Congratulations, Schmaltz Brewing! You are the proud parent of a brewery, born in Clifton Park, New York in 2013. But you knew that. For those that don’t, Schmaltz is the brewer of the He’Brew line of beers, and that line is an impressive array of delicious beers indeed. Since 1996, however, Schmaltz has been a San Francisco based contract brewer, farming out their beers to other brewers with spare capacity.

Some beer geeks eschew the notion of contract brewing, though it has never really mattered to me as long as the end product is a quality beer. From my experience, He’Brew beers have always been of finest quality. Still, it’s the dream of every brewer to have their own brewery, and now Schmaltz has joined the ranks of the brick-and-mortar brewers.

To celebrate, we have He’Brew Death of a Contract Brewer Black IPA, the first beer from the new Clifton park brewery. This is an India Dark Ale, although Schmaltz calls it a black IPA. The beer is brewed with 7 malts and 7 hops, and the label gives us insight into why that is so:

….As Usual, Jewish tradition prescribes…Food. 7 days of family, community, and bagels (beer!), called, Shiva, meaning “7”in Hebrew. The flip side to the 7 days of creation with the 7^th as a holy day of rest. The first meal of Shiv is “the comfort meal.” And the number 7 provides powerful mojo: 7 Jewish wedding blessings, 7 Liberal Arts, 7 Lucky Japanese gods, 7 stars of the Big Dipper, 7 colors of the rainbow, 7 seas, 007 license to kill, 7 dwarves, We are 7 by Wordsworth with a child’s view of death, 7 deadly sins, Best of 7 finals in the NBA, NHL, MLB, 7^th inning stretch, #7 on Elway & Tiny Archibald. George Castanza yearned to name his firstborn “7” as a living tribute to #7 Mickey Mantle. The 7 award however must go to the immortal George Carlin for 7 Dirty Words, inspired by another hero Lenny Bruce……

Phew, that’s a lot of 7s! Almost like being in Vegas…anyway, let’s look at those 7 malts and 7 hops the beer is made with, shall we?

Malts: Specialty 2 Row, Munich, Wheat, Crystal Rye, Chocolate, Pale Chocolate, Kiln Coffee

Hops: Cascade, Citra, Summit, Crystal, Amarillo, Ahtanum, Chinook

He’Brew Death of a Contract Brewer has an alcohol content of (you guessed it) 7% by volume. I paid $7.99 for a 22-ounce bottle at Total Wine, how obviously missed the opportunity to charge $7.77 for it. I passed on the draft version at Taco Mac, as $7.50 seemed too high for an 11-ounce draft.

He’Brew Death of a Contract Brewer Black IPA pours to a jet black color with a towering head of rocky tan foam and an absolutely delightful note of dark roasty malts and bitter hops. Huge layers of tan Brussels lace form on the sides of my glass. Taking a sip, I get a body that’s not too thick, and not too thin: it’s just right, and that’s half the battle for this style. That body is very roasty and chocolaty (think chocolate pudding with the skins on like your mom used to make on the stovetop. Well my mom did…..) and leads into a very resiny hop aroma and long dry roasty and hoppy bitterness. Like, an amazingly huge bitterness.

Excellent, Death of a Contract brewer is just what I want in the India Dark Ale style!

A beer worthy of 5 stars, and one of the best IDAs I’ve ever had.

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft

(G)=Growler

 

 



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