Tag Archives: new york

Puff (Imperial IPA) – Sixpoint Brewery

by Mike

From Sixpoint Brewery in Brooklyn New York comes their “Puff” an Imperial IPA.  The beer pours a very hazy orange colour with a white head.  The aroma consists of orange, lemon, bready malts and a hint of malts.  The flavour is of orange, lemon, tropical fruits , ginger, resin, dank, pine, earthiness and lots of hops bitterness.  The alcohol content comes in at 9.8% with an IBU of 108.  Being a huge fan of big IPA’s I have to say I am super excited to find this in liquor stores in British Columbia now!  This stuff is the serious real deal.

Commercial Description:  Imagine puffing away on hops for days, then just chillin’ as the party starts winding down.  But wait, a final burst of energy; one last dose in a tank of dry hops. A special hop bouquet for the afterparty.  If you love Resin, try tasting it straight from the tanks. That’s PUFF – a hazy, unfiltered pour with an extra dose of dry hops… a new blend devised just for Puff.  We decided to capture our own puffy, cloudy brew in a limited release can. First puff says it all – this ish is Keller. Breathe deep and put your head in the clouds… it’s Mad Science.  This cloudy, unfiltered brew is meant to be drank super fresh. Don’t wait to Puff – this beer is code dated for consumption within 100 days. Puff, puff…

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He’Brew Jewbelation Reborn (17) 2013 (Aged 2+ years) – Shmaltz Brewing Company

by Mike

Coming out of New York’s Shmaltz Brewing Company comes their “He’Brew Jewbelation Reborn (17)” an American Strong Ale. The beer bast brewed in 2013 and I purchased it in January 2014 and cellared until May 2016. The beer was brewed for the breweries 17th Anniversary and the first year they had their own brewery (No longer contract brewing).  The beer pours a deep brown with a ruby tinge and a brown head. The aroma consists of dark fruits, chocolate, roasted malts, molasses, toffee, coffee and sweetness.  The flavour is of dark fruits, chocolate, coffee, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, roasted malts, ash, sweetness and alcohol.  The beer used 17 malts, 17 hops and comes in at 17% Alcohol. With just over two years of cellaring this beer is surprisingly smooth for the alcohol content! It is also quite enjoyable on to of being smooth for the ABV.

Commercial Description:  How could we hope to top last year’s Jewbelation Sweet 16 with its cupcakes, unicorns, & Satan’s Ferrari birthday cake? massive challenge. So for Year 17, we threw in a whole new dimension to our shtick – we built our very own brewery! After 17 years of contract brewing, our first Shmaltz Clifton Park batch emerged 17 months after the first draft of the business plan. Coincidence? Renaissance means “Re-birth” in French & Italian. In Buddhism, the concept does not truly translate as “reincarnation” but instead as “becoming,” or a “stream of consciousness.” 11 syllables structure a haiku. Shakespeare penned 17 comedies. In The Simpsons episode “Duffness” Homer sings “When I was 17″ about buying his first beer with a fake I.D. “I drank some very good beer. I stayed up listening to Queen, When I was 17.” In The Office, Dwight recites Rule 17 that all Schrute boys must learn: “Don’t turn your back on bears, men you have wronged, or the dominant turkey during mating season.” Knowledge and growth come in many forms. It is taught that Nirvana is only attained when the soul transcends cycles of rebirth. Looks like Shmaltz just isn’t there yet. So with 17 malts, 17 hops, and 17% ABV, JEWBEL4TIONREBORN serves as another mark of our death as a contract brewer and proof of our conversion to a new life as brewery owner…… L’Chaim!!!

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Game Of Thrones Valar Morghulis – Brewery Ommegang

by Mike

From Brewery Ommegang out of Cooperstown New York comes the latest in the HBO Game Of Thrones series of beer the “Valar Morghulis” a Belgian Dubbel.  The beer pours a brown colour with red hues and a tan head.  The aroma dark fruits, yeasty, malts and a sweet finish.  The flavour is of dark fruits, candied sugar, malts, yeasty, cherries, bitterness and spices.  The alcohol content comes in at 8%.  Not the best Belgian Dubbel I have had but it is still pretty good and worth a try.

Commercial Description:  Ommegang and HBO® announce the newest beer in the Game of Thrones® collaboration series. Through its first four seasons, the critically acclaimed drama has become the biggest show on HBO.  In the world of Westeros, Valar Morghulis means “all men must die.” Fans of the hit HBO show chose the foreboding phrase as the name of the newest beer in the Game of Thrones® collaboration between HBO and Brewery Ommegang. As part of a Facebook poll, fan voting determined the style and name of the next beer. An Abbey Dubbel was selected and it is perfectly represented by the “two- headed” coin given to Arya Stark by Jaqen H’ghar, one of the “Faceless Men of Braavos” – legendary assassins with the ability to change their appearances at will.

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Schmaltz Brewing and Terrapin Beer – Reunion Ale ’13

by steveeh

Schmaltz Brewing of Clifton Park, NY collaborates with Terrapin Beer Company of Athens, GA to bring us the Reunion Ale ’13, with sales benefiting the Institute for Myeloma and Bone Cancer Research.

A wonderfully deep brown beer with a brown, thick head.

The nose is full of chocolate and cinnamon bringing to mind Mexican hot chocolate, the kind sipped long after the sun has set and the heat of the day is gone, rich and spiced and comforting. The aromas evolve into complex dark malt under chocolate and alcohol, hinting at light bitterness.

The flavours lead with a rich blend of chocolate and bourbonesque alcoholic heat with a little spice. A very subtle bitterness adds beautiful balance to the sweetness of the malts. Toasty coffee brings bitterness and toasty notes. There is so much going on here and it all layers and balances perfectly. A light alcohol burn on the finish gives it a refreshing end.

I am going out to buy a case of this right now.

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Black Ops (aged 1 Year) – Brooklyn Brewery

by Mike

This limited brew does not exist

From Brooklyn New York’s Brooklyn Brewing comes the “Black Ops” a Russian Imperial Stout from 2012 that does not exist. It is a Ninja and you are not reading this!  But if you did believe that this beer did exist this is what you would see.  This beer is aged in Bourbon barrels for 4 months flat and then they re-ferment it with Champagne yeasts.  The imperial stout pours a black opaque colour with a brown head.  The aroma consisted of roasty malts, vanilla, bourbon, fruits, oak, coffee and marshmallows to finish.  The flavour is of dark fruits, roasty malts, vanilla, bourbon, oak, tartness and some marshmallow.  The alcohol content would come in at  10.5% if this was a real beer.  If I actually believed this was a real beer then I would say that it was amazing especially after a full year of aging.

Commercial Description:  Brooklyn Black Ops does not exist. However, if it did exist, it would be a strong stout concocted by the Brooklyn brewing team under cover of secrecy and hidden from everyone else at the brewery. The myth is that this supposed “Black Ops” was then aged for four months in bourbon barrels, bottled flat, and re-fermented with Champagne yeast. Presumably such a beer would raise a rich, fluffy dark brown head and it would combine chocolate and coffee flavors with a rich underpinning of vanilla-like bourbon notes. A beer like that would be mighty nice, but it would be hard to make more than few cases – it could never be sold or released to the public. They say that the brewmaster revealed the beer to a few other people at the brewery only after it had been barreled. The rumor going around is that the brewery plans to drink the beer themselves over the holidays and give some to their family and friends. That’s what they say. But frankly, there’s no evidence for any of this. This beer is obviously a figment of people’s fervent imaginations. People tend to get loopy around the holidays. Everyone go home now – there’s nothing to see here.

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