He'Brew Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. - Shmaltz Brewing Company

dgilks

Australia

3.9/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Hazy dark copper colour with a creamy, dense, light tan head. Good head retention.

Sweet malt combines with some delicious piney hops and spicy rye. Mild grapefruit.

Massive malt with some chocolate and rye notes. Light coffee and maple syrup. Piney hops and tons of bitterness. Good.

Medium-full body with moderate carbonation. Good.

A really solid beer. For me this is a bit too malty but I can see what they were aiming for an it is none the less a tasty beer.

Serving type: bottle

09-18-2011 10:25:23 | More by dgilks

StonedTrippin

Colorado

3.96/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

a huge beer, not for the faint of heart. it pours reddish and darker for an ipa, with a bug sudsy tan head. the nose on it is grain heavy for the style, as the rye malt makes its presence felt early and often. theres sweeter grain too, toasted elements, and of course the hops, which fall somewhere north of citrusy but south of piney. flavor wise, the hop bitterness goes expertly with the spicy rye, and is very intense on the palate. the alcohol is curiously missing, which is a shock to me. there is something round and familiar in this beer bringing everything together too, and I want to say its oatmeal, but I cant be sure. its got that softness and sweetness, and the mouthfeel fits the bill, but who knows for sure? the hops outlast the rye in the finish, and my mouth is left panting. its a lot to process. a little light on the bubbles I thought, but the fuller body and creamy feel is really nice in an ipa. also the alcohol was masked very well. overall a beer id recommend sharing, but one I enjoyed very much.

Serving type: on-tap

05-05-2013 17:20:02 | More by StonedTrippin

AgentZero

Illinois

3.9/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A - Coppery color, a little on the brown side with some nice red highlights. Decently sized whitish head that had some nice stick.

S - Rye stands out in the malt backbone with some nice hops that have pine, grapefruit, citrus nodes.

T - Interesting spice on this in the strong rye taste. Hops are there, pine notes that get sweet and citrusy as you drink. Gets spicier as the beer warms up. Slight alcohol burn.

M - Medium bodied with some carbonation and a bit of sugary stick in the drink.

D - Actually had a hard time finishing this one, got a little too pungent as it warmed up. Good starter though, but drinkability gets lower as you go.

Serving type: bottle

05-03-2010 00:34:39 | More by AgentZero

wordemupg

Alberta (Canada)

4.5/5  rDev +10.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

650ml bottle downed july 31 2009

A reddish bronze, with a head that just kept climbing up the glass pouring over the top and on too the table. thick head that stuck around, looked like little hills, thick patches of lace but could not see each sip

S caramel is very strong nice pine and citrus just great. as it warmed i picked up some bread and perhaps some faint smoke?

T sweet malt with some pine, citrus and a little bread. not as bitter as i thought it would be, i thought the 10% was a typo until i fell over reaching for seconds. not perfect but a wonderful dipa buy it if you can

M/D thick, creamy goodness. I wont lie i loved drinking this beer. smooth as silk, and i just cant get over the 10% where did they put it?

my highest marks to date with good reason. see it buy it drink it any questions???

Serving type: bottle

08-04-2009 03:50:34 | More by wordemupg

blackie

Virginia

3.58/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

a: pours a half inch khaki head that recedes to a suitable layer and ring, the beer is a hazy, deep orange-amber in color

s: syrupy sweet malt sugars with caramel barley and one of the bigger rye noses I've come across, gives a candied and spicy - almost nutmeg and ginger - note, butterscotch, tropical-pine hops try to make a dent in the malt but come up just short, light booze as it warms a little overly sweet and much like an underattenuated american barleywine, but a nice aroma overall

m: smooth, low carbonation, full-medium body

t: big notes of sweet rye and caramel barley upfront, alongside is a tropical hop flavor turning pine with a moderate bitterness in the finish, loads of candied grain

d: easy enough

overall: I love a malty ipa/dipa, but only when the hops are equally as or more assertive

bomber from Whole Foods Reston on the advice of the beer guy...he also recommended a laguniters, but I've got a personal policy against that

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2008 23:47:54 | More by blackie

champ103

Texas

4.33/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A: Pours a dark reddish/brown color. At a first a two finger beige head forms and sticks around for a minute. After the foam recedes, some sticky lace is left behind.
S: Lots of soapy piny, and citrus hops up front. Plenty of caramel sweetness. Bread and biscuit. Spicy rye. A lingering bitterness.
T: Really well balanced, and very complex. Soapy and piny hops up front. The hops and rye mingle with an excellent balance of caramel malt. Lightly toasted. There is a lingering bitterness, but it is never overbearing.
M/D: A medium to full body. Slightly syrupy. Pretty smooth with with just enough crisp carbonation. Very dry. A bit of warming alcohol. Though this is one of the easiest drinking DIPA I have tried.

I really enjoy this. An overall great beer with lots of complexities. Highly recommended.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2010 01:08:06 | More by champ103

alexgash

Connecticut

4.03/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Dark copper with a dark amber core. Tall, thick, sticky, bright light khaki brown head. Perfumey-Scotch tape-pine sap hop nose, backed by spicy-sweet butterscotch, whiskey burn, and melted Werther's Original candies. Sweet, sugary toffee malt up front. Very spicy, peppery, anise-y, nutmeg jolt mid-palate. Bitterness increases as candied fruits and butterscotch chime in. Strong bitterness and spice in the finish. Warming, but doesn't feel like 10%. Watch out, eh? Medium-full body that coats the mouth well. Creamy feel. Very interesting beer with an interesting combination of spiciness, sweet caramel/butterscotch, and strong DIPA bitterness. I'm not sure if I am crazy about the strong spiciness, but a good beer nonetheless.

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2007 03:12:38 | More by alexgash

GClarkage

California

3.98/5  rDev -2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

08/01/06- Purchased at Plumpjack's in San Francisco, CA.

Presentation- 22oz bottle. 2006 special edition. Poured into my Duvel tulip.

Appearance- Auburn, almost cherry colored in appearance. 3/4 inch creamy white head, very strong patches and streaks left behind. Sticky looking for sure.

Smell- First sniff got lots of fruity and pine resin hops. It was strange though because every sip afterwards I really had to sniff to get anything. As it got closer to room temp I sensed the fruity hops again.

Taste- This one is a hopheads delight. Saying so, this is also a well rounded hop heads delight. Has a really ultra sweet caramel malt. Super bitter pine and sweet fruit laden hops burst out from the first sip. The 10% abv makes itself know right away.

Mouthfeel- Mid range carbonation...still tasting the bitter hops an hour after drinking this brew. (not a bad thing). Very very creamy in texture as well.

Drinkability- Impressed, definitely impressed. Wish they would have had more of these whaen I snagged this one. I know a hophead out there that would have appreciated this (keeping my eyes peeled for you Steven). Not in the neighborhood of Plinydom, but a very good example of a well balanced and ultra hopped DIPA. Will keep my eye open for more.

Serving type: bottle

08-02-2006 05:39:20 | More by GClarkage

woosterbill

Connecticut

3.8/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On-tap at Prime 16.

A: Clear dark amber body with an inch of dense, creamy tan head. Great retention and lacing. Great-looking beer.

S: Powerful, balanced aroma of grapefruit hops and sweet, spicy rye malt. Simple, strong, and quite good.

T: Sweeter than the aroma, with lots of caramel leading through citrusy hops to a sweet, sticky, moderately boozy finish. The rye doesn't assert itself too much, with straight sweetness being more prominent than rye-specific character, although a bit of nice spice does infuse the aftertaste. It's solid, but not great.

M: Slick, moderately carbonated, and soft. Very nice indeed.

O: This is an enjoyable beer, but I wish the sweetness were less dominant. The hops and rye are the beer's two best attributes, and yet when it counts they are relegated to supporting roles behind thick caramel sweetness. Still, it's quite tasty overall and I think accomplishes what the brewers were going for. Worth a shot.

Cheers!

Serving type: on-tap

03-04-2012 22:20:42 | More by woosterbill

drpimento

Wisconsin

4.08/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured with a lasting light head and a bit of lace. Slightly hazy dark amber color. Pungent aroma of hops with an enticing quality of sweet malt. The rye is a masterful touch. Full on in the hop department. No BS hefre. Slight alcohol character in the long, warm finish. . Very good body. Best beer that I've had from these guys yet.

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2008 01:42:44 | More by drpimento

tdm168

North Carolina

3.9/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a deep amber with 1/4" of head with good retention. The smell is bready, barley malt and faint, earthy hops. The taste is bready, biscuity malt with some peppery rye followed by some spicy, earthy hops. There's some faint yeast and creaminess. The mouthfeel is medium to full bodied, smooth, and well carbonated.

This is a pretty good beer, but at times unbalanced. It's worth a try for rye fans and DIPA fans alike.

Serving type: bottle

10-08-2011 00:28:52 | More by tdm168

JoeyBeerBelly

New York

4.45/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

Happy Passover - I drank this at sundown, 4/2/07 - the start of Passover in honor of all my Jewish friends and fellow beer advocate members who are Jewish.

22oz bomber

Pours a clear, deep ruby red/amber color with a thick, foamy beige head leaving a ton of lace down my entire pint glass as I drink it.

Smell is very good, hops hit you at first, then the alcohol smell kicks in.

Taste, IMO, it's one of the best double IPA's I have ever tasted (a close 2nd to Ruination IPA from Stone).
Rich malty taste up front, warming alcohol in the middle, bite of bitter hops on the finish. Talk about balance!

10%abv is the only thing holding this back from being an exceptionally drinkable brew. I finished off my bottle and could have maybe a 1/2 bottle more, but I gotta admit, I do feel "content".

Serving type: bottle

04-02-2007 23:32:58 | More by JoeyBeerBelly

DrDemento456

Pennsylvania

3.9/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Appearance is a dark amber copper color, semi hazy with a half inch of head that mostly laces. Smells to me mostly of spicy rye, grapefruit hops and a nice overbearing sweet malt. Tastes ow wow! Of creamy hops, spice from the rye, and a semi cloying ABV that finishes bitter and piney. I want to say the ABV is covered well but it's in the finish next to the bitterness that lingers on the tongue. Mouthfeel is medium to heavy, so don't expect the typical DIPA SIP IT! Drink ability is kind of moderate since I would rather have a bear republic Hop rod Rye than another of these, but it was still a nice beer. I was even able to try it in a 12oz size since I figured I wouldn't love it, great decision. Overall a nice rye DIPA.

Serving type: bottle

11-30-2010 02:02:43 | More by DrDemento456

ffejherb

Pennsylvania

4.3/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

22oz. bottle into Troegs Hopback glass on 4/2/09.

A - Poured a beautiful dark amber/caramel-colored body with slow-rising bubbles of carbonation and almost two full finger's of creamy beige head that settled to a half inch of solid retention and decorated the sides of the glass with thick, ornate lacing.

S - Huge spicy rye presence right up front with floral and perfumy hops to complement. Malt character isn't timid either, and displays a caramel and toffee candy sweetness

T - Spicy rye and a potpourri of hops comprise the initial flavor. Floral, herbal and perfumy notes tickle the tastebuds. Thick, rich caramel malt and toffee notes provide sweetness to balance the aggressive hop assault.

M - Full bodied and thick with a syrupy yet creamy texture and a bit of residual heat from the beefy alcohol presence. Carbonation is subtle, but picks up some steam the longer you swirl it around. Finish is quite bitter and dry on the palate, but doesn't linger too long.

D - This is my first experience with He'brew, and I was not disappointed. This is a fantastic rye IPA with tons of flavor and texture. While the floral and perfumy hop profile isn't one of my favorites, it works well overall with the spiciness and dryness of the rye.

Serving type: bottle

04-03-2009 00:15:40 | More by ffejherb

merlin48

Kentucky

4.78/5  rDev +17.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

22 oz bottle pours a radiant copper body with excellent clarity. Generous beige head has suburb retention and laces profusely.

Aroma is luscious, boasting tons of malt, hops, and spicy rye. Orange and tangerine esters dance around with pink grapefruit,spicy pumpernickel and toffee and caramel.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied, slightly chewy, with an ideal carbonation that rounds out the malt and hops very well.

Taste has lots of citrusy hops, mostly orange, that balance well with the toffee maltiness. A nice presence of grapefruit hops bitterness is noticed from start to finish and melds sublimely with the spiciness from the rye malt. Some welcome caramel sweetness pokes through from time to time, adding to the tasty complexity. No hint of the 10% abv.

An excellent DIPA with a spicy rye edge. Well balanced, very tasty, and dangerously drinkable. Lenny's is a real winner!

Serving type: bottle

09-05-2006 14:52:31 | More by merlin48

Vancer

Illinois

4.35/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a slightly hazed amber, and with the hard pour a massive tan head bubbles up in the Corsendonk tulip. Sticky Brussels lace coat the glass.

West coast aroma of orange, citrus and a hint of pine - all amongst the floral hops. Very tasty treat with the quaff, all these flavors mix together well and make for a very enjoyable brew. Stinging hop finish, but no hint of any alcohol. Solid performing DIPA.

Ya know, with their labels, I thought this was a gimmick brewery. I was dead wrong, these are fine beers - and at a good price! $5 bomber, nice!

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2009 17:50:42 | More by Vancer

Mebuzzard

Colorado

3.2/5  rDev -21.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

A unique color pour methingks. Copper and burnt orange, semi-clear at first, then clears up as it warmed (poured at 49 degrees, too). Very good looking head. Hilly and soft. Some lacing becomes sticky on top and on sides.

aroma is sweet and oily. A lot of resin and some alcohol make me pull back a bit, perhaps in surprise. Rye mixes with some hop juice to make a pronounced nose shocker. It's not bad, just odd.

Taste is malt, oily or syrupy, not sure which. Coating. Some hops are in here, mostly pine..not the citrus I expect from an A-IIPA.
hard to drink...didn't finish. Alcohol is too much..or perhaps it's the rye. Could be too raw at 10%.

Serving type: bottle

08-10-2009 20:33:05 | More by Mebuzzard

flagmantho

Washington

4.05/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from 12oz bottle into a pint glass. Head almost rose past the rim; exciting.

Appearance: hazy amber orange with three thick fingers of creamy ivory foam with a little bit of an orange cast. Head retention is great (still there even as the glass is almost done) and big, chunky lace is left. This is a trait of rye in my experience, and a good one. I'm not thinking DIPAs get much better than this, visage-wise.

Smell: big citrus and earthy hops. Well-executed and very appetizing. A solid West Coast IPA aroma.

Taste: big malt flavor; dark, musty fruit rounds out the sweet malt. Bitterness is pretty huge. To me this is more of an American strong ale or even American barleywine (ryewine?), but whatever you call it, it is tasty. There's a hint of the spiciness that rye brings, but it really can't compete with this hops bill.

Mouthfeel: thick and sticky. With the ABV of this monster, that's not surprising; but throw in the rye, and this thing gets crazy. Carbonation after the pour seems relatively low, which holds back creaminess a touch; still, this is a big, filling beer.

Drinkability: the ABV and the body hold back drinkability a bit, but the flavor is good (if strong, even challenging to some). Up to today I haven't been super impressed by Shmaltz, but Lenny has really changed my mind about the place.

Serving type: bottle

08-29-2010 01:24:58 | More by flagmantho

onix1agr

Pennsylvania

3.8/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle into a pint glass, this beer has eluded me for about two years now. I find it funny though that they dedicate this brew to somebody and put their born on and died on dates up there but still, I don't know when this beer was brewed, what a slap in the face.

RIPA looks a dark shade of orange with some bronze hints in there, looks pretty tasty and rich. A nice beige colored head rises up and settles into a nice looking cap with some marks on the glass. Smelling this I get alot of malt up front and sweetness. Rye is in there but buried literally. A nice dosing of grapefruit and some piney hops, some alcohol as well. This is interesting beer here. The rye, while being the main ingredient(supposedly) is not all that large, it comes and goes. Caramel malt is king here and this is one sweet DIPA from the west, this has East Coast written all over it, funny how that happens. Grapefruit, rye, grass, bubblegum, caramel/toffee/werther's, you get the picture right. All in all these taste come together nicely. Feel is above medium and sweet and not all that bitter, carb is not a problem, this beer is alive. The feel kinda reminded me of a barleywine in some ways. I quite liked this concoction and hope to find a super fresh bottle someday, but that won't happen unless they start dating them.

Serving type: bottle

11-07-2010 16:24:33 | More by onix1agr

Durge

Connecticut

4.18/5  rDev +3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

A dark copper-brown color with a somewhat whispy head and reasonable lacing. It has a nice sweet malty aroma that includes some butterscotch, pine hops along with alcohol presence. It immediately impresses you with its slick thick body with plenty of alcohol evident while providing lots of sweet citrus hops too. Very hardy with a licorice finish. Quite an experience in flavors, robust and enjoyable but probably not something I would drink in mass quantities. One to be savored more slowly I think, but you could manage a few of these to preserve the taste sensation. Very nice effort again from this fine brewery.

Serving type: bottle

10-10-2007 04:08:33 | More by Durge

GCBrewingCo

North Carolina

3.83/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

The beer poured into the glass crystal clear deep amber wtih a tan frothy and tall head which lasted forever to lace the glass.

The aroma was bready and toasty with a strong caramel malt character and a prominent rye spice. The aroma was resinous with hop character and contained just a slight wafting of chocolate.

The flavor was malty, strongly so and strongly fruity with a piney and resionous hop flavor and bittering and a light bit of citrus thrown in for good measure. The flavor had a light rye spice presence amongst the high malt and alcohol character.

The finish was just dry with lasting bittering and hop flavors long and strong into the aftertaste. The body was medium full with a creamy consistency and a fairly sizeable carbonation level. The alcohol burn was immense with this beast and really detracted from the overall drinkability of the beer.

22 ounce bottle.

Serving type: bottle

07-16-2006 20:17:05 | More by GCBrewingCo

Metalmonk

North Carolina

4.55/5  rDev +12.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Can't think of a better style to brew in tribute to Lenny Bruce, nor can I think of a more appropriate brewer to do it. So, after reading the label text and throwing some of the chill off, this big IPA is ready to pour...

Pours a damn good-looking two-finger head, kind of a washed-out butterscotch in color, and the liquid is a mean rusty blood orange color. Cloudy too, with the ultra slow-moving bubbles making it appear one big viscous mutha. The head leaves bulbous honeycombs of styrofoam on the glass. This thing is absolutely gorgeous.

Big orange aroma, zesty, rind-like too. A little bit buttery, big caramel...candy-like overall. Pretty clear what the story is on this beer is on: big malts, big hops, the end! Very believable boast on the label: "brewed with an obscene amount of malt & hops."

The flavor brings on a gooey tidal wave of orange-y hops, backed up by caramel-candy maltiness; the rye this is brewed with definitely shows up in the wonderfully rocky, super-earthy way rye will. Nice zip of gingery spiciness too. Grapefruit rind lingers in the finish, but the balance struck between these "obscene amounts" of malts and hops is absolutely superb. An underscoring alcohol glow lifts this up a notch into stratospherically-awesome territory. Wow.

The mouthfeel delivers just what's needed in a beer like this: bigness to match the big flavors. Chewy, gooey, supremely rounded and creamy, with enough carbonation to inject activity and life into its weighty frame...pretty much spot-on here too.

Holy shit this is amazing! I think Lenny would be proud...not of my swearing, but to have something this bold brewed in his honor (but I don't think my profanity would bother him either).

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2009 00:46:14 | More by Metalmonk

Suds

Pennsylvania

4.05/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This brew pours a clear, deep brown and amber color with a slim but soapy head. The aroma is the first thing that elevates this brew. It's a full-force mix of malt and hops. A little more malt than I expected, but the hops are great...a little grapefruit, as well as a musty, herbal backbone. It's a great combination, and it really sets the tone for the beer. The taste is equally good. There's a nice hop flavor throughout the beer, with plenty of sweetness and a syrupy malt flavor. The brew does take on a warming quality after a while, but on the whole, it hides it's abv quite well. The body is rich and full, with a lot of substance. This is a great brew.

Serving type: bottle

05-05-2007 20:12:00 | More by Suds

canucklehead

British Columbia (Canada)

4.28/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Killer beer with the combo of a very hoppy IPA crossed with the deep complexity of a barley wine. I loved the thick mouthfeel and the layers of malt and dark fruit that circled under the big hop presence. Sometimes a DIPA tastes like a an IPA that is slightly higher in alcohol but this is a different beast which takes the IPA style to a more complex barley wine zone. I would be interested in how this would cellar

Serving type: bottle

07-09-2009 20:22:54 | More by canucklehead

KarlHungus

Minnesota

4.22/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This brew pours a dark mahogany color, with a large fluffy off white head that recedes slowly into nice lacing. The aroma of citrus, pine, with some nice spicy rye in the background. The taste is probably more bitten than any other beer I have had to date, not that I mind though. The sip is piney, citrusy and has a more pronounced rye character than the aroma. The aftertaste is completely bitter. The mouthfeel is full bodied with nice carbonation. Overall, this is a fine beer, and I would buy it again.

Serving type: bottle

09-27-2006 01:34:26 | More by KarlHungus