Beer of the Week: He’Brew Jewbelation Twelve

If there was ever a week for drinking beer, then this week was it.  St Patrick’s Day was Tuesday, the World Baseball Classic Round 2 took place in the first half of the week and the NCAA Tournament tipped off Thursday with the World Baseball Classic Finals starting today.  Not only that, Thursday was a genuinely spectacular day, 75 and sunny, a perfect time to hang out on the patio with a beer.  Basically, I should have spent the majority of the week drinking beer and watching sports, but I didn’t.  Instead, I nursed a head cold, which morphed into a nasty fever and is still hanging around in my chest as I write this.  So, having not had any beer since last weekend I’m forced to g to the archives and find a beer I hadn’t written about fr the Beer of the Week.  As a result, I present the anti-season Jewbelation Twelve. 

Upon pouring this beer into the glass you’re met with loads of aroma; sweet rains and chocolate fighting its way to the front.  Not much head to the beer, just a thin rim around the edges.  The color is a deep red bordering on black.  The malt flavors are sweet, rich and complex.  Lots of alcohol in this beer, as would be expected from a 12% beast.  The finish is hoppy with a bit of Belgian candy sugar and chocolate lingering on the tongue.

This beer really reminds me of a porter with the soul of a barleywine.  The roasted malt flavors are present, but the strength and presence of ripe fruits carry this beer.  As expected, this beer was amazing.

For those unfamiliar wirth the Jewbelation line, this is a seasonal anniversary ale available every winter.  The number signifies two things, the anniversary it marks, but also the ingredients it contains.  The Twelve contains twelve malts (Specialty 2-row, Kiln amber, Carapils, Chocolate, Crystal Rye, Dark Crystal, Munich, Oatmeal, Rye Ale, Spelt, Vienna Wheat) and twelve hops (Ahtanum, Amarillo, Cascade, Crystal, Fuggle, Hallertau, Mt. Hood, Pallisade, Tettnang, U.S. Golding, U.S. Saaz, Warrior) added in twelve additions.  The result is a beer that comes in at twelve persent.  Even the label gets in one the act, representing all twelve of the He’Brew labels used over the years.

Talking to the boys over at Schmaltz Brewing, the word is there will definitely be a Bar Mitvzah Jewbelation in 2009, which will embrace the number 13.  My question has always been, where does it stop?  Can they pull off a 14?  At 15 you’re almost required to use candi sugar to reach those numbers and the yeasts will dictate the final strength.  It will be interesting to see where this goes in the future.

I hope you enjoyed a little looking back this week, but I will get back on track next week, drinking beer and sharing with you.  If you have suggestions for beers of the eek or would like your beer featured as a beer of the week, contact me at mario[at]brewedforthought.com.