He'Brew Jewbelation Twelve
Contract brewed for Shmaltz Brewing Company.
12th anniversary ale made with 12 malts and 12 hops.
12th anniversary ale made with 12 malts and 12 hops.
3.7
306 reviews
Clifton Park, United States
Community reviews
Appearance: dark woods and earth – old European forests. Not much head though a collar lingers from start to finish. Swirls thicker along the edges.
Nose: dates, figs, prunes – pits and stems included. Dank in a black earth old musty earthy way. Bakers fudge. Oiled leather. Red apple skins along edges and in the back.
Palate: meaty and earthy with decadent chocolate cake in the back. Lightly dries top of tongue with chocolate cake and fudge. Fudge icing. Burnt caramel. Meaty and chewy with black root and burnt molasses. Touch of charcoal underneath. Old oiled leather along the edges. Decadent and earthen at the same time. Rustic quality.
Final Thoughts: not as complex as some of the other Jewbelations but I kind of liked that it wasn’t as complex. The flavors are richer, smoother, and quite seductive if I do say so myself…and I do.
22 ounce bottle. Pours a dark brown with some purple tint, a small white head. A great rich fruity nose, some vinous elements, yeasty, huge malts. A awesome flavor; massive dark sugars and dark fruity malts, berries, quite dry. Molasses and roast. Pushing the ASA to a Impy.
A: The pour is a dark brown color with a finger of khaki colored head on top of it.
S: Smells pretty boozy right away. Sweet dark fruits are evident and there is a lot of sugar and different malt smells to this one. Quite a bit of chocolate, especially the bitter variety, and a touch of coffee.
T: A very strong, bold flavor of chocolate, dark sugar, and dark fruits. Definitely some booze in there and some bready malts. The complexity of this recipe makes for sort of a muddled beer and flavor.
M: Medium to full in body with a moderate carbonation.
O: Just too much going on and not really in a good way. It doesn’t quite mesh/meld together.
Pours a jet black with a nice tan head. Wood earthy hops, caramel. Taste is caramel, mookah, wood and earthy hops. Palate is heavy mouthfeel. Sticky. Overall a pretty good brew
Significantly thicker and richer than the preceding jewbelations. Very chocolatey aroma and flavor. A wee bit off dry cold hot cocoa flavor with light notes of licorice.
Pours black with a thin beige head. Very malty nutty toffee aroma. Thick full mouth feel. Malty sweet. fruity, lots of dark chocolate. It has a very hopy bitter finish. This is an excellent brew. Best one so far. except for the 13. The 13 is amazing. The 12 is very complex and balanced with a deep palate. Very similar to the other jewbelation brews. But excellent none the less.
Bottle. Pours an extremely dark brown with a a brown head that dissipated to the edges. Aroma had a relatively strong alcohol note as well as a dark bread note with a good amount of chocolate and toffee. Flavor began with a bit of alcohol but had a really nice chocolate bread note as well as a hint of toffee.
Tap at Papago in Scottsdale AZ. Dark brown with a nice head. Lots of hops upfront with some whiskey notes. Sweet, sticky, and chewy with some spiciness. Lots of different flavors with alcohol evident. A sipper for sure.
Tap @ Bailey’s Cellar Fest [2008 Vintage Keg]... Poured near black with a thick, tan head. Thinner palate with some fruit and yeast flavors. Also cocoa, brown sugar, toffee, and toasted almond. A lot of folks at the fest were big on this with the over two years of age on it, but I thought it was tasting pretty decent.
I get a confusing exactly equal aroma of fruit, malt, %, and some burnt coffee/toffee smokiness. It’s almost too busy. There was a dissapointing head on on this one, and not much lacing on these jewbelations in general. The flavour takes a moment to wind up and then gives you a great pungh in the mouth; at first the % and grains are starting to creep in before they are overwhelmed by dark, strong coffee flavours, it sort of derails the original beer flavour. It sort of hands around for a bit and fades out with a oily coating in you mouth, quite smokey again. It’s not bad, but my mouth is confused. This has so far been the lowest scoring of my jewelation ratings. Happy 28th to Me!
12oz, from Jewbelation vertical pack.
Pours deep dark, opaque brown. Head is medium on the low side, but the beer does retain nice full lacing. The nose is rich with dark fruit, port, and noticeable alcohol vapor. It smells wonderful and fruity. Medium-to-full body, less carbonation than is typical for the Jewbelation beers, creamy and slick. On the palate it’s more dark fruit, with hints of chocolate, toffee, roast, soy. The finish is mildly bitter with resinous hop notes and tons of warmth. It seems to occupy a flavor profile between a barley wine and a really high ABV imperial stout; almost a lower-octane version of a World Wide Stout and Olde School Barleywine hybrid. Really freaking good, intense, and would love to see this one with some age. Interestingly enough, the ABV isn’t as elegantly hidden as it was in Fourteen. These guys get better every year.
Poured from the tap into a snifter glass at Papago Brewing. The aroma has a strong barrel, with a roasted malt smell. The beer’s appearance was a very thick dark black-copper color, with a little bit of a head. Very pleasing to the palate, with a nice chocolate, licorice, toasty flavor. Leaves your mouth salivating wanting to drink more. Sweet malt flavor lingers on the tongue.
Pour is rather black with a small tan off white head. Nose is of sweet fruits, candied malts, and hops. Taste is mostly of dark fruits with a slight alcohol twist.
12 oz. bottle as part of the Vertical Jewbelation gift pack (2010) purchased at Grape & Gourmet. Pours dark brown with a thin khaki head. Aroma of sweet caramel and toffee, popcorn, and possibly a hint of candi sugar. The flavor is very sweet and the alcohol is certainly present. Much more malt forward than previous versions. Whereas Jewbelation 8-11 were increasingly better this one takes a step backward.
12 oz. bottle as part of the Vertical Jewbelation pack, purchased from Wine and Cheese Place. Looks just like the others on the pour- a deep cola brown with a tan head that starts small, builds upon finishing the pour, and descends into a small cap. Aroma of plums, raisins, figs, dates, soy, sherry, oak, earth, roasted malts, molasses, grapes- just a ton of dark fruits. Flavor of a lot of the same dark fruits, roasted malts, bitter dark chocolate, molasses, flat cola, rusted metal, soy, and overripe apples. Medium-full bodied with moderate carbonation and a deep, fruity mouthfeel. Doesn’t deliver on the promise of the nose, though this is still pretty good.
Pours deep mahogany into a tulip. Mocha head recedes to hug rim. Toffee, raisin, prune and treacle aromas. Full with upfront prune and toffee turning to a dry, lasting soy and vanilla alcohol burn.
32 oz. growler from Whole Foods. Dark brown with medium tan head. A lot going on in the aroma. Dark fruit, molasses, caramel, and bourbon. Taste is rich with malt. Starts sweet and finishes dry and boozy with some firm bitterness. Leaves a little alcohol warmth behind. Full and creamy mouthfeel. Not a bad sipping beer although a little over powering.
From the Hannukah pack. I’m drinking these in order and to me they all seem to taste very similar. Pours a dark purplish color with no head. Smells of booze, figs and almonds. Alcohol taste is present from the beginning. Has a cough syrus soy sauce with some raisins. Not something I’d have frequently, but I’ll definitely have it during the holidays or a cold day.
12 oz. bottle, as part of the Jewbelation 8-pack, pours dark brown with a reddish tinge and a small head. Aroma of dark fruits, caramel, bourbon and alcohol. Flavour is complex dark fruits, bourbon, caramel malts, and alcohol. Huge jump from 11 to 12 - this is really excellent.
Tap at Redlight. Dark brownish copper pour. Huge dark fruit notes, roastiness, figs,dates in the aroma. Taste is really creamy, spiciness really comes through, lots of dark fruit, toffee. Of all of the vertical jewbelations, this was my favorite.
Black with a fizzy tan head. Banana, chocolate, alcohol, and spice aroma and taste. Quite good.
12is. bottle from Vertical Jewbelation Chanukah pack. Pours out heavy dark brown, maybe black. Foamy tan head that neither lasts or leaves good lacing. Shame. Aroma is of vanilla-tinged bourbon, as well as raisins and wood. Flavor has a big boozy punch, mixed with wood. No other discernible flavors appear until the finish. Plum and raisin appear in the end, in a finish that’s neither dry or sweet. Texture is wet and watery, but the body is still huge. Not to say it’s a good flavor profile. Kind of a lame attempt considering how good the previous ones were. Frankly they should have stopped at 9.
12oz bottle from vertical pack. deep brown under a medium tan head. holy cow!...aroma is boozy. bourbony, alcohol scent. flavor is really strong bourbon. big burn. this sucker needs to be layed down for about 12 years. no thanks.
The brew pours dark chestnut brown with a decent creamy tan head. The aroma of vanilla extractis the backbone with soft boozy notes. The flavors are the same with a bit of soy sauce. The body is more than mediumand pleasant on the palate.
12 oz. Dark. These just keep getting darker, heavier, and ( obviously) more potent. Imperial stout style take on an American strong ale with Belgian influences... Yeah, shits’ global.
Bottle: The aroma has lots of chocolate, molasses, black licorice, plum, roast, and no sign of 12%. It pours a dark brown with very faint orange highlights around the edges of the glass and a small beige head. The flavor starts with lots of chocolate and molasses. There’s a lot of residual sugar sweetness and some fruitiness. The finish has maple syrup, light roasted coffee, and some citrus hops that struggle to sneak past all the sweetness up front. I usually love the chocolate and maple syrup combination that I find in some beers, but it’s just too much for me in the this beer and the sweetness is a little too cloying. Full bodied with somewhat tingly carbonation and a sticky syrupy mouthfeel that just coats and sticks to my tounge. I wouldn’t say this tastes or smells 12%, but the mouthfeel sure feels like an absolutely huge beer. Overall a little too heavy on molasses, maple syrup, and sweetness for my tastes. A beer that’s required in small doses for me. A 12oz bottle is too much. This one just didn’t work for me as well as the other Jewbelations.
11/4/10. 12oz bottle from the vertical pack. Very dark brown pour, almost black, with a small brown head that’s gone fast. Rich sour soy saucey stout aroma with nail polish, coffee, and chocolate. Sweet syrupy flavor with a hint of salty soy and plenty of coffee and chocolate. Almost like a big salty stout, but there’s a harsh, fruity, alcoholish aspect that reminds me of port, sherry, or even sake. Hmmmm.
22 ounce bottle. This is two years old now, so time to drink. Pours a deep dark brown (bordering on black) with only a thin whisper of brown head that very soon turns into nothing. Aroma of dark fruity esters, dark sticky caramel, light chocolate, and some alcohol. Flavor is rich and complex with mild chocolate, dark roasted malts, sticky pureed raisins, toffee, and a bit of spice. Only mildly sweet and generally well balanced. There is noticeable alcohol heat but not too much considering the 12%. Low carbonation with a very rich and "tangy" finish with some tangible heat. (259, 417)
RIP, this beer was aged two years in my cellar and did not make it. Just above flat, it poured deep chocolate with a little head. It was not too drinkable nor enjoyable. Soft mouthfeel, but it was a little pungent and chocolate. The chocolate, the coffee liquer was nice but the whole drink did not hold together, it had it.
nose is dark fruit, chocolate and booze. pours a little flat. taste is dark, dark fruit and chocolate. boozy. reminiscent of an imperial stout/quad/wheat wine. sweet. i wish it had a little more carbonation. a big beer. underrated. each sip gets a little better.i’m ready to do some coke.
UPDATE: vertical giftpack 12-19-10... so similar to #13.a little less bourbon.