The press release was irresistible. Shmaltz Brewing Company—whose name comes from the Yiddish for “chicken fat” and which produces kosher He’brew beers—had partnered with a brewery called Moustache to release two new brews. Golden Jelly Doughnut Pastry Ale was for Chanukah (marking Shmaltz’s 24th birthday), and She’brew #RBG IPA memorialized late justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
What in the world would a hopsy Chanukah taste like? Could Ginsburg’s essence be captured, fermented, and bottled? I bit, and days later, a package with beer cans, paper coasters, and Chanukah candles arrived in the mail.
The Chanukah beer is kosher, but the Ginsburg one is not, so I invited a buddy over to advise me about the latter and to share thoughts on the former.
We were skeptical. Chanukah desert sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts) are very sweet, and the notion that golden jelly doughnut pastry ale was brewed with 600 pounds per batch of raspberry and cherry puree with “generous” vanilla slathering sounded too sugary. And we had enjoyed grapefruit beers in the past, but this tribute to Ginsburg in milkshake IPA with raspberry, blueberry, and grapefruit form sounded like Ringling Bros—too many simultaneous tastes to know upon which to focus.
It turned out both were surprisingly drinkable, even enjoyable.
The jelly doughnut beer initially smelled like a regular wheat beer—evoking something from Wisc.-based Leinenkugel, my buddy thought—with a slight fruity aroma. But not too much. You definitely taste the fruit, but it’s not overwhelming.
“You’re not chugging jelly,” as my friend put it.
We agreed that a lighter and refreshing beer like this would be more enjoyable in the summer, but we both downed our glasses sans protest. The wheat hit me first, and then the slight hint of fruit afterward. In fact, if you nurse it a bit, the sweetness dissipates, or maybe you get used to it. It’s so much less sweet than expected that it actually might pair well with a jelly doughnut.
The She’brew RBG, my friend diagnosed, has rather strong grapefruit taste, but it too didn’t overpower. It was less tart than he expected, perhaps, he thinks, because the blueberry helps mellow the blend out.
“It’s not bad,” he volunteered.
This beer is hearty, and a good fit for autumn, he figured. After a few sips, he found the beer a bit bland. But a few minutes later, it refreshed. Maybe a phoenix isn’t a terrible metaphor for describing the beer’s inspiration?
Want to know more about either or both of the beers? I’ve told you pretty much what I know. The release directs attention to shmaltzbrewing.com or info@shmaltzbrewing.
It would be interesting to see the company's ROI on these--or if that was even an issue. Even the parent name (in Yiddish) is interesting.
What a cheerful and fun article! And such difficult fieldwork, having to do all that sampling...