Uneasy Rhetoric

I found this at the supermarket next to Monty Python’s Holy Grail Ale. I knew it was coming, and I knew I had to try it (as opposed to the Holy Grail Ale, which I’m happy to try if someone buys it for me).

As you might expect, this beer is kosher. It is also not a winter beer in the same sense as the others on the list so far. It is a much darker, heavier beer.

The number 9 on the label refers not only to the prevalence of the number 9 in the Jewish faith (and in less “faith-oriented” Jewish items), but also the number of hops in the beer, the number of years the brewery has been around, and the percentage of alcohol. You will get smashed, but you will be kosher.

He’Brew is a very dark reddish-brown beer with mild carbonation and a moderate head that breaks up quickly. It has little smell to speak of.

Taste-wise, this straddles the line between a dark porter and a mild cream stout. Like darker beers like Deschutes Obsidian Stout or the Lucky Labrador’s Black Lab Stout, there is a hint of both coffee and chocolate (roasted malt flavor). But don’t expect this beer to be sweet. At nine percent alcohol, you can pretty much depend on some bitterness as well as a mild bitter aftertaste.

He’Brew isn’t bad, but I wouldn’t list it very high on my winter beers, and if I wanted a stout, I’d look elsewhere first. Frankly, I’m put off by the high alcohol content. This veers into barley wine territory. But it is more distinctive than the Winterhook. With nine different varieties of hops, it had better be.

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Whaddaya mean ya don’t like my beer?

The list from best to worst:
Sierra Nevada Celebration
Pyramid Snow Cap
Deschutes Jubelale
Anchor Christmas Ale
Bridgeport Ebenezer
Full Sail Wassail
He’Brew Jewbelale 5766
Redhook Winterhook