He'Brew Jewbelation Fifteen
In Jewish tradition, 15 marks major commemorations: Passover (the Exodus), Sukkot (40 years of wandering), and Tu Bishvat (the New Year for Mother Nature) all start on the 15th day of the Hebrew month. 15 suggests a certain wisdom from experience: “Old is always 15 years from now.” – Bill Cosby. “We are always more anxious to be distinguished for one talent we do not possess than 15 we do.” – Mark Twain. After Andy Warhol, does 15 forever sound profound or frivolous? “In the future, everyone will be world famous for 15 minutes.” “Fame is the thirst of youth.” – Lord Byron. “The fact that my 15 minutes of fame has been extended is somewhat surprising to me and completely baffling to my wife.” – Barack Obama. For Matt EP: Hall of Famer Bart Starr rocked #15 as MVP in the Packers’ first two Super Bowl victories. “South Park” evolved from “Jesus vs. Santa” and is now entering its 15th season. “We’re rehabbed and ready for our 15 minutes of shame.” – Marilyn Manson. Lyrics from Barry Manilow’s 2011 album, 15 Minutes, released on QVC Network: “Make me a deal, I’ll sell my guts for glory.” “Fame and power are the objects of all men. Even their partial fruition is gained by very few, and that at the expense of social pleasure, health, conscience, life.” – Benjamin Disraeli. After 1,972,350 sets of 15 minutes of Shmaltz Brewing, I’ll hoist my Jewbelation Quinceañera and sing 15 rounds of ¡Viva la Evolución de He’brew! L’Chaim! Jeremy Cowan, proprietor
3.8
213 reviews
Clifton Park, United States
Community reviews
Thanks to drowland for the share. Big beer. Dark black oily pour. Aroma is toffee, dark fruit, and booze. Taste is a sweet wallop with plenty of booze, fruit, caramel, and hops to make in interest. Hides 15% decently well. Full bodied, of course.
Very sweet with a lot going on. Strong roasted malt and caramel malt flavors. Has some slight fruity notes and some slight tartness.
Dark brown/black color; Medium creamy body; Aroma of toasted sweet malt, caramel/toffee, chocolate, & some dark fruit; Flavor of roasted sweet malt, dark chocolate, molasses/syrup, caramel, and dark fruit; Warm finish; Fairly well balanced; Considering the alcohol, it’s well hidden; Overall, definitely on the sweet side - but pretty decent strong ale.
Bomber, cellared about a year. Sweet dark fruit aroma with some toffee and a bit of booze. Pours black with a garnet tint, thin, tan head and some lacing. Rich dark fruit flavor with some toffee. Great sticky mouthfeel. Finishes smooth with just a bit of booze that provides a nice warming feeling that's great on a cold winter night. Dark fruit lingers on the palate on the aftertaste. Very good.
Pours black, finger tan head.
Smell intense sudsy, pleasant roasty vanilla, sweet red fruit
Taste sweet caramel toffee, burnt sugar, bit of roast, alcohol burn
Sticky sweet and full body
Very nice beer
Bomber purchased at Holiday Wine Cellar in February 2012 ($7.99). Pours a dark brown with reddish highlights and almost three fingers of brownish foam. AROMA of dried raisins / figs / dates, rich toffee, vanilla-y bourbon, molasses and some light booze. FLAVOR of dark caramel and toffee, port wine, brown sugar, and dark sticky fruits. Syrupy mouthfeel. Nice level of sweetness and complexity, akin to a good port. Surprisingly little perceptible alcohol (with no burn) considering that this is 15% ABV. Yet another great one from the Shmaltz anniversary series...I think the two years of further aging helped out quite a bit too. (190, 827)
From notes. Pours a deep brown with a thin off-white head. Aroma is full of different malts and booze. Upon first drink, it hits the palate with all kinds of malt up front, with a hint of booze and hop balance. Nice finish leaves all kinds of coffee, chocolate and malt notes. Much smoother tasting than others I’ve had in this series.
Dark amber in color, clear with a thin head. Super Strong ale flavor and finish. This was filled with awesome hops and nice malt balance. Very good beer.
FROM NOTES: June 28, ’12
A: Huge spiced rum aroma. Lots of dark fruit notes and loaded with molasses. Lots of caramel in there too and perhaps some toffee and brown sugar. The ridiculously strong malt base hides the hops. This is a super big and super sweet beer.
A: Pours a dark brown with a good sized, dense light brown head. Fades slowly, leaving a nice lacing on the glass.
T: Very thick and ridiculously sweet. Massive sweet caramel and molasses up front with a touch of brown sugar. Some dark fruits kick in, especially the fig and raisin. Aftertaste has a touch of cocoa in it as the sweetness fades away with a hint of alcohol burn.
P: Ridiculously heavy, syrupy and cloyingly sweet.
O: Some big beers try to balance their sweetness with hops, this beer just went mega malty all the way-- like drinking maple syrup. That being said, it also hides its alcohol well and its very complex.
Pours a very dark brown with a tan head. Vanilla and chocolate on the nose. Viscous mouthfeel. Vanilla, table sugar, fig, and a bit of horehound at the finish. Some alcohol lingers.
Toffee nutty coffee choclate sweet massive taste. This is a monster. Not sure if I should drink it or eat it with a spoon. I appreciate it.
Bomber pour into snifter..dark brown almost black pour with small beige head that fades away..all kinds of activity..nicely carbonated..sounds and smells coming from this are impressive..nose is memorable with roasted toffee..vanilla.cream..wood..mouthfeel is quite amazing..really expected this to be a hot boozy mess..but oh so wrong..oily like texture flavor is intense with an initial hit of bourbon spiked black cherry..absolutely astounded by how the ridiculously high 15 percent abv is so well masked..booze does leave a nice warming lingering presence once sip is complete but far from overpowering..tasting great almost year and a half after bottling...only real downside might be slight soy sauce notes upon finish..very well done indeed..
Pours a clear but opaque brown with a sizable tan head. Aroma is dried dark fruit and instant coffee crystals. Taste is quite sweet with roasted malt, honey, dark caramel, dark dried fruit, coffee and notes of dry red wine. Alcohol shows up after the swallow as that warming sensation. This is an outstanding strong ale and well balanced considering its busy character. The only problem is I’m enjoying this when it’s in the lower 80s outside on Memorial Day. This would be an ideal after dinner while sitting by the fire in the dead of winter.
Bottle @ Papsø. Pours a dark ruby black color with a small off-white head. Has a slightly roasted malty weak woody caramel and chocolate aroma. Sweetish malty woody thick caramel and chocolate flavor. Has a slightly roasted malty chocolate, caramel and dark fruit finish.
Bottle: Nearly black, very dark brown, moderate to large frothy beige head, dies quickly, sparce lacing. Heavy sweet bready nose, some dark pitted fruit, a bit candied. Dark sweet alcoholic bready malts up front.
Some dark pitted fruit, hoppy, candyish, and luckily not as cloying as I thought it was going to be. For a 15% beer, this one is very easy to put back. Warming, but not real hot. This is one fine sipper!
Body and mouthfeel are moderate to full. Moderate bready malts, candyish citrus peel, dark pitted fruit, and hops on the exit. This is a great beer, very easy to put back. Could sip this one all day long!
22 ounce bottle poured dark brown with some amber highligts, aromas of caramel, light bread and booze, lots of booze. Flavors were light caramel, light chocolate and tons booze. Way too boozey for me.
Botella. Deep dark brown reddish colour, beige ehad, medium size. Sweet aroma indeed, plenty of caramel in there along with (dark) lagred fruit chocolate, alcohol. Thick filling mouthfeel. Sweeeet flavour indeed, dark fruits, lagred, caramel, alcohol. Sweeet.
25-MAR-2013, bottle @Papsø tasting.
Dark, dark, dark, brown with red hue. Sweet chocolate aroma, with a little alcohol, and some nutty malts.
Taste is very sweet and malty. Very thick body. Slick. Very low carbonation. Lovely beer.
Bottle at papsø.
Clear red-brown coloured with a medium sized beige head.
Sweet and fruity aroma of caramel, dried fruits, chocolate and cocoa powder.
Sweet and fruity flavour of caramel, dried fruits, chocolate and alcohol.
Sweet and warming alcoholic finish.
12 fl oz bottle. Pours hazy brown with a small tan head. Aroma is dense dark malty, alochol presence. Thick malty: sweet, syrupy, caramelish and roasted. Bitter and lingering dense caramelish. Roasted dry finish.
Bottled. Burgundy coloured. Dense light brown head. Aroma: Ripe fruits, caramel, sweetness, spice. Flavour: Prunes, dades, plums, sweetness, syrup. Medium bodied. ends frutiy and sweet.
Bottle 35,5 cl. Courtesy of Doodler. Pours an almost clear dark brown with a reddish hue and a tiny - almost absent - off-white head. Rich aroma of thick, sweet overripe fruit. Very solid body, pours thick and syrupy with hardly any carbonation. Nuts and thick caramel with a warming alcohol finish. Not too bad really - basically let’s just call it a Barley Wine. 250313
Bomber bottle, thnx to Duffman. Cheers! This pours a very dark beer with a reddish hue around it. Big tanned head on top and very decent lacing on the glass. Aroma is very malty, caramel, molasses, toffee and a very light alcoholic note, despite the 15%. Hops are not present in aroma. Flavour is very sweet with one of the stickiest mouthfeels I’ve ever had. Has a roasted body, almost stout-ish actually. Incredibly complex and it only gets more complex when warming up. Alcohol shines trough in the end, but it is not disturbing. Very good sipper, great to enjoy on a nice, monday evening. Awesome!
Pours pitch black with a medium mocha head that dissipates quickly. Aroma is of black liquorice, dark chocolate, light coffee notes and roasted barley malts. Taste has a dry bitterness to it with a gradually intensifying sweetness. Full body, lively carbonation, smooth yet thin mouth feel. Overall a very solid brew.
Bottle to pint glass
Molasses, alcohol, malty, malty, malty. Deep reddish brown with a thin tan head. Sweet maltiness overpowers the bitterness, peppery notes and ending with alcohol. This is full bodied, creamy, and tongue coating oily with a late alcohol burn.
Deep dark brown, no head. Boozy malty aroma of earthy syrup and sugar cane, maybe molasses. Flavor is rich and intense, but lovingly drinkable like a dessert. Boozy brown sugar notes mix with chocolate nougat and toffee with a warm finish. Not complex, really...but impeccable.
Bottle - fair sized foamy head, very dark amber color, very sweet malts and very hoppy, strong alcohol notes, fairly fruity notes, definite very strong overall
(12oz bottle) Purchased at Hillside Liquors. Pours a brown body and a frothy, white medium-sized head. Very malty. Good brown sugar tongue, licorice and minor alcoholic burn. Very impressed in what they can do at Shmaltz with high ABV annuals.
--- reviewed on RateBeer.com
Bottle at a ChrisO tasting, London. Pours dark brown with a light, frothy head. Big dark sugar and dark malt nose, some licorice. Stupidly sweet flavor, some tangy dark fruits, licorice, brown sugar, raisins. Big bodied with average carbonation. Warming finish with ripe fruits, more raisins and brown sugar, light dirt, mild earthy bitterness. As a slow-sipping dessert beer, this one is delicious; subtle it is not.
Hebrew 15 was next with a much needed year of age on it. Boozyness is present but nowhere near as crazy as the 16. Kind of rich with some decent flavors of nuts, leather, chocolate. FInish is still cloying and quite hot.