He'Brew Rejewvenator Dubbel Doppel (2014)
Shmaltz Brewing Company

He'Brew Rejewvenator Dubbel Doppel (2014)He'Brew Rejewvenator Dubbel Doppel (2014)
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From:
Shmaltz Brewing Company
 
New York, United States
Style:
Dubbel
ABV:
8%
Score:
83
Avg:
3.64 | pDev: 13.74%
Reviews:
18
Ratings:
65
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Aug 17, 2018
Added:
Apr 14, 2014
Wants:
  2
Gots:
  12
Belgian Style Dubbel Ale and Doppelbock European Style Lager brewed with California Merlot and New York Concord Grapes.
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Ratings by MilwaukeeBeerMaker:
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Rated by MilwaukeeBeerMaker from Wisconsin

3.05/5  rDev -16.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Apr 13, 2015
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4 by redfox405 from Virginia

Aug 17, 2018
 
Rated: 2.5 by 1971bernat from Virginia

Jan 03, 2018
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Reviewed by Thomas_Wikman from Texas

4.19/5  rDev +15.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Well, it is not supposed to be brewed anymore but I just bought it at the store and drank it.

Look: semi-clear brown color with two-inch frothy brown head.

Aroma: caramel, dark fruit, perhaps some grape juice

Taste: It's sweet malts, caramel, and dark fruits and grape juice (added), and its slightly tart. It's pretty good, perhaps a bit thin for a dubbel Belgian Ale, but it is tasty yet easy drinking.

Feel: medium carbonation and body
Jun 15, 2017
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Reviewed by Thankin_Hank from Texas

3.9/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75
Poured from a magnum bottle into a snifter. Not much head but good aroma, nice color. Taste is different with the grapes but pretty good. Easy drinking beer. Going back to see if I can get another one.
Mar 31, 2017
 
Rated: 3.9 by jrfehon33 from Pennsylvania

Feb 02, 2017
 
Rated: 3.75 by CreekyJarls from New Jersey

Jan 09, 2017
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Reviewed by chinchill from South Carolina

4.03/5  rDev +10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
22 oz 2014 bottle served in a goblet.
Pours with a lightly hazed orange-brown body topped by a durable bone colored head that leaves fine lacing.
A dubious undertaking, this mix of grape juice and dubbel, but this exceeds expectations: Shmaltz has crafted a fine Belgian dubbel and flavored it with a moderate amount of grape juice. This is more evident in the flavor than i the aroma, but even there a subtle grape note mixes with the aroma of the base dubbel. Kudos for making this work.
Lively carbonation with a full body. Fairly well hidden alcohol. Mild+ bitterness.
Dec 27, 2016
 
Rated: 3.72 by KindaFondaGoozah from Wisconsin

Oct 06, 2016
 
Rated: 4.18 by brauseboof from South Carolina

Jun 04, 2016
 
Rated: 4.13 by bobert84 from Maryland

May 28, 2016
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Reviewed by Beginner2 from Illinois

3.76/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
I wouldn't have guessed I could make it through this unlikely cross-cultural combo: a Belgian dubbel ale, a Bavarian Dopplebock lager, and grape juice, a mostly Mediterranean tradition. (Since the latter is also presumed to be dark, they perhaps had one thing in common.) At the point of purchase, some modest level of common sense should have stopped me from buying this beer. But apparently, common sense is rarely present when you need it. And in this particular case, it is a good thing. Because Rejewvenator is an enjoyable beer (and not just because it makes a good play on words.)

It actually Looks great, a full head that hangs around enough. Smell doesn't tell me what I'm getting, except malt.
Taste. Well, let's call Rejewvenator an acquired taste: one I bought, so I had to taste. But surprisingly, it holds together. The grapes add a sourness to the malt that actually works much better than anybody's guess. Feel is quite soft.

Listed in the "1001 Beers To Taste Before You Die", this deserves to be there. First, Schmaltz is making a diligent effort to brew for Jewish culture... known more for its mathematics than yeast. Schmaltz has a series for the high holy days in the autumn (called Jewbilation). And it has the Rejewvenator series for Passover, the spring holy days. These ales change their recipes slightly; both in the spirit of innovation but keep to the spirit of tradition. The ale I just Had is not the ale the "1001" reviewed (probably in 2010) because it varies every year based primarily on the fruit juice added. But let us recall that this a tradition resuscitated by Anchor's annual December beer of changing primarily the spicing. We are more alike than we think. If beer helps us remember that, power be to beer.

Aside from using larger print on their label (for us old folks), my other advice for Schmaltz is: it is good to have fun with brewing... but let's not get too funny. With all their play-on-words names, I had trouble taking them seriously. But this beer was interesting enough to change that for me. A creative piece.... that still can't believe ties together three traditions.
May 11, 2016
 
Rated: 3.75 by a77cj7 from South Dakota

May 08, 2016
 
Rated: 3.65 by Lynn from Ohio

Jan 21, 2016
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Rated by ruzzal from Texas

4.39/5  rDev +20.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Very underrated, not a particular style to be rated against, bt very good. Add it was a cheap sale, fantastic.
Jan 04, 2016
 
Rated: 3.75 by Bdel34 from Pennsylvania

Dec 26, 2015
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Reviewed by CHickman from New York

3.68/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
2014 Edition: Pours reddish brown color with a creamy 1 finger light tan head that faded quickly and dissipated with fizzing, popping bubbles leaving good spotty lacing.

Smells of dark fruit, caramel, brown sugar, light cinnamon, honey, musty yeast, wet cardboard, light grains,a mix of mild spices and red wine or a boozy fruit punch. Aroma has Belgian sugary notes, some funk and timid spices and almost a barnyard smell that let's the fruit always come through. Hints of malt, but basically zero hops come through in the nose which covers the 8% ABV.

Tastes like it smells with dark fruit, caramel, musty yeast, wet cardboard, honey and herbal spices coming through first, followed by brown sugar, toasted grains, cinnamon, pepper, coriander, apple skin, red wine, bread crust and rotting red grapes like spiked fruit punch. The aftertaste has herbs, maple syrup, Belgian sugary notes and earthy barnyard notes to add a fair amount of complexities.

It's almost tart but stays mostly grainy with the malt dominating and no real hop zest coming through, but the brew does mask the ABV well. Mouthfeel is medium and almost chewy from the yeast floating in the bottom, with a thin feel that's on the watery side and a grainy sweetness which fades with yeast and mild funk. Overall it's kind of all over the place, but still interesting as it kept my attention since it changed so often with every sip.
Nov 14, 2015
 
Rated: 3.65 by bigleague from Michigan

Sep 20, 2015
 
Rated: 3 by bluehende from Delaware

Sep 12, 2015
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Reviewed by HopsAreDaMan from Missouri

3.06/5  rDev -15.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
(Copied from RB) Aroma of caramel; appears amber, hazy; taste medium sourness, medium bitterness, medium sweetness, medium body with average carbonation. A lot going on in this beer, much of it may be lost on me, and I don’t care for the sour notes, but for $2 this bomber is certainly a bargain. I am wiling to get this one again at some other time.
Sep 01, 2015
He'Brew Rejewvenator Dubbel Doppel (2014) from Shmaltz Brewing Company
Beer rating: 83 out of 100 with 65 ratings