. A potent nose follows, full of vanilla, oak, and bourbon. The taste is an epic hop vs. malt battle, fueled by huge notes of boozy alcohol. It's sticky, silky body spawning notes of grape, ripe red fruits, and sweet vanilla all threaded with a hot booze and wrapped up in an arid finish that adds a touch of whiskey spice.

It's a booze of a beer and not for beginners or delicate palates. Two samples were the limit, so I got both and a bottle for the collection at home.
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Overall, a wonderful visit. Friendly, knowledgeable staff that we'll absolutely be visiting again. They stated the taps change daily (we'd just missed Reunion '14 going up the next day) so frequent visits sounds like they still be worthwhile and varied. It's worth noting at the time they only pour samples, but they're generous with rotating glassware you get to take home.

#138 Firestone Walker Brewing Co. » Wookey Jack (Black Rye IPA)

Firestone's award-winning Black Ale...

The Brewery: Firestone Walker Brewing Co. (Paso Robles, CA)
The Brew: Wookey Jack (Black Rye IPA)
Availability: Draft and bottles (Reserve Series)
ABV: 8.3% | 80 IBUs
Rating: 9.1/10
Location: Home

The Story? For being just six months into this blog, I've felt pretty decent having discussed over 150 beers in that amount of time. But then, I back and realize some of my favorite breweries still haven't been covered yet and I know I still have a lot of ground to cover. Better start pouring!

Firestone is one of those that came to mind. I scoured my collection to see what I could post. I'm not pulling out their Double DBA, Parabola, or §ucaba anytime soon... but I found one of my birthday gift beers left, Firestone's Wookey Jack, Black Rye IPA. I used to be a sucker for a big, black bitter beer, but haven't ventured much down that road this year.


The Beer? Wookey Jack pours out jet black with a voluminous, fluffy, lacy mocha head followed by a spicy, high-resin and pine nose with slight tropical fruit notes.

For a high ABV and IBU beer, this goes down incredibly smooth, with a fantastic mouthfeel - creamy and wet up front, wrapped up with a drying, hoppy finish.

The hops are deep and spicy, but so well-balanced on Wookey Jack, settled in comfortably with mild esters, dark roasted malt, and caramelized sugar notes and low/mid level of carbonation.

Overall, this was was far more elegant than most Black IPAs and Rye IPAs I've run across. Recommended example of balance and composure in a full flavored beer.

#072: Zero Gravity Craft Brewery » Gose The Destroyer, Conehead Galaxy, Smokey The Beer, Narconaut, and L.T.A. IPA

First stop on the epic Vermont beer weekend...

(photo courtesy of Zero Gravity's Facebook page because I forgot to take one)

The Brewery: Zero Gravity Craft Brewery at American Flatbread (Burlington, VT)

The Story? Several years back, my partner and I decided to take a break from the daily grind and take a trek up to Vermont. My partner's sister and her husband (one of my longest-running friends), who now own The Enchanted Badger, initiated the trip and set most of the plan in motion. As it still ranks as one of the most relaxing quick vacations we've had thus far, we vowed to make it back to Vermont to reengage and explore more on our own.

There were a few "must do" items on the list including The Alchemist, Hill Farmstead, and American Flatbread with their in-house Zero Gravity Brewery, which we rolled into first thing after checking in. While dinner doesn't start up until 5PM, the bar is open and waiting for us upon arrival.

Gose The Destroyer (Sour Wheat Beer) 4.1% ABV
An in-house Gose? Easy first choice here. The hazy, muted gold liquid yields a nose of strong, dank wheat and minerally apricot skin. The taste is bright, tart, and wheaty with a hefty dose of coriander and carbonation. This Gose is dry up front, wet in the middle, then dry again on the finish. The salt is very prominent compared to other American interpretations I've had, especially in the tart finish. (This is a good thing)

Easily the most full-bodied Gose I've encountered so far, with strong robust wheat notes, not dissimilar to Ithaca's White Gold, in that way.

Conehead Galaxy (American Wheat IPA) | 5.4% ABV
Next up, my partner and I each order a round of Conehead - cask and draft respectively.

I tip the cask version back first - very peachy, with white fruit and subtle tangy notes. Down the hatch, it's beautifully smooth and ranks as one of the best translations of an IPA to cask I've had yet, with firm citrus hop flavors, buttery smooth body, and expertly executed balance of bitter and fruit notes. The hop presence is much bigger than most cask IPAs, which in some cases, can dull things a bit.  9/10

The draft version also yields a fruity, peachy nose. This one is much juicier and without the tarness that was on the nose of the cask. Mouthfeel is differs greatly, as expected, with lively, prickly carbonation. The taste is considerably brighter with a hint of sweetness, like honey and mild sour peach. Solid mild IPA. 8/10

Smokey The Beer (Bamberg-style Smoked Lager) 5.2% ABV
Now seated and waiting for our meal, indulge in their smoked lager. A quick delivery later, my nose is taking in a crisp, malty nose with just a hint of smoke. The taste is truly sublime with wonderful biscuit malt flavors augmented by just the right amount of smoke and hints of roasted malts. Toasty and crisp, mildly carbonated, and pairs well with food. The secret of this one's success is "less is more". I've had some powerful smoked beers in the past, but this one is far more delicate, threading it with smoke and a fine mist of campfire finish. Nice execution of a smoked beer while retaining the smooth, drinkable nature of a quality lager. 9.2/10

Narconaut (Black IPA) 5.5% ABV
A final round before heading out for a walk before the burlesque show. It's always tough for me to turn down a Black IPA and this one did not disappoint. Big malty nose, plenty of hot hop flavor coupled with hints of citrus and coffee with a silky smooth mouthfeel and a nice dry, roasted finish. 8/10

T.L.A. (IPA) 5.7%
Lastly, there's the scrumptious T.L.A., Zero Gravity's house IPA. We swung back through on the way to get the car and back to the hotel. When a burlesque show ends by 11PM, you're not quite ready to call it a night. Brewed with an array of hops in Pale and Crystal malts, then dry hopped with Chinook and Columbus. It was hoppy and good drinking, but that's all you're going to get as I was concentrated on hanging out, not coming up with adjectives. This was a vacation after all!