He'brew Origin Pomegranate Ale

Courtesy Of Shmaltz Brewing Company

For the holidays I received an excellent addition to my beer collection, the Shmaltz Brewing Company's 2012 Holiday Gift Pack. It came with 8 excellent beers, which were supposed to be consumed during Hannukah. Unfortunately I was unable to do this. Instead I felt it would be necessary to at least try one on Christmas. The lucky brew was the Origin Pomegranate Ale, which was excellent. Being a big fan of pomegranate I was very excited to try this one and see how they worked this pomegranate flavor into this ale.

Shmaltz He'brew Origin Pomegranate Ale

I was unable to get my hands on a decent glass to pour this into so I had to drink straight from the bottle. While it wasn't the most ideal thing to do it made my life easier. It appeared to be a light amber and reddish color with decent carbonation. There was a sweet and somewhat potent scent from what I could smell emerging from the bottle. The flavor was nothing too overwhelming or exciting. There was a slight hop to the flavor initially which eventually turned into a nice and surprising pomegranate and tart flavor that went down very smoothly. It definitely did not taste as potent as it is at a whopping 8% ABV. It tasted more like a mild 4% or 5% ABV session beer.

As a whole this was a beer I certainly enjoyed and would get again, but not one that I would go out of my way to find. I feel that the ratings it has been given on various beer review sites do not do it justice though. I look forward to trying the rest of the box and will hopefully review a few.

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale

I love a good seasonal beer and Sierra Nevada’s Celebration Ale is no different. Pat’s overall summation of winter seasonal beers found here is something I couldn’t have put much better myself (well done Patrick).

This beer pours a nice amber/copper color with a very thick head. This ale has a bit of cloudiness in it, and leaves a substantial amount of lacing on the glass.

An interesting aroma of citrus is present upfront with a pine fragrance at the end.  You also get a bit of hops coming in later with the pine.

The taste is piney, and very hoppy when it hits the tongue but mellows out with malt sweetness that keeps you intrigued. The interesting blend of flavors, and overall smoothness makes this IPA very drinkable. The medium body leaves an average mouth feel, and it is not overly carbonated.

All and all, this beer is great for cold winter nights. The pine flavor is great for the season, but the hops and citrus aspects remind you that spring is on its way. It is a very tasty offering from a brewery that seems to always have a pretty good seasonal variety. 

Blue Moon Winter Abbey Ale

Seasonal beers are my favorite. Well crafted seasonals do precisely what their names suggest, they embody the spirit of the season for which they were made to represent. Blue Moon's Winter Abbey Ale is no exception. It takes a very unique beer to make you feel like you're sitting next a warm fire even when it's served ice cold.

Image from The Beer Taster

Full disclosure, this warm feeling might have less to do with the Winter Abbey and more to do with the five more that followed it. Regardless, this is one tasty brew.

My expectations for this beer were colored by past Blue Moon experiences. When I say colored, I mean that literally. All of the other Blue Moon brews that I've tried are lighter, wheat-ier beers. To say that I was surprised when the bar tender handed me a beer almost the color of Guinness is an understatement.


In actuality, it is not quite as dark as a stout. Blue Moon describes the beer as  a "chestnut brown-colored ale," and I think this is a fairly accurate representation. It has a great mix off coffee, chocolate and caramel flavorings, with just a mild bitterness. But you didn't really come here expecting me to regurgitate information from Blue Moon's website. All that "important" stuff (aroma, mouth feel, taste, finish) is described in other places by people (slightly) more qualified that me. No, I would like to use this post to talk about Blue Moon's Winter Abbey Ale in the context of this blog's goals: drink like an adult.

The real take away here is that after college, it's OK to spend more than $2.00 on you beer!

I know, pretty radical stuff. Don't get me wrong, I've got as much student debt as the next guy, so I keeping my bar tab manageable is certainly in the back of my mind (somewhere, way back). But, unless you're willing to shell out an extra few bucks, you might miss out on gems like this one.

(It also helps when you're seeing your Dad's band play that night, so he offers to pay for your drinks!)