United Nations of Beer

He'brew Rejewvenator The Chosen Beer

by Robb Zerr
(Florida Beer Delegate)

He'brew Rejewvenator -- The Chosen Beer
Shmaltz Brewing,

I must confess that when I told my friends I was enjoying He'brew, they thought I meant the ancient language of the Jewish people. "Wow, you're always learning something new - but Hebrew, Robb?"

OK, so I didn't tell them initially that I was learning about the beer, He'brew, the Chosen Beer. Even more specifically, their seasonal beer, the Rejewvenator.

Yes, it's a real beer and a real brewing enterprise that makes it. They're celebrating their 13th year, old enough to have a Bar Mitzvah.

While it was an inside joke among friends for years, He'brew is serious business for Jeremy Cowan, its creator. "Jews have an incredible drinking and brewing tradition," he said. "So I came up with He'brew, a really good beer that I could be proud of."

And soeth begot He'brew, which now has a full lineup of beers, from their signature Genesis Ale, which has been there since 'the beginning', to their Origin Pomegranate Ale.

Since this is the holiday season, I opted to go with their seasonal offering - the Rejewvenator, a Harvest-to-Harvest Ale. This seasonal delight's recipe changes from year to year. In 2009, the beer is enhanced with the flavor of dates. The 2008, which I sampled, used figs.

More than 400 hundred gallons of figs, to be exact. Yes, figs. Those sacred fruits that mostly gained fame from Newtons, of the cookie kind. And, of course, they got a bit of mention in The Bible as Adam and Eve grabbed a couple fig leaves in the Garden of Eden in a sudden fit of needless modesty. But we digress. Continues below

Let's move on to the Rejewvenator (say it with a bit of Arnold Schwarzenegger's accent and it sounds more macho than the beer really is).

Clocking in at 7.8% on the alcohol by volume scale, the Rejewvenator is half doppelbock and half-Belgian which has been infused with the fig flavor.

So, how is it? Pretty good, really. The head is full with plenty of foam. The beer has a nice caramel color and a light aroma with just a touch of figginess, if that is indeed a word.

The flavor on first taste is light on the tongue with a solid aftertaste. One of our tasters (my friends couldn't resist) said it tasted like you were sucking on caramel candy, but in a good way.

That would be the fig flavor kicking in, which is not overdone, but thoughtfully adds to the malts and hops that were used to add depth and character to the beer. Overall, this is a delicious beer that is worthy of its reputation.

If you're searching for Rejewvenator, don't delay. It is only made in limited release. If you want to find it locally, then you want to visit the Shmaltz Brewery website at www.shmaltz.com to find local retailers and distributors. If you're in the Midwest, fuggedaboutit - it's not sold there. You'll have to get your friends on the East or West Coast to ship you some in time for Chanukah.

Enjoy Rejewvenator with a meal or by itself. This is one beer you won?t want to pass over.

Shalom until next time.