He'Brew Jewbelation Fourteen
At age 14, is Shmaltz Brewing still in the throes of adolescence? After publishing Craft Beer Bar Mitzvah, a new small business saga, I’ll leave it up to you, Dear Reader. As with many 14 year olds, this years Jewbelation is all about Hands, Hearts and Farts. 14 is the numerical value of the Hebrew word for “hand.” The human hand contains 14 digital bones and 14 joints. 14 items to fill the Passover seder plate, narrating the Exodus of the Hebrews – “and with a mighty hand did the Revolution bring us out of Egypt.” Jacob labored 14 years to earn marriage to Leah and Rachel. Over a lifetime, the average American spends 14 days kissing. Valentine’s day, Feb. 14, dates to a pagan festival for the she-wolf who suckled mythical founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus. 14 lines structure a sonnet. Romeo and Juliet unfolds 14 days before Juliet’s 14th birthday. Carbon 14 dating proves the age of organic materials. Woody Allen, now married to his once not-daughter and not a spokesman for American Apparel, received 14 Oscar nominations for best screenplay and directed 14 other actors in nominated performances. 14 Jews serve in the senate. The current Dalai Lama is the 14th leader of the Tibetan people. A hummingbird’s heart flutters about 1400 beats per minute. Dr. Oz reported on Oprah that humans fart on average of 14 times a day. At age 41 and in our 14th year of brewing, the numerical synchronicity will happen only once in my lifetime. Here’s to being here now… L’Chaim!
3.8
199 reviews
Clifton Park, United States
Community reviews
rateing from old notes. pour dark amber almost a brown with tan head. has a dark fruit flavor and some spices.
Two and a half years on this bottle has done it well, almost Danish malt tasting, strog and sweet
A - Pours a dark brown with a hint of brown around the edges with a thin finger of frothy khaki colored head. The head fades down fairly quickly leaving behind some lacing.
S - Aroma is a mix of dark caramel malts, dark fruits, coffee, caramelized sugars, with some grapefruit and pine hops and some booze.
T - Starts off with dark sweet caramel and caramelized malts, with raisin and other dark fruit, molasses, and some grapefruit and citrus hops. Through the middle, some coffee flavor comes through with some vanilla, pine hops, and a bit of bitterness. The finish is a mix of sweet caramelized malts, dark toffee malts, dark fruit, molasses, a bit of coffee, and some booze.
M - Full bodied with moderate carbonation. Feels smooth and a bit syrupy with a warming and sweet finish.
D - Very drinkable. Good strong malty base with enough body and alcohol to balance.
bottle at Ft Wayne tasting - Pours dark amber-brown with a tan head. It has a rich malty aroma with dark fruit. The flavor is of very sweet malt, dark fruit, and some alcohol in the background that’s pretty unavoidable at 14% abv. It works though. Somehow a blend of so many malts and hops with a huge abv has produced a tasty, full bodied brew though IMO not as good as some of their previous anniversary ales.
Bottled. This brew has a lot going on in it and the schmaltz brewing company blended it all together real nice. Some of the things that stood out for me was the hop / earth / dark fruit / chocolate / roast and caramel traits that all seemed to intertwine really well.
Bottle. Pours dark brown with a nice tan head. Aroma was boozy with dark fruit, raisins, chocolate, toffee, and caramel. Flavor was sweet malty and intense with dark caramel, molasses, raisins, bakers chocolate, ripe dark fruit, and a bit of honey with a sweet and warming finish. Awesome brew
A deep dark brown ale with a thin brown head. In aroma, a smooth dark fruit malt with resinous floral hops, licorice, soy sauce, very nice. In mouth, a smooth licorice and treacle, fruity esters, soy sauce, musky floral hops, rich and smooth.Tasted with the Bartowel crew at Pushkinwow’s, March 23, 2012.
Pours a dark brown with small carbonation and white trace. Aroma is grape and raisins and a load of malt. Taste is sweet grapes, rich grainy malts and raisins and figs. Big beer that tastes really good.
Sample at pushkinwow’s Beer Geek Extravaganza. 24MR12.
App.: Deep reddish brown-black, green-tan head.
Aroma: Strong, boozy, molasses, dark dried fruits, rich brown sugar, resinous hops, nice.
Palate: Medium-full body, relaxed effervescence.
Flav.: Huge, inky, so rich and sweet and malty, molasses, brown sugar, wow, super fruity.
Massive. I had it pegged for an Impy Stout...
Bottle shared by Maniac at the Irish Chanukah tasting. Pours dark brown with ruby highlights and a small, fizzy brown head, short retention with light lacing. Aroma is moderate alcohol, light chocolate, moderate caramel and nutty malt, lightly oxidized with sherry notes, dates and figs. Flavor is heavy malt, light alcohol, hops, and bitterness with a sweet finish. Full body, medium warmth and carbonation.
Bottle, 01/23/2012. Pours cola brown with thin, light tan head, fades to residual haze on the surface but some nice lacing. Actually quite a lot going on in the nose, rich and malty, with vanilla, toffee, butterscotch, plums, and grapefruit hop finish, very barleywine-ish. Desert flavored, with caramel, brown sugar icing, chocolate chip, transitioning to coffee roasted malts, some licorice, thick piney hops, a little bit of heat going down. sweet malty aftertaste. Mouthfeel is silky smooth, full, and creamy, belying the actual strength of the brew. Actually pretty tasty, though I can see how some might find it too sweet. Samichlaus-esque, maybe a tad thicker, with more roasted quality.
Just bought last years Jewbilation Menora gift pack with Jewbelation 8-14 and Vertical. The 14 pours out a nearly opaque black with a bit of ruby tinges along the bottom of the glass. The head is a creamy finger of light tan that leaves massive spots and rings of sticky lacing. The nose has a prominent grapefruit and hop aroma with a big roast. Notes of toffee, candy, sugars and dark fruits. A bit of alcohol on the nose, but nowhere in the realm of 14% ABV. The middle has a sweet, dark fruity candy esque taste with a bit of an earthy note. Resinous hops infringe upon the thick roasted malts and leave a smack of sweet bitter grapferuit hops on the finish. The finish has a mild alcohol warmth (but once again, not in the realm of 14%). Perhaps the year of aging on this brew has taken some of that alcohol presence away and made this a more sweet, roasted and subtle brew. Jewbelation 14 has a thick, full body with a resiny smack and slick mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty solid sipper.
Bottle courtesy of Chris. Pours black with a creamy tan head. Aroma is toffee, fig pudding, caramel and hints of booze. Flavor is very sweet and malty with all the characteristics of the aroma coming through and finishing very sweet. Way to much dessert sweetness for me.
22oz bottle -
When you make a Strong Ale, especially like He’Brew does with their anniversary beers, you throw all the rules of brewing out the window and just chuck in stuff and hope it all comes out okay. So far, their anniversary beers have been top-notch and this was no different, and defines what an American Strong Ale should be like.
The aroma on this beer was just full tilt on everything...like a beer on crank. Tons of alcohol, tons of pitted/dark fruits, chocolate, alcohol, toffee, more alcohol, floral hops, more alcohol, leaf tobacco...wow. Flavor is also just as intense as the aroma. Port wine, leaf tobacco, chocoalte covered raisins, wet dirt, leather, hand soap with a strong, strong alcohol presence. Phenomenal beer, priced incredibly well and well done for a anniversary beer.
Name: Jewbelation Fourteen
Date: October 15, 2010
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting
Appearance: black, fine tan head
Aroma: sweet fruity aroma, lots of ripe dark fruits, dark caramel sweetness
Flavor: rich and fruity flavor, rich dark fruits, prunes, caramel sweetness, balancing bitterness
Name: Jewbelation Fourteen
Date: December 24, 2010
Mode: draft
Source: the porter atlanta
Score: 3.5 to 3.8
Appearance: solid black, creamy tan head, solid lace
Aroma: sweet chocolate and licorice aroma, sweet dark fruits
Body: creamy body
Flavor: rich malt flavor, sweet and fruity, rich chocolate, caramel sweetness, dark fruits and rich chocolate are in perfect balance
Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.8/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: ***+ /4
Draft. Pours a dark brown/ black. Taste and smell is much boozier than the 12 and 13. Big fig, some leather, toffee and brandy with some bourbon notes. Even though 14%, still pretty damn smooth.
650ml bottle pours dark amber in color with a finger of beige head that leaves some lacing on the glass. Aroma is dark fruits and chocolate with roasted malts and some hops. Taste is much like the nose with a bit of alcohol burn in there. Heavy body and light carbonation. This is a complex beer with a great blend of flavors and was a delight to sip on.
Bottle from Frank Smith’s via the Jewbelation variety pack. This one pours jet black, thick and turbid, with a clingy one-finger khaki head. Nose is roasty charred black patent malt, dark fruit, black currants, resiny hops. Tastes sweet, very malty, with notes of blackstrap molasses, caramel, honey, hops, and an overall thick palate, with well hidden alcohol. This one comes off like a barleywine with a smidgen of mead and IIPA tossed in for good measure.
22 ounce bottle purchased over a year ago at Holiday Wine Cellar ($5.99). Pours just shy of pitch black with one finger of brown head that soon disappears. Aroma of sweet sticky caramel, dark malts, dark fruits (fig, raisin), bourbon / maple barrel (though I understand this is actually not barrel aged), and a hint of booze. Flavor of rich toffee, sticky dark candied fruit in holiday fruitcake, molasses, tobacco leaf, dry holiday spice, dried coconut, and some dark chocolate. Leans pretty far toward the sweet side but is actually quite smooth. Full bodied with a syrupy mouthfeel. The great big 14% ABV is really well hidden here. A little too sweet, but otherwise another great installment in the anniversary series with lots of great complexity. (163, 646)
Just for fun, I’ll see if I can drink this in 14 minutes - I’m sure that will go well. Poured out a very dark brew brew with rusty hues and a small dark tan bubbly head despite the hard pour to produce more. Aroma: Kitchen sink. Everything is in here which is cool by me. Caramel, raisins, chocolate, roast, candy sweetness, plum, brown sugar and / or molasses, freshly baked french fries lightly salted, hint of spice. I don’t know the difference between each of the escalating versions of this beer but it does not matter. Taste wise these are a tasty mess! Packed with goodness! Toasty tasty malts with plenty of sweetness and a slight hop bite - thankfully the hop power is mostly drown out by everything else. Sweet fruit with blended in spices that fade away. Caramel, can’t really find a pure chocolate taste but it’s something that is sort of chocolate like, borwn sugar sweetness, anise, faint alcohol, toasted malts, random fruitiness and richness or a slight underlying salt. Love this type of beer - pure flavour on every sip and if you drink enough you can travel to alternate universes. Hey! There’s the chocolate flavour. Bit of an oily feel. Great soft carbonation. Ok, this didn’t take 14 minutes - it took 49. Ladislav Smid scored last night - that rules! Wiiiiide open net to - a pure goal scorer if I’ve ever seen one.
I love the comment about "how about using 14 yeasts?" Yeah, you may have to add some Monostat to that one buddy... Anyway, even more rediculously strong that all the rest. I had one that was aged out 6 months to a year, and I also tasted it after having 8-13! I couldn’t tell much of anything at that point, other than this one hit me like a ton of bricks even after all off the other Jewb’s. Too strong and alcoholic to have more than a few ounces.
This series continues to amaze me. Pours a very dark brown tending toward black but some light sneaks through with very attractive tan head. The nose is dark ripe fruit, like prunes, raisin, and figs. Full bodied with an alcoholic touch but very smooth in mouthfeel. The flavor is intense, with lots of dark roasted malts and those ripe fruits. The finish shows the alcohol but the rich malts stay with you. Quite a beer, and very enjoyable. .
Pours an unexpected black with small light brown head, great lacing. Amazing aroma, toffee, butterscotch, caramel, cherry, cocoa. Flavor has this big malt profile initially with some hops showing on the finish creating a nicely blended bitterness. Flavor has more chocolaty notes, dark and rich, with soft notes of caramel covered cherry, fruity sap on the finish. Very, very nice. Full bodied. Could use another 6 months in the bottle, not for the palate but the flavor profile I think. Feels a little underdeveloped. Still a great drink right now.
I give this beer an average grade based on finding it below average fresh and above average aged. Fresh it was a complete mess. To much going on no clear direct. Aged it had mellowed out a bit and became a bit better blended and less of a mess. If you run across it and want to rate it, it’s no drain pour. If your looking for a great drinker this one leaves a bit to be desired IMO.
Bottle. Pours a near black with a light brown head that dissipates to the edges. Aroma has a combination of roasted malts and bitter dark chocolate with a bit of backing hop bitterness. Flavor starts with roasted malts but quickly becomes bitter with dark chocolate and hops.
Bottle from Pacific Liquor: Created a huge monstrous topping of head while the liquid was jet black. My nose is instantly greeted with a heavy dosage of finely roasted black malt that bold aroma of vanilla bean, coffee liqueur, cream, bits of dark chocolate and an undeniable presence of alcohol. As for the palate a smooth velvety texture that packs some heat because of the high content of alcohol while also having a sticky residue around my lips and mouth. The flavor is robust and carries a heavy flavor of alcohol with additional tastings of roast dark malt, rich dark coffee, chocolate and a delicious taste of vanilla. 14 malts and 14 hops while at the same time being 14% ABV and not to mention this only cost $7 for a bottle—how do they do it?
Poured into a snifter. 14 malts, 14 hops, 14% ABV! What am I getting myself into?!?!?
4.0 A: Black color. Three fingers of frothy light brown head. Retention is phenomenal given the ABV and some spotty lacing.
4.0 S: Interesting. There sure is a lot going on here. At first whiff, I though that this was aged in bourbon barrels. Alas, there is no barrel aging, but many of the same aromas are present and brought out by the malts. The strongest aroma is a peaty woodiness followed by plum, fig, semi-sweet chocolate, caramel, molasses, and a small touch of leather and cherry on finish. There is a subtle underlying hoppiness that gives just hints of citrus, pine, and earth. Reasonably balanced, but sweet overall. The alcohol at this point is just about gone.
4.0 T: Plenty of dark fruits - plum, fig, prune, and date. Lots of raisin and tobacco, which wasn’t all that strong in the nose. Molasses, brown sugar, dark caramel, and roast add some serious girth. Chocolate, lightly peaty, and leathery. Booze is easily detectable, but maybe not all of the 14%. Normally super thick, super complex beers turn out to be messes, but everything is quite complementary in this.
4.0 M: Thick as hell, heavy body on this one. Chewy, amylase clumping sweetness. Good moderate carbonation. Creamy, but a tad too cloying to be smooth.
4.0 D: A beer like this needs to keep all the flavors working toward the same goal. Fortunately this does just that. Take note FW.
Serving type: bottle
Reviewed on: 09-10-2011 00:29:29
brought this bottle to some tasting - thick smooth and creamy good. Toffee and roasted malts. Nice body and woody with a touch of astringency. Nice balance. Pleasantly surprised by this.
Another kuh-razy Jewbellation release from Shmaltz - 14 malts and 14 hops - how high can they go? Why didn’t they use 14 yeasts too? Sweet and strong, with flavors of espresso, pipe tobacco, cola, and chocolate. There is a strong tingle in the finish. It is potent, but balanced. Still, I respect it more than I love it.
Shared a 22oz bottle with some friends. Poured extremely dark, with a touch of ruby tones to it when held up to the light. Head was medium-tan, compact. Aroma was dark caramel, dried grains (raisins) and a touch of brown sugar with a noted hop bitterness to it. The flavor is quite similar, with notes of brown sugars, caramel, dried fruits coming through especially. Alcohol is extremely warm, but no where near as hot as I imagined it could be - this one would have aged quite well if I hadn’t cracked into it so soon.