Anniversary Beers — Shmaltz Brewing Co. vs. Widmer Brothers Brewing Co.

Shmaltz Brewing Co.
Jewbelation Fourteen
14th Anniversary Ale
ABV 14%

Color: Midnight brown.
Aroma: Sweet, smoky and boozy with some floral hops mixed in.
Flavor: Rich, thick, smoky, and super sweet with some soy sauce notes.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Malty
Finish: More smoke and soy sauce
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good -

Widmer Brothers Brewing Co.
84/09 Double Alt
25th Anniversary
ABV 9.8%

Color: Dark reddish brown.
Aroma: Sweet malts, cocoa and molasses.
Flavor: Sweet rich and malty. Molasses and burnt sugar.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Malty
Finish: Lingering cocoa with touch of bitterness as well.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good

Blow by Blow

Celebrating an anniversary with an extreme or unique beer has become a tradition of many craft breweries. Drinking these beers has become a tradition of ours.

This battle featured a two year old bottle of Widmer Brothers 25th Anniversary 84/09 that I picked up recently at the new bottle store in Lynnwood, Special Brews. They had a real nice selection of beers and I noticed a few other aged beers as well. Apparently they also have six taps up and pouring now, so they're definitely worth checking out if you find yourself cruising through Lynnwood anytime soon. The other half of the battle was a bottle from Shmaltz Brewing in NYC celebrating their 14th anniversary.

These two heavyweights (9.8% ABV for Widmer, 14% for Shmaltz!) put on an entertaining fight. The Widmer was a huge, sweet malt-bomb with some nice cocoa flavors and just a touch of bitterness in the finish. Despite the high ABV, neither of us thought it came across as hot or boozy. Definitely a solid beer that is worth your time if you're looking for something to sip on after dinner.

The Shmaltz was also a sweet beer, but they turned the malt volume up to 14. It was a rich, thick, syrupy blast of sugar. It gives me a bit of headache just writing about it. It did manage to offer up some smokiness as well, which made the whole thing taste like what we imagine smoked powdered sugar might taste like. The sharp, intensity of flavor reminded us a bit of soy sauce with sugar in place of salt. And finally, it did not hide the alcohol well. With each sip we could feel our blood alcohol rising. Needless to say, we didn't come close to finishing the bottle. We capped it with a champagne stopper and will keep it to drizzle over ice cream or something.

Winner by unanimous decision: Widmer 25th Anniversary 84/09

Beers that use Rye — Shmaltz Brewing Co. vs. Bear Republic Brewing Co.

Shmaltz Brewing Co.
Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A
(A Double India Pale Ale with Rye Malt)
ABV 10%

Color: Clear copper orange.
Aroma: Earthy, woody, sweet and flowery.
Flavor: Sweet, smooth, malty with some citrus hops.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Malty
Finish: Very boozy with a harsh metallic bitterness
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Mediocre +

Bear Republic Brewing Co.
Hop Rod Rye
(Specialty Ale)
ABV 8%

Color: Dark maple syrup.
Aroma: Sharp, spicy, piny hops with some malty floral notes.
Flavor: Medium bodied. Malty, piny and floral.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Hoppy
Finish: Mellow citrus at first then moves to intense, astringent lemon-rind bitterness.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good

Blow by Blow
Do you like bitter beer? If so, then pay attention.

These are two beers that use a portion of rye in the brewing process. We hadn't really tried too many beers that advertise their use of rye, so we were excited to feature these in a battle.

The Hop Rod Rye had an impressive hoppy aroma and a nice balanced flavor, but the finish was dominated by a face-contorting lemon-rind bitterness that was way too harsh for our palates.

The Bittersweet was more subdued in the aroma, but made up for it with a massive sweet and malty flavor that we were both very impressed with. Unfortunately, it had problems in the finish as well. Big problems. It did a terrible job balancing its 10% ABV, leaving us both with a distinctly hot and boozy taste, but that wasn't all. The booze quickly evaporated into a sharp metallic bitterness that had us reaching for the water to rinse out the taste.

Unfortunately, neither of us could tell if we detected any aromas or flavors brought on by the use of rye. Both beers were aggressively hopped and I think that the extreme use of hops may have masked some of the rye characteristics.

Beers that feature some rye seem to be gaining popularity, so hopefully we'll get to revisit rye beers in the future. As for these two, we gave the edge to the Hop Rod simply because it didn't completely fall apart in the finish. And we'd only be comfortable recommending these to those who enjoy punishing their palate with super bitter beers.

Winner by unanimous decision: Bear Republic Brewing Co.