He'brew Jewbilation Sweet Sixteen (Schmaltz Brewing Company)

We're usually fans of the He'brew line of beers from Schmaltz. When we saw Jewbilation in the vicinity of other beers - such as Old Jubilation by Avery - we assumed it was a Christmas beer and grabbed it in order to study it for science.

Instead, this is simply an Anniversary Ale - a curiously-chosen sixteenth anniversary.  The beer advertises "16 malts, 16 hops, 16% alcohol by volume." Yes.  Sixteen percent.  Holy crap.

I (Gene) am usually a fan of strong beers, such as those from Lost Abbey.  But this is simply too much.  You can smell the malty, faintly chocolate beer as soon as you open the bottle.  When you take a sip, you will still be tasting an unpleasant malt aftertaste half a minute later.  That's aside from the sharp, pungent initial taste.  This is a lot like drinking hard alcohol, except that it's vile and you're drinking a pint of it.

Hmm...this would definitely be a committal beer (this is Lily).  I also don't care for it, although it would be handy to have around when that creepy guy in the bar is hitting on you and you need an excuse to exit the conversation.  I would probably say something to the effect of "Dear Lord, this beer is too much.  Sorry, gotta go.  If you want my number it's 867-5309."  I also like strong beer every once in a while - like Daisy Cutter, Arrogant Bastard, etc. but this is too much.  Then again, I'm a big supporter of the simpler the better.  So, needless to say this beer won't have me coming back for more.  I think I'll stick to their nut brown ale.

Rating:  1.0
16% ABV