So, Schmaltz Brewing Co…I love, love, love the name (I have a thing for those jewish boys!), but some of their range has just left me cold in the past. I’ve found that the “Coney Island: The Freak Beers” range is more to my taste; I just haven’t had much luck with the “He’Brew: The Chosen Beers” so far. The 2009 Jewbelation was okay, but didn’t excite me, and the Messiah Bold….well, eh. On the flipside, the Albino Python is delicious, as is the Mermaid Pilsner; and I think the Coney Island Lager is super-solid drinking.

So when I saw the He’Brew Bittersweet Lenny’s R.I.P.A (a rye based double IPA) on the shelf at Total Wine, I figured it at least had a 50/50 shot at being something tasty. Boy, was I right!

I wish I had taken a picture of the glass once I poured this one in – freakin’ beautiful! A gorgeous ruby/dark coppery colour and a thick, lucsious creamy coloured head – about 2 1/2 fingers worth! While it definitely diminished during the drinking, it left some damn pretty lacing on the inside of my glass as I made my way through.

The nose was pretty balanced; a good whack of citrusy/apricot hops followed by a solid biscuity malt. I even caught the faintest whiff of my favourite Jewish Diner, Flakowitz; fresh rye bread perhaps? The taste of this really knocked my socks off; a really even match up between some solid citrusy/piney hops and a dense caramel malty backbone. Definitely getting a little of the rye that I smelled on the nose, but it’s overpowered by the almost butterscotch flavour of the malt and the punch of the resiny hops; it’s surprisingly smooth for a beer with that much hops (can’t seem to find the exact IBUs but I’m guessing around 80) and it definitely doesn’t drink like a 10% ABV either… Damn, gotta watch out for all these stealth ABVs!

I give it an A; drinkable and different. Look out for it in 4-packs!

ABV: 10%

IBU: Guessing 80ish

SERVING STYLE: 22oz bottle