Shmaltz He'brew Jewbelation 11

The next beer in the Shmaltz He'brew Jewbelation series was Jewbelation 11. The beer pours a black color with a frothy tan head that sticks around for a while. The aroma consists of a faint chocolate with some carbonation on the nose. The taste is not quite as sweet as the previous beers in the series but has some hot chocolate like flavor with an underlying of toasted malts and a nice alcohol bite. The alcohol content is 11% ABV, which matches the anniversary number. I really like the Jewbelation series, but I feel that the Jewbelation 11 did not live up to the standards of the others. While it was smooth with plenty of chocolate flavors, it missed some balance with alcohol and hops.

Shmaltz He'brew Jewbelation 10 (Monumental)

Continuing with the box set of Shmaltz He'brew Jewbelation beer and celebrating Hanukkah, I moved on to the Jewbelation 10 (Monumental). The beer pours a black color with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of a good helping of chocolate with some toasted malts, raisins, and light hops. The taste is smooth and creamy (surprisingly) with plenty of coffee and dark and dry chocolate and a good hop balance that quickly dissolves into an alcohol bite that doesn't overwhelm the tongue. The toasted malts linger on the tongue in the after taste. Matching the alcohol content to the number, the alcohol content is 10.0% ABV. I think this beer one-upped the 8 and 9 by providing a much smoother drinking beer despite the alcohol content and has a wonderful dry and dark chocolate finish that dances on the tongue.

Shmaltz Brewing He'brew Jewbelation 9 (5766)

As part of the Shmaltz Brewing He'brew Jewbelation collection, I continued to celebrate Hanukkah by drinking the Jewbelation 9 (5766). The beer pours a really deep brown color with a bubbly tan head. The aroma consists of chocolate, raisin, and molasses. The taste is big on malts and chocolate, specifically dark dry chocolate, with a nice smooth molasses and coffee finish. The after taste allows the light hop accent to hit with the alcohol bite. The alcohol content is 9.0% ABV. One percent up in the alcohol content and one percent better for this version of the Jewbelation. This beer is surprisingly smooth despite the alcohol content and has a great chocolate flavor.

Shmaltz He'brew Jewbilation 8 (Miraculous)

While I was at Honeygo Wines outside of Baltimore, I noticed they has the Shmaltz Brewing He'brew Jewbelation collection of 8 beers (for 8 crazy nights!) and I decided to do a review for each day of Hanukkah. The first beer in the series is Jewbelation 8 (Miraculous). The beer pours a dark brown color that is near black with a frothy tan head. The aroma consists of sweet malts, raisin, molasses, and a bit of caramel. The taste is smooth and sweet, big on toasted malts with a bit of an alcohol bite. There are bits of caramel, molasses, and dark chocolate hidden in there and the beer finishes with a dry coffee flavor. The alcohol content is 8.0% ABV. The alcohol content is well balanced and hidden in this beer with the chocolate, molasses, and raisin flavors. This beer was a good start to the Hanukkah holiday.

Brew Dog Sink the Bismarck!

I was lucky to pick up, in addition to Tactical Nuclear Penguin, a bottle of Brew Dog Sink the Bismarck! (at $108 a bottle) from Honeygo Wines outside of Baltimore, and I contacted some friends to share the beer. The beer pours an amber color with a bubbly tan head that fizzles out like a soda. The aroma consists of orange, lemon, grapefruit, and pine (similar to Lysol with the alcohol). The taste is big and bold with lots of citrus including grapefruit, orange, tangerine, and lemon. There is an amazing caramel base before the pine hop kicks in and bitters the mouth somewhat. The finish is warming and welcoming and really lingers on the tongue. The alcohol content is 41% ABV. This beer, to me, is like Pliny the Elder on steroids or could be referred to liquid gold. The citrus flavors and big and prevalent without letting down the tongue and the hop accent isn't overpowering, but just perfect.

Brew Dog Tactical Nuclear Penguin

I was lucky enough to secure a bottle of Brew Dog Tactical Nuclear Penguin (by luck I mean spend $80 for a bottle) from Honeygo Wines outside of Baltimore and share it with three friends. The beer pours a dark brown color with a bubbly tan head the quickly dissipates similar to a soda. The aroma consists of a lot of whiskey with a background of raisin and chocolate. The taste hit big with an alcohol taste at first but the alcohol bite is reserved for the finish and is really warming. My face was lighting up after a couple of sips. Remnants of chocolate, coffee, molasses, and raisin find their way through, but are overpowered by the alcohol. The alcohol content is 32% ABV. This beer, despite being whiskey aged, was not as overwhelming with the smoke and whiskey as the Mikkeller Black Hole series and was quite enjoyable. The smoke lingered and was pleasant in mixing with the sweet flavors that are in the background of the beer.

Mother Earth Brewing Silent Night

The final beer I tried at the Mother Earth Brewing Farm to Table tasting event at Blind Tiger in New York City was the Silent Night. The beer pours a bubbly black color with a tan frothy head. The aroma consists of chocolate, coffee, and molasses. The taste is smooth and chocolaty with good accents of toasted malts, molasses, and coffee. I noticed a light cardboard flavor on the transition from sweet chocolate to the alcohol bite, but it was very forgivable. The alcohol content is not available online, but I would guess it to be around 9.0% ABV. Overall, the Silent Night was a good beer with a wonderful collection of sweet flavors, all balanced with a tremendous alcohol bite.