Omnivore Atlanta

Love at the Pub tells the story of the Brick Store

I am so glad Rocktober is over, because that means that it is Novembeer. Although I don’t expect Gov. Purdue to declare it officially, I am herewith designating this as the unofficial silly pun name for this month. Novembeer is when we all get together with our loved ones and give thanks for beer. It is also that time of the year when the breweries release their winter seasonals and holiday beers. It is a good month.

There is a lot to look forward to this Novembeer if you are a beer lover, including a new Taco Mac, the release of Love at the Pub, the story of the Brick Store Pub, a host of beer dinners and tastings, and a slew of new beer releases, both local and from beyond Georgia. Here are a few of the highlights of just the next two weeks!

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Coney Island Lager will be the featured “Beer of the Month” at all Taco Mac locations in Georgia for the month of August. Every Thursday of the month, the first 100 patrons ordering Coney Island Lager will receive a signature Coney Island glass. To celebrate, Coney Island Craft Lagers is bringing MC and medical-oddities-poster-boy Donny Vomit to town next week for appearances at two Taco Mac locations, as well as performances at The Porter Beer Bar and The 5 Spot. Vomit (or should that be Mr. Vomit?) is the inspiration for Coney Island’s Human Blockhead Tough-as-Nails Lager, a 10% ABV nail to the sinuses that is dangerously smooth and drinkable. The Coney Island series features 6 off-kilter creations honoring that most American of entertainments, the Freak Show, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting Coney Island USA, a non-profit dedicated to preserving lost forms of pop art and culture.

On Mon., Aug. 3, Donny Vomit will be at Taco Mac Perimeter at 5:30 p.m. and Taco Mac Metropolis in Midtown at 7 p.m. He will perform at the The Porter Beer Bar in Little Five Points at 9 p.m. the same night. The freak show continues on Tues., Aug 4 at The 5 Spot where Donny will host an evening of extraordinary feats, burlesque dancing from Blast Off Burlesque, and carnival-themed films and music. An art reception featuring local artists will kick off the evening at 7 p.m. All of the performances are free.

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Doppelbock, shmoppelbock: Shmaltz Rejewvenator 2009

Shmaltz Brewing Company
Saratoga Springs, NY
7.8% ABV

Rejewvenator is Shmaltz’ spring and summer seasonal, celebrating the barley harvest. This year’s incarnation is fermented with fresh-pressed date juice, honoring the fruit of the ancient date palm, a symbol of the Kingdom of Judea that was stamped on the ancient sheckel coin. According to Psalm 92:12, “The righteous shall flourish like the Date palm.” This is a righteous beer if I do say so. Two different Belgian ale yeasts were used, along with a lager yeast, imparting the the fruity esters of a Belgian dubbel as well as the clean, crisp fermentation of a German doppelbock.

Rejewvenator ‘09 pours a lovely cedar red with an inviting, slightly boozy aroma full of drunken plums, apricots, overripe bananas, and dates, natch. Generous hopping contributes some citrus rind and spruce as well. The taste is smooth and sweet up fron,t with brandied fruit flavors of candied dates, raisins, and figs, yielding to toffee and an ever-rising herbal hop and alcohol bite. Piney hops and anise settle on the palate with other tingly, almost prickly, spices. Hot alcohol lingers on the breath, which is a bit surprising for an under-8% beer. Banana and clove hang in the background, but this seems less like a doppelbock or a Belgian dubbel than an American-style barleywine or strong ale. It exhibits clean, crisp flavors throughout, with little residual graininess or earthiness in the malt profile.

Although the alcohol is a bit overbearing, Rejewvenator drinks like the celebratory ale that it is. The medium-full body and spot-on carbonation give it a festive character. I’m definitely going to save some for Christmas. Er, make that Hanukkah. L’Chaim!

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Have you ever wondered why cultures in hot climates load their cuisine with sweat-inducing spices? Scientists offer a number of plausible explanations, including the antimicrobial properties of peppers, the cooling effects of perspiration, and the stimulant qualities that counter heat-induced lethargy and loss of appetite.

It’s likely a combination of these things, but I think there’s a more visceral impulse involved, as well. It’s the same reason people jump into frozen lakes and pretend to be polar bears. Because doing the logical thing is boring. Sometimes you have to change up the game. So if those watery summer beers just aren’t doing it for you anymore, why not just do a 180? Which bring us to Festivus in July. Both Taco Mac and The Porter Beer Bar are celebrating the dead center of summer with big, malty winter beers. Brilliant. (more…)

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Decisions, decisions: Taco Mac is tapping special beers all month.

New beers are popping up all over this month, from new-to-Georgia breweries, to special casks and limited edition releases, to spring and summer seasonals from local and national breweries. It can be a bit overwhelming. I suggest you you just take it One Beer at a Time.

Bell’s Weather. Monday marks the Georgia debut of beers from Bell’s Brewery, and a number of local bars have events to mark the occasion. The Brick Store Pub will have a rare cask of HopSlam, the brewery’s much-drooled over double IPA, which will not be part of the regular Georgia portfolio until next year’s release in January. There will also be a keg of Special Double Cream Stout. Starting Tuesday, Taco Mac will be tapping Bell’s Amber Ale, Pale Ale, Porter, and Oberon, with a sixtel of HopSlam and Expedition Stout at the Kennesaw location. Check with your neighborhood store to see what is pouring. The Porter Beer Bar in L5P will host a Bell’s Beer Dinner on Tues., May 26. Check their website for details. Look for a full story on Bell’s next week.

More, more, more. Speaking of Taco Mac, there’s enough new stuff rolling out at their stores to keep you half-lit well into June. This weekend was the debut of Terrapin’s 30 Strong Ale, brewed especially for Taco Mac’s 30th anniversary. Thirty years is a long time in the restaurant business, and Taco Mac certainly deserves a special toast for turning its little Va-High pub into a beer bar empire. I remember experiencing some of my first world-class beers at that original store back in the early 80s when I didn’t know a hefeweizen from a doppelbock. Terrapin’s 30 Strong has a ridiculous 30 ingredients that includes 19 kinds of malt, 8 varieties of hops, water, and yeast, and is aged on oak spirals. It clocks in at 8.8% ABV. Now that’s extreme! (more…)

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HeBrew Jewbelation Twelve

Shmaltz Brewing Company
Saratoga Springs, NY
12% ABV

The final installment of this month’s big, black, high-gravity beer picks is this monster kitchen-sink anniversary ale from He’Brew. With 12 malts, 12 hops, and 12 percent alcohol, it is a mouthful. Caramel malts, herbal hops, and some molasses in the nose give little hint of the intense flavors within. The taste is full of burnt sugar, roasted malt, huge toffee, anise, chocolate and alcohol that is sort of like Kahlua on steroids. I searched desperately for some fruity elements and found a bit of black cherry and raisin, but this is more about charred malts and piney, resiny hops. Some baked grapefruit and brown sugar provide a juicy, quenching finish. Charcoal flavors and some hot fusel alcohol that burns the tongue give it a challenging drinkability. Full-bodied and sticky, with an oily mouth-coating bitterness, this is a big beer that would probably benefit from cellaring for a year or two. I really enjoyed last year’s Jewbelation 11. Did one more malt and one more hop variety push this one over the edge? Hell yeah. This one goes to 12!

(photo by Jeff Holland)

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Shmaltz, the celebrated Jew brew, is co-hosting a chug fest at Muss & Turner’s Mon., Dec. 15th and a “Chanukah vs. Xmas” dinner at The Porter Wed., Dec. 17th, featuring their newest beer, Jewbelation Twelve.

This was too funny to paraphrase:

JEWBELATION: Rising to 12% alcohol, brewed with 12 malts and 12 hops, bringing a nearly miraculous warming glow to store shelves nationwide from October 2008 through March 2009.

This anniversary, candles won’t be the only thing getting lit!

Behold the fifth incarnation of Jewbelation: our 12th Chosen Beer in 12 Years of Shmaltz. Coincidence? Destiny! Let’s play the Dozens:

The first batch of HE’BREW came to life in California’s 12th Congressional District. 12 pairs of cranial nerves leave the brain. 12 pairs of ribs cage the human frame. 12 inches in a foot. 12 men walked on the moon. 12 months in a year. 12 signs of the Western and Chinese Zodiac. Jacob begat 12 sons who begat the 12 Tribes of Israel. 12 Olympian gods rule the Pantheon of ancient Greece. Jesus had 12 disciples; Muhammad 12 Imams (successors). 12 angels sit at the 12 gates of heaven. Norse warrior-poet god Odin produced 12 sons. The Priests of the Temples of Syrinx proclaim the Brotherhood of Man in 12 songs on Rush’s 2112. Son of a Rabbi, Harry Houdini ran away from home at age 12. In 1912, he reigned as World’s Greatest Escape Artists breaking out of an underwater cage in NYC’s East River @ debutin ghis famed Chinese Water Torture Cell in Berlin. At 12, Courtney Love failed to join the Mickey Mouse Club auditioning with Sylvia Plath’s “Daddy.” The 12 Step Program, the core of AA, spawned over 200 fellowships including Workaholics Anonymous based in Menlo Park, CA. “A scout troop consists of 12 little kids dressed like schmucks following a big schmuch dressed like a little kid.” -Jack Benny.

To the growing minyans of the Schmaltz Tribe, light up the season with our most miraculous Jewbelation yet.

(Photo from Wikimedia Commons)

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This press release just in from Shmaltz Brewing Company:

Shmaltz Brewing Company, handcrafters for well over a decade of HE’BREW – The Chosen Beer, will host a tasting event this Friday, October 17 at Taco Mac (240 W Ponce De Leon Avenue, 6 pm, 404-378-4140, cash bar) featuring the fifth incarnation of their award-winning “extreme” Chanukah seasonal, JEWBELATION: their 12th Chosen Beer in 12 years of Shmaltz.  Coincidence?  Destiny!!  Rising to 12% alc, Jewbelation Twelve is brewed with 12 malts and 12 hops bringing a nearly miraculous warming glow to store shelves nationwide from October 2008 through March 2009. Come join Shmaltz representative Darren Quinlan as he pours Jewbelation Twelve as well as their new Messiah on Rye, HE’BREW’s rich and complex nut brown ale Messiah Bold aged in rye-whiskey barrels.

On Saturday, October 18 at The Great Decatur Beer Festival (On the square in downtown Decatur, GA, Noon – 5 pm, $35, Sold Out, http://decaturbeerfestival.com ), Darren Quinlan will also feature select attractions from Shmaltz’s new line of sideshow-inspired Coney Island Craft Lagers(TM) including their flagship Coney Island Lager(TM) (5.5% alc), Albino Python(TM) (White Lager w/ Spices, 6% alc) and Sword Swallower(TM) (Steel Hop Lager, 6.8% alc). HE’BREW’s Origin Pomegranate Strong Ale, Bittersweet Lenny’s RIPA (Lenny Bruce tribute beer) and Messiah Bold will be available for tasting as well.

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Albino Python Lager
Shmaltz Brewing Company
Saratoga Springs, NY
6.0% ABV

Appropriate for the freak show theme, this beer is modeled after a Belgian witbier, but brewed with lager yeast rather than the traditional Belgian ale yeast. The characteristic coriander and orange peel are added, along with some more unusual spices like ginger and fennel. The result is a sweet, mildly spicy brew, with a slick mouthfeel and a clean, refreshing finish. The unfiltered yeast in the bottle contributes to its cloudy, pale-yellow color and almost blue-gray tint. The lively carbonation yields a perfectly big frothy head when poured into a weizen glass. There’s a hint of honey in the pale malt sweetness, along with a bit of citrus twang. The spices meld nicely, with nothing overwhelming the palate. Still, I wouldn’t mind seeing the spices cranked up a notch. The fennel, ginger, and a lemongrass character suggest a pairing with Asian food. The body is pleasantly light but not watery. Overall, a satisfying experiment and definitely ahead of most American pale wheat ales.

(photo courtesy Shmaltz Brewing Co.)

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