He’Brew Rejewvenator – Year of The Date 2009

Here I have the second edition of He’Brew’s Rejewvenator which celebrates the year of the date. The folks at He’Brew seem to enjoy experimenting with fruit and beer and I for one always enjoy experimentation, particularly when it works out well as it seems to for Shmaltz. As if over 400 gallons of date juice wasn’t enough to impress this ale is also brewed with three yeast varieties, Lager, Trappist and Abby as well as Warrior, US Goldings, Cascade, Amarillo and Mt. Hood Hops, 2-Row specialty malt, Munich, 2 varieties of dark crystal, and CaraVienna Malt. So if that wasn’t confusing enough they also refer to this ale as half Doppelbock and half Belgian Style Dubbel, sounds complicated. Lets see how it tastes. Color is quite dark appearing almost black from a distance though when brought to light you can clearly see that the color is just a very dark date like hue. Creamy head is off white and about two fingers which remain for many minutes leaving a clean ring around the surface of the of the liquid almost indefinitely. Smells strongly of the Abby and Trappist Yeasts used in this brew and just a touch of the Lager Yeast. Dark pitted fruits come out nicely but are not over whelming, obviously date is quite identifiable. Some nice malt sweetness is present and nicely contrasts the moderate alcohol present in the nose. Flavor is quite interesting and believe it or not makes their style statement completely make sense. Solid malty sweetness, caramel notes and some additional grain flavors remind me of a quality Dopplebock while dark pitted fruits and gently spicy, herbal and earthy notes from the yeast strains remind me of a solid dark Belgian Style Ale. Date notes are relatively sweet and play well with the malt sweetness present making the solid 7.8% ABV of this brew barely noticeable. A small amount of bitterness is present giving this brew a nice finish but not over powering at all. Body is medium, not particularly heavy for the style. Mouthfeel is clean smooth and caramely. Over all this ale tastes largely of sweet dates, caramel and a delicious malt base with a notable Belgian Yeast influence. A quite nice and very smooth ale. If you enjoy Belgian ales with dominate dark pitted fruit notes and wonderfully malty Dopplebocks you will probably be all over this ale. One thing I would sincerely suggest though is to serve this ale closer to room temperature as the caramel notes are not nearly as noticeable when cold and add a wonderful character to this ale when present. Another fine offering from the fine people of Shmatlz and He’Brew. Give it a shot and ride your bike.

He'Brew Rejewvenator - Year of The Date 2009

2 Responses to “He’Brew Rejewvenator – Year of The Date 2009”

  1. Hey there. This is Zak Davis from Shmaltz Brewing Company. What a great review! Thanks so much for the support. I couldn’t have described the beer better myself. We’re just launching Jewbelation Bar Mitzvah, our 13th anniversary ale, brewed with 13 malts, 13 hops, and punching in at 13% abv. If you’re able to get your hands on a bottle, it’s definitely worth trying. L’Chaim!!

  2. Good to hear from you again. I noticed the description of your 13th Anniversary Ale on your website when I was writing this review, sounds dandy. I still have about a half of a case of each your 10th and 12th Anniversary Ales stashed away in my cellar so if 13 is similarly tasty I’m sure I’ll be stocking up if I can. Cheers!

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