Rejewvenator

The fist time I saw a bottle of He'Brew beer from Schmaltz Brewing Company I was intrigued. I generally try to avoid getting caught up in packaging but when it comes to craft beer a label tells you a lot about a company. I find that the brewers who express a sense of humor and enthusiasm for their products usually back it up with really good beer. I liken it to the album covers of the late 60s and early 70s. Brewing is an art and artistry is expressed on many levels.

That's not to say that a cute label always leads you to good beer. A lot of marketing gurus are well aware of the labeling techniques employed by craft brewers such as Stone,Rogue and Flying Dog. Fortunately a trained eye can spot the differences between a marketing campaign that comes from the heart and a one that was hatched in a soulless corporate boardroom.

Schmaltz plays the Jewish angle with a keen sense of humor but when you read about the thought and effort that goes into the He'Brew line of beers you realize that this is not just some shtick employed to corner the Jewish market. This is good beer that is worth trying.

I've sampled several of their beers from the powerful Jewbelation 11 to the well-bodied BITTERSWEET LENNY'S R.I.P.A.. So when I popped into Bob's Bar for a pit stop on my bicycle commute and spotted Rejewvenator I had to give it a try.

This is a strong ale classified as a half dopplebock, half Belgian dubbel. They use lager and ale yeast in the fermentation process making this brew a true hybrid. It's a beer that commemorates the Jewish new year and is intended to be a strong summer ale. It's a limited release beer which also means that it might not make it to the fall harvest. The hook with this beer is the use of fig juice in the brewing process. It pays homage to the importance of the fig in ancient Jewish culture and lends a unique hint of sweetness that really brings out the complexity of the malt.

The beer is big, brown and has plenty of hop punch. At 8% ABV it's definitely one that will knock you down if you try to drink it all night but in all honesty, craft beers aren't made to be pounded all night. I actually drank this beer, which came in a 22 ounce bottle, very slowly even swishing sips in my mouth to isolate the distinctive flavor of fig. It's subtle...so even if you don't like figs you can still try this beer and enjoy it. My fear in sampling this beer was that it would be too figgy but He'Brew beers are too well-crafted to fall into such a trap. The figs offset the aggressive hop presence to provide a very smooth-drinking beer.

Get this one while you can.