He'Brew Hanukkah, Chanukah: Pass The Beer
Shmaltz Brewing Company


- From:
- Shmaltz Brewing Company
- New York, United States
- Style:
- Winter Warmer
- ABV:
- 8%
- Score:
- 82
- Avg:
- 3.6 | pDev: 10.28%
- Reviews:
- 48
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Jul 31, 2021
- Added:
- Nov 10, 2014
- Wants:
- 4
- Gots:
- 38
Chanukah Beer pours a rich crystal clear chestnut to ruby color with a light creamy head. The aroma and flavors lean toward a robust winter warmer, though brewed without any spices. Just all malt and hop goodness! Light caramel and toasty nuttiness as well as a hint of sweeter chocolate are rounded out by a healthy dose of European Noble and classic American new school hops. With 8 malts, 8 hops and 8% alcohol, this beer is real wonder with so many elements blending to create balanced and yet still distinct flavors. Hanukkah Beer is brewed as a celebration offering and sure to light up your holiday season. L'Chaim!
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by chitoryu12 from Florida
4.12/5 rDev +14.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
4.12/5 rDev +14.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Look: Extremely dark brown. One fat finger of thick tan head with excellent retention.
Smell: Strong piney hops and a touch of alcohol. Slight sweetness.
Taste: Balanced between a sweet, slightly roasted malt and a mild hop bitterness flavor. Simple but flavorful.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, heavy body with good carbonation.
Overall: Not a complex flavor, but sometimes you don’t have to be. Bold and balanced is good enough for the season.
Dec 07, 2019Smell: Strong piney hops and a touch of alcohol. Slight sweetness.
Taste: Balanced between a sweet, slightly roasted malt and a mild hop bitterness flavor. Simple but flavorful.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, heavy body with good carbonation.
Overall: Not a complex flavor, but sometimes you don’t have to be. Bold and balanced is good enough for the season.
Rated by Versipellis from Massachusetts
3.9/5 rDev +8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
3.9/5 rDev +8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Very chocolatey finish
Feb 24, 2019Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho
4/5 rDev +11.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4/5 rDev +11.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
2018 release. 12 oz can from Brewers Haven. Slick, thick black pour, capped by a creamy beige head. Aroma is chocolatey, very chocolatey. Taste is more sweet chocolate, a touch of roasty malt bitterness and creamy milk sugar. Thick and creamy, starts sweet, finishes bitter.
Feb 15, 2019Reviewed by BlackBeerPirate from Illinois
3.79/5 rDev +5.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
3.79/5 rDev +5.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Taste: nice vanilla, cocoa, malty, coconut notes. Sweet malty and cocoa nose. Dark amber hue, clear, with a delicate lace in taster cup. Medium body. A dessert ale that kinda taste like German chocolate cake.
Sep 26, 2018Reviewed by tigerinatrance from New York
4.08/5 rDev +13.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
4.08/5 rDev +13.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Just scored two bottles of this for 25¢ each at a local beverage center who couldn’t sell it and man, am I glad I did. Subjectively, this beer is nostalgic and reminiscent of something non-alcoholic or even beer related that I can’t quite put my finger on. It’s sweet, carb-loaded desserts, wood paneling and funk tapes with my morphine sedated maternal grandpa on the holidays as much as it is a pipe-smoking end-of-the-night gentleman’s sort of brew. It feels lively on the mouth, Dead center between dense and watery. A roasted nuttiness precedes a chocolatey minus the sweet sort of dessert flavor. There’s a woody, sweaty thing reminding me of when I like the smell of my own filthy socks, but my girlfriend does not. Definitely not sessionable, this semi-dark ruby/amber beer is indeed appealing to whatever it is I love about trying new beer. This is what it’s all about- freedom, nostalgia, flavor, and a quite adequate 8% alcohol in one deeee-licious bottle. Thanks, Shmaltz Brewing Co., and keep ‘em comin’.
Note: this beer was best by, like, a year ago. Actually, the day before my birthday which is 10/22. No shit. Cool.
Sep 10, 2018Note: this beer was best by, like, a year ago. Actually, the day before my birthday which is 10/22. No shit. Cool.
Reviewed by StevenTowne from New York
4.25/5 rDev +18.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.25/5 rDev +18.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Picked up a case of this for $20 at Schmaltz post season on a blow out deal. This is a great beer. Very smooth, drinkable, faint cocoa taste and effervescence. I am lucky being close to the brewery but this is a great beer.
Feb 12, 2018Reviewed by HoppingMadMonk from New Jersey
4.1/5 rDev +13.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4.1/5 rDev +13.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Gold orange color,medium body and carbonation. Aroma is unusual but pleasant,kind of an earthy smell with malt,malt candy,and just a bit of chocolate. Taste is similar but more complex than i can describe but the chocolate shows up very slightly at the end of every sip. Again this is a little different but really enjoyed it
Dec 19, 2017Reviewed by Mitchster from Michigan
4.03/5 rDev +11.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
4.03/5 rDev +11.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
2016 EDITION: Golden ale brewed with Cocoa nibs. 8 malts, 8 hops, 8% ABV.
Brewed with Premium 2-Row Malted Barley, Pilsner Malt, Caramel Pils, Kiln Amber, Crystal 10L, Honey Malt, Acidulated Malt, Flaked Oats. Hopped with Warrior, Chinook, Centennial, Citra, Ahtanum, Liberty, Cascade, Amarillo.
Pours out to a slightly hazy peach, forming a nice slightly off white head with very good retention and nice solid lacing. The nose is not actually all that hoppy. I get mostly cocoa and biscuit malt toast, wet grain husk. The mouthfeel is smooth, medium dense bodied, slick, slightly syrupy. Carbonation is moderate , 2.25 carbs or so. The taste is quite interesting...malt forward with lots of husky grains, toast, a small degree of roast, I get aromatic and biscuit but neither of them are listed as ingredients. There is a soft chocolate note which is very subtle, then followed by a pleasant bitterness which rounds out the malt driven body. More toast in the finish.
Quite interesting. Worth trying. I can't say I've had anything like this. Schmaltz brewes great stuff and this is noe xception. It's not something I would drink often, but still quite interesting, unique, and tasty,
Mar 23, 2017Brewed with Premium 2-Row Malted Barley, Pilsner Malt, Caramel Pils, Kiln Amber, Crystal 10L, Honey Malt, Acidulated Malt, Flaked Oats. Hopped with Warrior, Chinook, Centennial, Citra, Ahtanum, Liberty, Cascade, Amarillo.
Pours out to a slightly hazy peach, forming a nice slightly off white head with very good retention and nice solid lacing. The nose is not actually all that hoppy. I get mostly cocoa and biscuit malt toast, wet grain husk. The mouthfeel is smooth, medium dense bodied, slick, slightly syrupy. Carbonation is moderate , 2.25 carbs or so. The taste is quite interesting...malt forward with lots of husky grains, toast, a small degree of roast, I get aromatic and biscuit but neither of them are listed as ingredients. There is a soft chocolate note which is very subtle, then followed by a pleasant bitterness which rounds out the malt driven body. More toast in the finish.
Quite interesting. Worth trying. I can't say I've had anything like this. Schmaltz brewes great stuff and this is noe xception. It's not something I would drink often, but still quite interesting, unique, and tasty,
Reviewed by damndirtyape from Ohio
3.73/5 rDev +3.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
3.73/5 rDev +3.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
On tap at Ollie's Place, Dayton, OH.
Appearance: Clear dark copper to brown with ruby red highlights. Thin film and ring of white foam. Some persistent lacing noted, but not a lot.
Smell: Quite unusual: Leathery, a hint of smoke, some herbal notes, and every now and then a hint of chocolate.
Taste: Roasty, herbal and chicory bitterness, with a hint of chocolate, but the chocolate is muted. As the beer warms fully up to room temperature I can pick out more of the chocolate along with some caramelized malt, but this is definitely more of a savory winter warmer.
Mouthfeel: Smooth, light carbonation, nice thickness.
Overall / Drinkability: Not sure how I feel about this one. Maybe the point is to settle into an old leather chair with this beer on a winter night? Or maybe this beer was part of a "kill the keg" special for a reason - it's a bit past its prime. I might try again when its fresh and see how 8 hops and 8 malts hold up, but, it could be when you mix up that much stuff you're going to get unexpected and weird flavors. Normally I like that sort of weirdness from this brewery. In this case, I'm not sure.
Feb 02, 2017Appearance: Clear dark copper to brown with ruby red highlights. Thin film and ring of white foam. Some persistent lacing noted, but not a lot.
Smell: Quite unusual: Leathery, a hint of smoke, some herbal notes, and every now and then a hint of chocolate.
Taste: Roasty, herbal and chicory bitterness, with a hint of chocolate, but the chocolate is muted. As the beer warms fully up to room temperature I can pick out more of the chocolate along with some caramelized malt, but this is definitely more of a savory winter warmer.
Mouthfeel: Smooth, light carbonation, nice thickness.
Overall / Drinkability: Not sure how I feel about this one. Maybe the point is to settle into an old leather chair with this beer on a winter night? Or maybe this beer was part of a "kill the keg" special for a reason - it's a bit past its prime. I might try again when its fresh and see how 8 hops and 8 malts hold up, but, it could be when you mix up that much stuff you're going to get unexpected and weird flavors. Normally I like that sort of weirdness from this brewery. In this case, I'm not sure.
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