Shmaltz 2009 Year in Review

What the Press is Saying About HE'BREW Beer

"Today, Cowan is arguably making some of the best contract-brewed beers in America." -Beer Advocate "Shmaltz makes some fascinating beer." -Phoenix New Times "One of our favorite local brewers." -New York Magazine "a clever company" -Entrepreneur.com "HE'BREW is making believers out of beer aficionados and novices alike."

-The Jerusalem Post "I think [we] can all agree that HE'BREW lives up to its title of 'The Chosen Beer.'" -Jewcy "Shmaltz Brewing Company has a reputation for [brewing] serious beers."

-Philadelphia Inquirer "[Shmaltz's] big beers are garnering a lot of interest from beer aficionados."

-Draft Magazine "...the brand's success is due to the quality of its product, not its shtick."

-Yellow Rat Bastard

What the Press is Saying About Coney Island Craft Lagers® Recognized as a 2009 "Breakout Brand" by Beverage World "One of our favorite local brewers." -New York Magazine "Freaking Delicious" -The Boston Phoenix "A sideshow in a beer bottle" -Associated Press "Sword Swallower is my favorite for its depth and bitterness." -New York Times "Albino Python: There's no reason why the world shouldn’t be drinking this... We dig it!" -Beer Advocate "Freaktoberfest: Gimmicky or Good? BOTH! This is a fun, offbeat and tasty lager."

-Beer Advocate "Human Blockhead grabs you by the balls, but just to 'convince' you to down the rest of the 22 ounces of pure deliciousness." -Racket Magazine "Sword Swallower's graphics are excellent. Deep golden color, lovely aroma, smooth, drinks very nicely. Dangerously drinkable... one of my absolute favorite lagers."

-Beer America TV "Dave C. Wallin's illustrations strike just the right retro, iconoclastic note; which, like the beer itself, balances its mishegoss with chutzpah." -Print Magazine "Coney Island Craft Lagers is a lineup of freaks for a great cause, and one that also looks at a market dominated by craft ales from a clever and fun lager angle." -Boston Weekly Dig

Additional Jewbelation Press Highlights: “Best Winter Beer in Show” -Pacific Brew News “5 STARS” -Celebrator Beer News “Top 5 Holiday Beers” -Epicurious.com "The Best Winter Brews: Five Limited Editions Worth The Splurge" -Playboy

Jewbelation Bar Mitzvah: "Grab a bottle before this limited release runs out."

-Draft Magazine "Shmaltz Brewing Company’s Jewbelation anniversary ales are among its best offerings, with each one upping the ante on ingredients and ABV on the year before." -Creative Loafing "It's a big year for the crazies at Shmaltz, and they're marking their 13th as you might expect — with their biggest Jewbelation yet. Triskaidekaphobes might avoid this one, with its 13 malts (including two rye variations) and 13 barleys." -Denver Post "Shmaltz definitely delivers with their 13th anniversary beer." -Orlando Sentinel "A winter holiday brew perfect for Chanukah."

-Pittsburgh Post Gazette "Jewbelation Bar Mitzvah makes a nice seasonal gift, just not for the recently bar mitzvahed." -St. Petersburg Times "This is a serious beer for people who enjoy the outer bounds of craft brewing. Jewbelation 13 is an artful blend of ingredients…" -The Ledger "Undoubtedly, the most appropriate beer for Chanukah is Jewbelation 13." -J Weekly "This shit is gonna get the party started!" -Racket Magazine "The great folks at Shmaltz came up with another beer that is cheeky in name but nothing but quality in it’s beer." -Mike Loves Beer Blog "Another fine Jewbelation brew from Shmaltz." -The Three Beermigos Blog

"Top 10 Winter Warmer." -Draft Magazine "(Holiday Gift Guide) 35 treats for foodie friends: Jewbelation 12" -NY Post "If the ABV doesn't warm your insides, contemplating the zenlike perfection of this beer's stats should do the trick." -The Oregonian (Jewbelation 12) "So why not a jolly Hanukkah beer, too? The crafty folks at HE'BREW have answered that prayer with Jewbelation 12, a big-boy dark ale that really lit my menorah. It's among the best efforts I've tasted yet from New York-based Shmaltz Brewing Company."

-Philadelphia Inquirer "Tasteful ethnic humor? Yes! HE'BREW's Jewbelation Eleven beer makes holiday bashes of all stripes more fun." -SELF Magazine "Great balance and a brisk, unsticky finish makes this a fine choice for holiday parties and meals." -San Diego Union Tribune (Jewbelation 11) "Forget the economy and give yourself a holiday gift, I urge you to try Jewbelation 12." -Marin Independent Journal "You don't have to be Jewish or celebrate Hanukkah in order to enjoy a pint of the one ale made with that holiday in mind: Monumental Jewbelation. It is a beer with chutzpah." -Tallahassee Sentinel "I intend on making my way back to the store, and buying the rest of the stock of Jewbelation 12 so that I can observe the changes that time inflict upon this beer over the next few years. Be looking for Jewbelation 13!" -Thank Heaven for Beer Blog

What the Press is Saying About Origin Pomegranate Strong Ale & Rejewvenator

"Far from kitschy or bizarre, this is a superbly conceived and executed beer, completely and utterly delicious." -Patterson's Tasting Panel "Best Alternative-Brew": Origin Pomegranate Strong Ale -Men's Health "A wonderfully made beer." -Draft Magazine "...a nose of rich fruit and a towering, rocky head of crisp white foam. Taste has a bit of sweet toffee, followed by a rush of hop bitterness and the enticing, teasing, faint sweetness of the pomegranate." -Oakland Tribune "Best enjoyed with a poisoned apple..." -Yellow Rat Bastard

"It's a glorious beer." -Rodger Protz, All About Beer "A distinctly interesting beer." -Garrett Oliver, All About Beer "What A Double Bock!" -Modern Brewery Age "The best summer release that's against the season is without a doubt He'Brew's Rejewvenator." -San Jose Mercury News "Top 10 Summer Beers In & Around NYC: Rejewvenator." -L Magazine Creative Loafing "Beer of the Week": Rejewvenator 2009 "The Shmaltz crew might just have managed to out do themselves with this one!" -Beer Magazine "Forget Manischewitz: I'm pouring Rejewvenator at my next Sabbath dinner." -Slashfood (AOL)

"Amazing!" -Fine Brew Reviews

What the Press Is Saying About Coney Island Human Blockhead速

National Grand Prize "Loose Lager" Category United States Tasting Championship "A really solid, well-balanced beer... lovely malt character, it's delicious." -Beer America TV "[A] startling label... it'll whet your appetite for [any season]. ABV a somewhat sneaky 10 percent. Stay away from hammers." -DenverPost "This beer grabs you by the balls, but just to 'convince' you to down the rest of the 22-ounces of pure deliciousness." -Racket Magazine "The beautiful thing about this 'tough-as-nails lager is that it's named after the Coney Island Sideshow's infamous emcee Donny Vomit- so if pounding 22ounce bottles gets the better of you, you've done the beer justice." -NY Magazine "Amber color, big phenolic alcoholic aroma. Fermented at high temperature. Hot, high alcohol on the palate.

Two of these and we'd be pounding nails in our noses too. High-gravity malt liquor at 10% abv.

Recommended for those seeking to join the circus quickly." -Celebrator Beer News "Dave C. Wallins's [Coney Island Craft Lagers] illustrations strike just the right retro, iconoclastic note; which, like the beer itself, balances its meshegoss with chutzpah." -Print Magazine

What the Press is Saying About Bittersweet Lenny's RIPA

"Rich...smooth...powerful. Makes your heart skip a beat." -Beer Advocate "F@cking Delicious" -Playboy.com "What a fine beer this is... We can't ignore this wonderful brew!" -All About Beer "Top 10 Hop Monsters" -Imbibe Magazine "Exceptionally Great, Something Special: Hoppy, herbal nose with rye and caramel malt aromas.

Dark amber in color with a thick tan head. Rich and sweet, with excellent malt character, nice warming alcohol and a big wallop of a hop finish." -Celebrator Beer News "Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. hits you like a double shot of rye whiskey. Like Lenny Bruce's stand-up act, the beer is earthy and abrasive. It delivers a palate-numbing assault of citrusy and resiny hops (six varieties are used). Two varieties of malted rye as well as torrified (pregelatinized) rye contribute a peppery burn in the back of the throat." -Washington Post "Among the beers that I had that still amaze me were Allagash Curieux, He'brew Biitersweet Lenny’s RIPA, Corsendonk Brown, St. Bernardus Pater 6, and Oskar Blues Gordon. All of these are highly recommended for any beer aficionado." -Creative Loafing "Winner: Best in Show" Saratoga Beer Festival "Best International Ale" Calgary International Beer Festival

Friday, October 9, 2009

Shmaltz Brewing toasts l’chaim with beer S.F. brewer celebrates big growth, by Sarah Duxbury

Shmaltz Brewing Co. HQ: San Francisco.

Founder: Jeremy Cowan.

Employees: Seven.

2008 revenue: $1.56 million.

2007 revenue: $877,000.

2006: $535,000.

Three-year growth: 192.3 percent.

Shmaltz Brewing Company is celebrating its 13th birthday with a bar mitzvah.

The San Francisco-based maker of He’Brew beers will host coming of age parties around the country in December. Other milestones to celebrate include passing the $1 million revenue mark, hiring its first employees and the addition of a new brand, Coney Island — all achieved without compromising its combination of subtle wit and broad schtick, not to mention its unusual, highly alcoholic brews.

“I started with one beer, hand-bottled and hand-labeled in a tiny brewery in Cupertino,” Shmaltz founder Jeremy Cowan recalled.

After several years he added a second beer, and for years, Shmaltz had just those two beers.

“Genesis and Messiah: Start at the beginning and finish at the end,” said Cowan. “That was it until my eighth year, when I finally had enough distribution to put out a third product: Jewbilation.”

New products have helped drive growth to $1.56 million in 2008, a 192.3 percent jump over 2006. Cowan expects 2009 sales to approach $2.5 million. The Stanford graduate has fun with his company, and not just in naming his beers and designing their tongue-in-cheek packaging. (He’Brew claims to be the Chosen Beer, and Messiah Bold is the “beer you’ve been waiting for.”)

“This was my interpretation of what it meant to tie in Jewish tradition, text, holidays and community with a product like a beer on a shelf,” Cowan said. “The packaging and marketing are tying into a specific Jewish tradition and schtick.”

Each year Cowan brews his Jewbilation anniversary beer with the same percent hops and alcohol as the company’s age, so this year’s beer has 13 percent hops, and a whopping 13 percent alcohol content.

Jewbelation also was He’Brew’s first departure from mainstream craft beer styles.

“Since then that’s been our focus: big, interesting, unique, complex beers,” Cowan said. “On the He’Brew side, we’re growing based on those,”

One of the most popular is a rye beer tribute to comedian Lenny Bruce, called Bittersweet Lenny’s R.I.P.A. Another is a pomegranate ale, whose first iteration featured pomegranate juice hand-squeezed on the floor of Cowan’s San Francisco apartment.

This is the second year that He’Brew has done a line of seasonal beers using the sacred fruits from the Torah. Called Rejewvenator, it used figs last year and this year is made with date juice.

“For our company, the importance of special beers is enormous.

That’s where the creativity and enthusiasm come from,” Cowan said.

That’s also got Cowan a loyal customer base in bars that take beer seriously; bars account for 25 percent of all sales.

“We carry it because he makes a really good and interesting beer,” said Shawn Magee, owner of Amnesia on Valencia Street in the Mission, which first carried He’Brew six years ago.

For Magee, the relationship began as a lark, with a Hannukah vs.

Christmas battle of the brews. That year, Jewbilation joined the mix, and Shmaltz brews have had a dedicated tap among the 20 draft beers at Amnesia ever since.

Magee said that the unusual brews Shmaltz cooks up fits with a trend in beer right now, where people are looking for original, more complicated flavors.

Shmaltz is now trying to make interesting lagers under a new brand, Coney Island.

Coney Island’s wit doesn’t stray far from Cowan’s Jewish-themed beers, though the flavor profiles are less wild.

“If circus sideshow freaks are more mainstream than Jews, then I guess we’re going mainstream,” Cowan said. “More people live within 50 miles of Coney Island than there are Jews in the country, so we have broadened our potential a bit. The beers are designed to reflect that.”

Like He’Brew beers, the Coney Island brews are designed for what Cowan calls “beer geeks,” those who take their beer very seriously, and don’t mind alcohol contents over 10 percent.

Funds from Coney Island beers support a New York arts nonprofit that supports the last remaining fixed sideshow in the country, Cowan said. All Shmaltz beers are brewed in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., where Master Brewer Paul McErlean is able to translate an idea or flavor profile of Cowan’s into the exact beer Cowan wants. That relationship and the headaches of bi-coastal operations means that Shmaltz won’t return to West Coast brewing any time soon.

“As I put out more exotic styles of beer, I’ve really been embraced by the craft beer market around the country,” Cowan said. “At the same time, if anything I’ve upped the schtick. I’m not interested in making products that are mainstream. I like small business. That’s where creativity and imagination and soul can remain."

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS: Shmaltz Brewing Company

By: Jake Kilroy | March 27, 2009 11:50 AM

NAME: Jeremy Cowan COMPANY: Shmaltz Brewing Company (HE'BREW Beer & Coney Island Craft Lagers) WHAT IT IS: Niche craft brewery FOUNDED: 1996 BASED: San Francisco & New York WEBSITE: www.shmaltz.com FAVORITE SONG: "Free Will" (Rush)

I first started at Entrepreneur in June 2007 and, at the time, had a very boring perspective of business. Business wasn't quirky to me. No, I didn't think that everyone was a suit, but even those who ran small businesses had a very distinct personality, I thought.

Small‐business owners were serious about trying to succeed, which in turn, sort of just made them serious people, I figured.

To me, businesspeople were businesspeople, whether they worked in a corporate headquarters or a dinky little office.

However, as an intern, I was quickly assigned to a research project where I was to investigate the craft beer industry, and I soon learned that a number of entrepreneurs not only had senses of humor, but they applied them to their actual business, their products, their websites and their marketing strategies.

And the first business I remember respecting the originality of was Shmaltz Brewing Co. for "He'Brew ‐ The Chosen Beer" and the Lenny Bruce tribute pale ale "Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A." Their gags were clever and, most importantly, a good sell for their products.

So I thought it was only fitting that I approach founder Jeremy Cowan for my first "Important Questions" back in October 2008. But Cowan was extremely busy throughout the rest of 2008, seeing quite a swell in business. Well, he recently got back to me.

You can tell it was my first "Important Questions," as there's no 27‐Word Question and the fancy business questions don't seem as poignant. But Shmaltz is celebrating its bar mitzvah this year and to pay tribute to a clever company, I asked...

SOME FANCY BUSINESS QUESTIONS: 1. What's the next big plan for He'Brew?

JC: This year, Shmaltz Brewing turns 13, which in Judaism, marks the year of the Bar/Bat Mitzvah, the coming of age for a Jewish boy or girl. For Chanukah, we will launch Jewbelation Bar Mitzvah as we celebrate 13 years of delicious beer and delicious shtick. The label design will feature micro images of publicly submitted bar mitzvah photos. Should be really fun.

2. Who's next in line for the tribute to Jewish Stars?

JC: Top Secret, totally hilarious and, of course, mythically delicious.

3. What's been the most rewarding moment for you with He'Brew?

JC: I'm certainly really excited about the growth of the company over the past five years (1000%), but I'm most proud of the quality and uniqueness of the products we've created, and drinking a Shmaltz beer with the kick‐butt staff that has become my working family over the past two years!

4. I have some friends that brew their own beer. One or two have talked about starting their own company. Any advice?

JC: There are a lot of brewers in the United States and He'Brew really developed a cult following because of the quality of our beers. Yes, we have a lot of fun with our labels and our branding, but it's all about quality and creativity. In the current market, it must be exceptional beer to gain a dedicated fan base. Do something unique and interesting and share the passion with others relentlessly...and wake up every day and do it over and over and over!

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS! 1. What is your favorite album to listen to while enjoying good craft beer?

JC: I dig Corn Mo and the .357 Lover's "Your Favorite Hamburger Is A Cheeseburger." I love this band! Dave C. Wallin, the tattoo artist who designed the labels for Coney Island Craft Lagers, is the bassist for Corn Mo. Fun stuff to rock out to!

2. Who's the toughest celebrity you think you could beat in a boxing match?

JC: Meatloaf

3. What book, movie or show changed your life?

JC: Watching The Daily Show for the first time. I was waiting for someone to really challenge the current platform of news reporting. I love how Stewart combines political commentary with humor and hard news. Jon Stewart rocks.

4. What's your favorite movie trilogy?

JC: Spinal Tap, Best In Show and A Mighty Wind. This is my favorite set of three movies with the same set of actors. As an ode to the Tap, for our anniversary, Shmaltz Brewing released Jewbelation Eleven with a giant amp turned all the way up‐‐to 11.

5. What and where is your favorite establishment to drink?

Where is your favorite non­beer drinking establishment?

JC: Damn tough question, since Toronado in San Francisco and Blind Tiger in New York City have been so great to Shmaltz Brewing...but I'd probably say Spuyten Duyvil in Williamsburg, New York. They serve the finest American craft beers, and consistently switch up their beer menu to feature the best seasonal beers. They have a great little beer garden in the back of the bar, which is great during the summer months. Favorite non‐beer bar though is at the sideshow in Coney Island.

The Beatles Question Who's your favorite Beatle?

JC: Ringo Starr. For decades, he's handled all of The Beatles fan mail by corresponding directly with their fans. Now that is truly amazing.

Stand Out: Unorthodox Brews Boost This Beer Maker’s Bottom Line

By Diana Ransom August 3, 2009 Name: Jeremy Cowan Business: Shmaltz Brewing Company, a niche craft brewery.

Industry: Beverage Location: San Francisco Year Founded: 1996 Number of Employees: 7 Web Address: www.shmaltzbrewing.com Small-business owners, what are you doing to stand out from the crowd? Each week, we focus on an entrepreneur who has lessons to share that we think will resonate with other small-business owners.

Jeremy Cowan, founder of niche craft brewery Shmaltz Brewing Company, answers our questions: What are you doing to stand out from the crowd?

After 13 years of brewing and marketing a Hebraic-themed beer as "Chosen," and, more recently, rolling out a line of circus sideshowinspired craft lagers, we at Shmaltz Brewing Company have learned to aim for the fringes and explore the counter-intuitive. Although we lack the budgets of giant beer companies, we bring attention to our products through unique branding and promotions. For example, for the past two years, we've hosted "Freaktoberfest," a boutique beer and music festival in Brooklyn, N.Y. That and other promotional events have helped us attract a loyal following.

What's the best part about owning your own business?

The flexibility that comes from being my own boss. If I want, I can work until 2 am one night and then take a few hours off another day.

What's the biggest challenge of owning your own business?

Not being able to achieve everything on my to-do list. While money is a factor in why projects don't get finished, time is also an issue.

Plus, if I spread myself out too thin, there's no way I'll be at my best, and things inevitably will slip through the cracks.

What's the biggest hurdle you've overcome?

I'm not -- and never have been -- a very good businessman. I like to be creative, which helps in running a business. However, I generally have a tough time with numbers, margins and negotiations. To make up for my failings, I tapped a business consultant friend, who helped me craft a budget based on my company's sales, expenses and profits. Then, I just became extremely careful about how I spent money. In time, I hired a professional bookkeeper and small business accountant to keep the company's financials on track and on budget.

What's the biggest mistake you've made?

Straying away from the company's core products. Initially, I considered selling T-shirts and other merchandise to add a revenue stream to the business. But the project turned into a second business with its own issues of production, distribution, sales, marketing and maintenance. Plus, most distributors and retail outlets expected merchandise to be free because bigger beer companies offer so many giveaways.

What's the best business advice you can offer?

You do not need to spend money to make money. You'd be better served if you learned to starve, struggle, save and sell. That way, you can achieve your vision based on quality, sincerity, creativity and hustle.

BREAKOUT BRANDS MAY 2009

Stepping Right Up

Coney Island Lager is fast becoming a main attraction in the world of craft beer. By Andrew Kaplan

C

raft beer has always had a strong grassroots, anti-establishment appeal.

So you could say the launch of Coney Island Lager was a match made in heaven—or at least in Brooklyn. After all, can you think of a more anti-establishment place on earth than Coney Island with its sideshow freaks and carnival Coney Island Lager atmosphere?

PARENT COMPANY: While a developer has been negotiating with New Shmaltz Brewing Co. York City to reinvent Coney Island, the beer’s HEADQUARTERS: marketer, Shmaltz Brewing ( which also markets San Francisco & New York City He-Brew Beer), has craftily entered into an agreement to flow some of the brand’s proceeds to the nonprofit Coney Island USA, an arts organizat ion trying to preserve Coney Island’s unique culture. Both have benefited from sales which rose from 5,000 cases in 2007 to some 25,000 in 2008. Recently, Beverage World caught up with Jeremy Cowan, proprietor of Shmaltz Brewing, to find out more about this showy brand.

Beverage World: Where did you come up with the idea for Coney Island Lager?

Jeremy Cowan: We actually were

approached by the folks at Coney Island USA, who had seen our tribute beer to Lenny Bruce, Bittersweet Lenny’s R.I.P.A. and wanted to know if we would be interested in doing a project with them. They’re an incredible arts organization. And so we decided to come up with an entirely new brand for Shmaltz Brewing using some of the iconography and imagery of old Coney Island, but really updated with super-contemporary graphics and illustration styles.

BW: Do you have any personal connection to Coney Island?

JC: I’m a nice Jewish boy from the suburbs of the West Coast and doing He-Brew Beer for 12 years, I started spending more time in New York. My grandparents’ generation all came through New

York and they would tell me stories.

New York has always been this place of nostalgia for me that I didn’t actually experience until I was a grown-up.

BW: Where is the beer brewed?

JC: The beer is actually brewed in

Saratoga Springs, New York, by Mendocino Brewing Co. I work with the head brewer there, Paul McErlean, and we sit down and taste a ton of different stuff and really explore the flavors that we’re looking for. And that’s been a really satisfying part of the Coney Island line.

We’re taking somewhat traditional lager styles from Europe and the US, but putting an American craft beer spin on them.

BW: What about designing the labels?

JC: It’s a collabo-

ration between my art director Matt Polacheck

and a friend who is a tattoo artist in Brooklyn named Dave Wallin. The actual logo for the labels is a take-off on the Tillie face from the Steeple Chase Park from the 1880s, which was the biggest amusement institution at Coney Island for almost 100 years.

BW: How well is it selling in New York?

JC: We have wonderful distribution in New York City and during the summers at Coney Island people have really seized onto the brand. Coney Island for 125 years was really considered America’s playground and those images and icons are powerful history that we’re trying to tie into. But what I think is really exciting is that we’re looking towards the future of what Coney Island could be. There is a real vibrant community there, and we’re right in the middle of all that. So it’s pretty exciting. BW BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

Entrepreneurs

Must-Try Marketing Maneuvers Maureen Farrell, 09.28.09, 06:00 PM EDT

Better yet, they won't break the bank.

Stick to a Shtick Some brands are so dialed in to a customer base--its history, interests and aspirations--that the marketing effort smacks more of a celebration. Jeremy Cowan, founder of Schmaltz Brewing Co., maker of He'Brew beer, builds all his events around Jewish themes. Each year, he hosts an anniversary party where he gives out yarmulkes and Hanukkah Gelt (kosher chocolate coins) with his brand on it. (Jewish DJs often work their magic for free beer.)

Cowan also ran a contest asking for bat mitzvah photos to create a collage now used on his label and invites. "It's not just weird," he says.

"It reinforces our message and our vision."

Cost: A few thousand bucks, depending on the extravagance of the events.

F

eeradvocate

ISSUE #291 JUNE 2009

.)

.C

The term "contract brewer" .F is often misunderstood

and tends to get a bad rap with some beer geel<s and industry professionals. This could stem from the fact that companies who hire a contract brewer aren't considered actual bl'ewet·s, but rather, market­ ing companies. YOUI" thoughts?

- From Jason 0. Todd AISlrOni

Jeremy Cowan Founder, Shmaltz Brewing Co. (California) Iam a craft contract brewer. Dirty word?

I embrace it. English major behind the brewmaster.1 thrive on the fringes.

Dancing rabbis and circus sideshow freaks front our diverse. often ambitious recipes, rarely aiming for classic styles. Shmaltz Brewing began 13 years ago with $2.000 for

labels. pomegranates. and 100 cases

of 22S. hand bottled,labeled and person­ ally delivered. With my credit card debt and their stainless steel, I can work with a truly world-class brewer and brewery staff on projects much more ambitious than anything I could cook up with my own knowledge or resources. late at night. I dig deeper into our shtick (often hosting and hoisting the goods). and daytimes constantly and endlessly over­ flow with distribution. sales and more emer­ gencies than I ever imagined possible. I get to run a tiny national beer company with seven fantastic coworkers and an award-winning lineup-all from a laptop in my studio apart­ ment, couch surfing or subletting. participat­ ing in the best beer scene in the world.

L'chayim!

Seems you don't have to be Jewish to drink He'Brew Beer. Blowing its own shofar, San Francisco's Shmaltz Brewing Co. is boasting an 80 percent increase in business this year, despite the Great Recession. The kosher beermaker is projecting $2 million in sales this year.

Taking over the world looks to be further away, however. U.S beer sales totaled $101 billion in 2008, including $6.3 billion in craft brew sales.

Nothing Sinister About a Cult for Beer April 8, 2009; By Bilal Haye Jeremy Cowan is trying to create a cult. Sinister as it may sound, Cowan’s cult is loosely based around the success and loyalty garnered by underground musicians and artists rather than the destructive tendencies of a Charles Manson or a Jim Jones. And it’s not about himself, but about his beer.

His company, Shmaltz Brewing, produces He’Brew, a line of Jewish celebration beers, and Coney Island Lager, a brand based on Coney Island’s sideshow performers, or freaks, as many people like to call them. Although the beers do have a personality- take the Human Blockhead, the hard-hitting, ten percent alcohol by volume brew for instance- they would be hard pressed to create a cult of personality on their own. Enter Jeremy Cowan.

With a small budget and only a tiny fraction of money to spend on marketing compared with larger brewers, Cowan resorts to innovative and cheap ways of getting the word out.

“It’s all guerilla, all the time,” he says, pointing out that his marketing strategy includes effective use of online sites such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, as well as event-based marketing, catering to an underground culture and increasing awareness through word of mouth.

Cult brands are not usually developed through traditional advertising says Doug McIntyre, CEO of Cult Marketing (the company) and the brains behind American Standard’s Champion Toilet marketing campaign- it can flush 29 golf balls- rather, cult brands are created through word of mouth and viral advertising. He also maintains that in order to create a cult following, a product must be marketed to a niche, or group of core fanatics that share a passion for the product or idea, alienating others who don’t. There’s a saying in marketing circles that he adheres to which goes something like this he says, “Develop something that someone will love, not something no one will hate.”

Cowan also acknowledges this concept and focuses on catering to his core customers rather than appealing to a broader audience. He started Shmaltz Brewing 12 years ago in San Francisco with the launch of what he calls the country’s first Jewish celebration beer, He’Brew. The He’Brew collection consists of such brands as Jewbelation, Rejewvenator and Genesis Ale that use ingredients mentioned in Jewish scripture such as figs and pomegranates in the brewing process.

“It’s a great way for me to celebrate my own culture,” he says.

And in celebrating his own culture, Cowan attracts many others like him who are drawn towards the concept of a beer built around Jewish culture and tradition.

Unlike other brands that lose their essence to appeal to a broader audience, Cowan says he dug deeper into his own niche to reach more people. He made the packaging even more outrageous and ethnic centered, and made the flavors and quality even more intense in order to appeal to core consumers. Considering that the company is growing, the strategy seems to have worked he says.

Using religion to promote products is an increasing trend says Mara Einstein, author of Brands of Faith: Marketing Religion in a Commercial Age, which aids companies in “breaking through the clutter” of media messages bombarded at consumers on a daily basis. She says that studies suggest that individuals may be subjected to up to 5000 marketing messages daily in urban centers.

He’Brew may be trying to stand out by using religion and ethnicity, in which case people may be tempted to try the beer due to its novelty aspect, or it may be trying to promote itself as a holistic, organic product as there is a trend towards healthier, green products. But ultimately, customer loyalty will depend on the quality of the beer, says Einstein.

She has worked in the past with Miller Lite on their marketing strategy and says that the prime target for beer manufacturers are those people who fall between the minimum drinking age and 25, sometimes even younger. Cowan’s branding seems to target this demographic she says. “He’Brew is kind of funny, sounds kind of smart and there is a sort of a chuckle about it.

That would be something that would appeal to that target market.”

It is possible to create a cult around a product say many marketing experts. They name Apple and Harley Davidson amongst the most successful brands that have been able to do so. Other successful cult brands and communities include Red Bull, Axe (body sprays), Mini Cooper, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and even the Oprah Winfrey show.

What these brands and communities have in common is a core, fanatical audience that shares a common passion. A cult brand is something around which you have an experience says McIntyre and gives the example of Harley Davidson. At the end of the day he says, it’s not about the motorcycle but the experience surrounding it, including the leather clothes, the boots and the brotherhood.

Cowan has applied the lessons learned in marketing He’Brew in trying to create a cult-like aura around Coney Island Craft Lagers, a line of beer inspired by Coney Island’s Sideshow performers, which his company launched 2 years ago. The line includes the likes of the Albino Python, the Human Blockhead, Coney Island Lager, Sword Swallower and Freaktoberfest.

The ideas come from brainstorming sessions between

Cowan and Matt Polacheck, who is in charge of graphic designing and art direction at the company. Polacheck says significant thought goes into the design process, and for every layer of flavor in the beer, he tries to use the same amount of layers and meaning in the design of the labels. From labels, to T-shirts to the website, Polacheck designs all promotional items for the company.

Coney Island Craft Lagers are available on tap in several bars and restaurants in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens and are available for sale in most major American cities. Coney Island’s instant recognition and a reputation for fun instantly clicks with Brooklynites, Americans and tourists alike.

“We all love Coney Island,” says Lisa Flores, manager of Superfine, a restaurant and bar in Dumbo.

For Einstein, Coney Island stands for nostalgia and older people- not the market you generally try to reach with a beer product. And with the controversy surrounding Coney Island these days and the perception that it is going under, it is not a good time to be associated with the Coney Island brand. But, although it will be an uphill task, she believes if Cowan can make his campaign fun he may be able to make it successful.

“You can successfully repackage nostalgia,” she says.

Although he does not have a marketing background, Cowan does all the copywriting for promotional materials himself, and because the actual brewing process is contracted to another company, he can divert all his efforts into marketing his products.

Due to a lack of marketing background, he writes what comes down to him intuitively, trying to stick to a consistent message and connecting with people on a personal level he says.

“That to me is the point of this whole stuff that it is very personal,” he says. “It’s all about personal identification, and that’s how you work on trying to build a cult following.”

His first steps in launching He’Brew and Coney Island Lagers were to establish a brand identity by choosing what the bottles, labels and typeface were going to look like and what the words in the promotional materials were going to say.

Everything he wrote tied back to the core idea of quality, community and shtick, Yiddish for comic theme or gimmick.

Cowan’s strategy has still not created the cult-like status for his beers that he envisioned, but he says he is happy with the beer’s progress. The beer is reaching more and more markets, and he says that fans of his beer write in from time to expressing their fondness for it.

Starting small has helped post high growth rates says Cowan, and the company now operates at 5000 barrels a year, or 65,000 cases; the size of a small boutique winery in Napa. The company is not recession proof, but recession resilient he says, and keeping advertising costs significantly low has helped Shmaltz Brewing weather the recession. Still, the recession is hurting, especially when retailers scale back on their inventory.

American craft brewers, or small, independent and traditional brewers like Shmaltz, have generally been doing well over the

course of the last year. According to statistics released by the Brewers Association, a trade association for America’s craft brewers, in February, estimated sales by craft brewers were up 5.8% in volume and 10.5% in sales in 2008, while sales of imported beer like Heineken, Corona and Stella Artois were down 3.4% in volume.

One reason for this growth can be attributed to a growing sense amongst Americans that the quality of local beers can give imported beers a run for their money says Paul Jatza, Director of the Brewers Association. The growth also fits in with a general consumer trend of buying local rather than imported products according to him. He also points towards a similar trend in the wine and spirits market with Americans taking a closer look at local brands.

Cowan also associates the shift towards American craft beer with the high quality of local beer, which he terms an “Incredibly affordable luxury item.” He maintains that craft beers have more flavor and personality than imported beers, and unlike most imported beers, their taste isn’t interchangeable. “Bud and Heineken and Stella and Miller, they’re all the same beer, all the same product,” he says.

“People can argue they are not, but we know that the subtle difference in flavor is minor compared to the millions of dollars the industry spends on advertising and marketing.” The marketing budget of the other thirteen hundred or so craft brewers in America won’t add up to two days of the budget for Budweiser he says.

But, Shmaltz’s beers are available in 25 states now, and have even started being exported to Canada and England.

What lies ahead for Cowan and his company, “Total and complete world domination,” he says.

Brew Review: Coney Island and He'brew Tasting at Sun Devil Liquor

By Jonathan McNamara in Brew Review Friday, Jul. 10 2009 @ 5:30PM

Today I write to you a changed man. No, I have not found a beer so good that I've felt the touch of God. Rather, I've found a beer‐ drinking mecca. I can only apologize that it's taken me this long to discover Sun Devil Liquor in Mesa; though I have visited their sister store (Topps Liquor in Tempe) quite a few times.

In those hallowed halls I had the good fortune of stumbling into (and out of) a tasting from our beer‐brewing friends Shmaltz Brewing. Shmaltz Brewing Company Western Regional Sales Manager Zak Davis presented me and several other beer afficianados including Papago Brewing's Zach Ogle and Beer Snob himself with six tasty concoctions; three lagers and three ales.

It turns out part of the procedes for Shmaltz Brewing's Coney Island Craft Lagers line go to support Coney Island USA. I love drinking for a good cause, so to help out some carnies and for your reading pleasure, I indulged. Here's what I remember:

Coney Island Albino Python Tastes: like the pure essence of lager missing from 24 packs of crap beer at your corner store. Light and subtle, but delicious.

Defining characteristics: Albino Python is a "white lager" and the only one in the country according to Zak Davis. It is flavored with orange peel, ginger and fennel.

Who should drink this: anyone with an appreciation for lager will find something to love here. Anyone in the habit of drinking fizzy, piss beer needs to drop their aluminum cans and pick up one of these instead.

Who should avoid this: if you need a beer's alcohol content to be in the double digits to enjoy it, stay away from this one. It's too light for you.

Coney Island Sword Swallower Tastes: like a sturdy lager. Sword Swallower is sturdier than the Albino Python.

Defining characteristics: Sword Swallower uses 8 types of malt and 4 types of hops.

Who should drink this: drinkers looking for a beer they can enjoy to excess. You'll have no problem getting through a few of these without much effort.

Who should avoid this: anyone with blades down their throats.

Coney Island Human Blockhead Tastes: strong enough to make you consider hammering nails into your nostrils much like the Carney on the label. This brew packs 10% alcohol by volume, but unlike other heavily‐medicated beers, this one isn't too sweet.

Defining characteristics: lots of alcohol.

Who should drink this: if you don't care if this beer will put hair on chest because any more and it'd look like you're sporting an afro below your neck, this is the beer for you.

Who should avoid this: If you think strong beers are for sipping, don't drink Human Blockhead. The one downside of this brew is that it tastes radically different after warming up by only a few degrees. You need to grab this one with both hands and throw it back like a dead‐lifting strong man.

He'brew Origin Imperial Ale Tastes: like it's full of antioxidants. Origin is brewed with "10,000 luscious pomegranates," which scared me off initially.

I'm down for the occasional lambic, but at least then I know I'm in for some candy‐like sweetness. Other fruit flavored beers are so hit and miss. Luckily, this one has the essence of pomegranates firmly in place without dominating the general ale flavors. It's good, but it might wear on you after a glass or two.

Defining characteristics: an imperial, amber ale brewed with pomegranates.

Who should drink this: beer enthusiasts who don't mind a little fruit in their beer.

Who should avoid this: anyone who scoffs at the idea of a little fruit in their beer. You know who you are.

He'brew Rejewvenator Tastes: like dates. Apparently the first batch of the Rejewvenator (Ha! What a funny play on words) was made with figs.

This batch used dates instead. The result is a bit like drinking a box of Sun Maid raisens.

Defining characteristics: Rejewvenator is a half doppelbock. Half Belgian dubbel infused with all natural dates.

Who should drink this: drinkers into pushing the envelope. Rejewvenator is interesting. Even after several sips I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. If the prospect of being intrigued by a brew tickles your fancy, this is for you.

Who should avoid this: anyone who scoffs at the idea of a little fruit in their beer. You know who you are. There's an ale here, somewhere beneath the intense date flavor. If you're not cool with paying for a glass of something you're going to get tired of after half a pint, find something else.

He'brew Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. Tastes: like a good I.P.A. should: full of flavor with citrus notes. This was my favorite of the bunch.

Defining Characteristics: Lenny's is a Double IPA with Rye.

Who should drink this: Jewish comedians and Lenny Bruce fans (casue that's who it's named after).

Who should avoid this: if you've got a problem with bitter‐tasting brews, you might want to try something else. You know, like candy. You pansy.

Verdict: Shmaltz makes some fascinating beer. My only complaint is that a few of them are too fascinating for me to consider drinking more than a glass at a time. For that reason, Lenny's R.I.P.A. and Sword Swallower were my favorite.

They're delicious and interesting but drinkable enough that downing a few in a night wouldn't be a challenge. If you want to try something you've never tasted before, Rejewvenator, Origin, and Human Blockhead are for you. Just don't be afraid to switch it up to keep from being overwhelmed.

Happy drinking!

Creating a Marketing Story — With Humor — That Appeals to All Faiths

Lynda Resnick's Ruby Tuesday Ruby Tuesday Pick of the Week: Shmaltz Brewing Company Why It’s a Gem: Creating a story – with humor – that appeals to all faiths gave an added boost to a craft beer of divine quality

Even before the Great Recession, small businesses knew that if they were to compete against the big guys, they had to stand out. One way to do so was by telling their story – of the company’s creation, their philanthropic ties, their unique ingredients – in order to appeal to an audience that might otherwise have been lured away by the big‐budget marketing campaigns of larger competitors.

That’s precisely what Shmaltz Brewing Company did. By creating a brand tied to a heritage, Jeremy Cowan’s brainchild tapped into a ready‐made tale thousands of years in the making – and they do it all with a hearty dose of humor.

(This interview has been edited for clarity and length.)

Lynda Resnick: In this week’s Ruby Tuesday, we’re speaking with Jeremy Cowan, CEO and creator of Shmaltz Brewing Company. For our readers, describe your business model. What is it that Shmaltz Brewing Company actually does?

Jeremy Cowan: We make the country’s first and only Jewish celebration beer. In addition, we actually make the country’s first and only sideshow freak beer. I’ve worked with some of the best brewers in this country. We make high‐end craft beers, ales, and lagers, and unique flavors and styles and recipes. We distribute them in about 30 states around the country, and Canada and the U.K.

I have custom recipes that I own. I approach breweries that I’ve worked with and have them produce small‐batch, high‐end beer for me exclusively. And then I write all the shtick and create brand labels using my artist, Matt Polacheck, and another friend of ours who’s a tattoo artist.

LR: But you don’t brew them yourself?

JC: No, we’re what’s called a contract brewer. Much like in the wine industry, there’s a lot of boutique wineries who will buy either grapes or buy wine and blend them to their specifications.

We actually have specifications that I work with. [We use] one brewer, and he brews all these beautiful, delicious, complex beers exclusively for me, under our labels, that we buy and resell to our wholesalers around the country.

LR: That’s a very interesting business model, because we’re hearing more and more of that lately. Successful companies [are] going from the manufacturing model of the ‘40s and ‘50s to a model and business where we can outsource certain things. We

don’t have to make everything ourselves, but we have to make sure that it’s made as well as we would make it, right?

JC: That’s the goal. Actually, this is the model where they will make it better than I would make it. I’m an English major, not a brewer. I wanted to find the absolute best brewers in the country that could make me beers that would be much more spectacular than I’d be able to make myself — and ask them to really push the boundaries. I’ve gotten really good, at this point, at drinking beer and tasting beer. I call myself a beer geek. (We use that in the beer industry as an affectionate term.) But I don’t necessarily need to own a lot of stainless steel and a lot of hoses and pay the lease on an enormous building and have to deal with all of the issues that a small brewery has to deal with. I want to get out there and hustle and have my vision for what I want to create: something really special and high‐end and unique. That’s what I’m spending my time doing.

LR: Would you explain what a craft beer is?

JC: So, traditionally the beers that you would have thought of as the beer of America ‐– Budweiser and Coors and Miller ‐– are made in enormous industrial plants. And they’re essentially making a widget, which is in the form of a beer bottle, and then marketing it and advertising it. Craft beer is much different. It’s small, human‐ scale. It’s small batches using 100% high‐end grain, exclusively barley or wheat. There’s no adjuncts and no additives. There are high‐end flowers called hops; we use an enormous amount and variety of hops to make very special flavors. Complex ingredients. Traditional brewing processes. It’s the difference between going to a giant supermarket and buying bread that’s starched, white and bland, versus going to a local farmer’s market and buying a loaf of bread that’s unique and flavorful and made with a lot of passion. It’s just a different process, and I think a different experience for the end consumer.

LR: And your price structure? How does it compare to a Coors?

JC: Well, it’s interesting. The end consumer is lucky, because the craft beer industry didn’t realize exactly how special they were in the beginning, and a couple of the bigger [craft‐brewing] companies felt that they had to actually compete against the bigger beer companies. In wine, you’ll get a small wine producer whose wine costs ten or twenty times more to make it, and they need to make a margin. [There’s] limited availability, so they can charge an enormous amount. Whereas craft beer sells for [only] two or at the most three times as much as some of the bigger beer companies. The big beer companies spend 80% of their actual product cost to advertise.

LR: Fascinating. I have so many questions for you, I’m so interested, because I know what it takes to make a beverage. Now, FIJI Water is untouched by man; but POM, even though it’s 100% real pomegranate juice, it is made more like a fine wine; you blend between orchards and blend between different years to find the perfect balance. And I’m sure that in beer making there is a set of artistic talents for creating the right product.

Is your business growing in the recession?

JC: It is. In the last five years, we’re up 1,000%. Last year, even in the midst of all of this mayhem, we were up 80%. This year, we’re showing those kind of numbers, but a lot of that is because we’re still not a huge entity.

The knee‐jerk reaction is, “Well, beer [and] liquor [are] recession‐ proof,” but actually that’s not the case. Fine wine is down anywhere between 10‐25%, depending on where you’re looking, and liquor sales are not surging. Big beer is down. Imports like Corona and Heineken last year were down 4‐5%, whereas craft beer was up 10‐15%. I think people are realizing what an affordable luxury that craft beer is. You can buy the most spectacular craft beer for $10 at the grocery store. If you want that kind of quality out of a bottle of wine, you’re spending $50, $60, $80.

LR: Let’s just talk about the name and the brand. “The Chosen Beer.” I love it. What niche market are you appealing to? I think I know.

JC: It’s the mother lode of marketing. It’s a niche within a niche within a niche. I don’t think any sane businessman would suggest you start with a community that is 2% of the population, the Jewish community, [then] cross that with the market for craft beer, which is about 4%.

My whole goal in the beginning was to start the first and only Jewish celebration beer, and it’s grown from that to where we want to make beers that can stand with the best craft beers in this country. Based on the quality, we’re able to be creative and super‐playful and add a very unique personality to the brands.

LR: Are you using social media?

JC: Yes. The beer community actually is very web‐savvy. There’s a lot of online activity, and we’re very much involved with that. It’s time‐consuming, and it’s not free.

LR: No, it’s not free, but it’s certainly not expensive compared to traditional advertising.

JC: Right. We would certainly not be in a position to do traditional advertising at this point.

LR: Of course not. But you don’t need to. That’s why there’s an opening. There wasn’t an opening for the last 20 years for the small businessman and woman, but today there is because the big guys are suffering, and they have huge overhead and massive debt. If you’re nimble, you can get in there and make a name for yourself in the new‐media space. Viral projects and [web‐based] public relations are not expensive in comparison. But what they are is time‐consuming and a bit technical and intellectual, so you need smart people to spend a lot of time doing them. And you have to motivate those people, and give them direction so they understand the brand.

JC: You need to tell those stories, and that’s what small business is so good at in some ways. And it’s real. It’s human scale. They identify with it. They feel the passion and they appreciate the quality, and that’s something that big businesses simply don’t do anymore. That’s not their model.

A lot of companies, when they try to grow, they make their flavors bland, their message innocuous, and they try to play to the lowest common denominator. That’s not what craft beer is about. You play to your strengths, which [are] uniqueness,

imagination, and innovation. And have fun and make it special, and that’s kind of what I’m trying to do with Shmaltz Brewing.

LR: The things that I talk about in the book [Rubies in the Orchard] and that we run our businesses by are intrinsic value in the product, which you certainly have with the craft beer; unique selling proposition, the way you market it with the humor and the personification, the beer becomes a personality; and transparency/community, which I assume you have because of your Twittering and social networking. Now, do you give back at all? Do you have anything that you do to make the world better, besides putting a smile on their face?

JC: From the very beginning, our main focus has been on participating in the community through fundraisers and festivals, whether it be Jewish film festivals and JCCs [Jewish Community Centers], [or] things like alternative culture and the arts and being very involved with underground artists and emerging cultures, as well as the food culture that’s also [in an expansion mode].

I’m at the point in my business [where] I do need to consider how big I [want to] get and how quickly I [want to] get there, so that we keep the momentum and the enthusiasm of growth, but that we don’t overextend ourselves into things that we’re not necessarily ready for, or not necessarily even good at. It’s also hard to find help. People tend to be either [overqualified] and removed, or very small and struggling.

Part of a Shmaltz Brewing Company ad campaign

LR: There are so many people out of work. And so many good people that have to change careers. I’ll tell you what I look for in employees. I look for the talent, of course. I look for a work ethic that compares to my own. And I also look for people who are well adjusted. It’s very difficult to work with people that have personality defects, even though they may be fun at a party.

Just make sure you have the best distribution. You’re keeping your overhead down. Grow like a healthy animal. But this is not our last conversation. I’m interested in your business. I really am.

JC: Well, keep your eyes out for our pomegranate beer. The brand is called He’Brew, and that particular beer is called Origin.

LR: Because it was a pomegranate and not an apple in the Garden of Eden. You really nailed it.

JC: I couldn’t come up with quite as much shtick on pomegranate as you guys did, but we did our best.

LR: You can borrow anything you want from us, I don’t care. It’s biblical, for God’s sakes. And I have talked your ear off, but I’ve enjoyed it.

JC: I love it. That’s one of the reasons why I’m in sales and why I started this. I love the narratives, and I love hearing people’s stories.

LR: This is inspiring. You’ve got to get your story out there, you really do. Thank you, Jeremy.

JC: Thanks for your time, have a great afternoon.

~IANf~Rn

A Publication of the Stanford Alumni Association

l---------'""----------足

INSIDE

The Shmooze Beer Company's Bar Mitvah Photo Contest

Say Cheese A beer company begins a bar/bat mitzvah photo contest.

THE SHMOOZE, PAGE 2

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COUlrrESY or'l\FVIN FRIEDMAN

Frozen in Time: The California-based photographer Kevin Friedman, second from right, at his bar mitzvah in 1980.

houlder pads, big hair, ,embarrassing relatives and boys in badly fitted suits.. , ah, the photos of bar and bat mitzvahs past. Embrace the awkwardness and celebrate your inner 13-year-old self with .lewbelation Bar Mitzvah, the Shmaltz Brewing cOmpany's forthcoming seasonal anniver足 sary ale. The company, known as the maker of He'brew - The Chosen Beer, is celebrating its 13th anniversary with a photo

contest and a new brew of 13 malts, 13 hops and awhopping 13% alcohol content (almost enough to make you forget how badly your voice cracked on the bimah).

Shmaltz is accepting submis足 sions of bar and bat mitzvah photos - flattering and not-so足 flattering alike - from coast to coast, and will feature the win足 ning pictures in such categories as "best hair," "most awkward moment," "youngest looking

adult," "best braces" and "best dance move" on its Web site.

A few of the top photos will even appear on the beer label itself. Jewbelation Bar Mitzvah will make its debut at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver this September. The deadline for the label contest is July 4.

As Shmaltz says, "We look forward to laughing with you, not at you .... " L'chaim.

-

DEVRA FERST

6 October 2009 He’brew’s Jewbelation Bar Mitzvah: If you have never hung with a Jew, know that they share a philosophy with Andrew W.K.: when they party, they party hard.

The Chosen Beer’s new brew is no different. For their 13th Anniversary, He’Brew threw 13 different malts and 13 different hops in a barrel until it hit 13%.

Now, my usual beer of choice when I want to get REALLY messed up is Gulden Drak, a Belgian ale that hovers just above 10%.

This shit is gonna get the party started – IF one of you truly cares and will head over to BevMo and get me one.

Shmaltz Brewing Co. celebrated its 13th year with the special release of Jewbelation Bar Mitzvah, the company’s 13th beer.

It is brewed with 13 malts, 13 hops and is 13 percent alcohol by volume. The product is available nationally in 22-ounce bottles.

MICHIGAN BEER GUIDE Beer速 (www.shmaltzbrewing.com). I love these guys because not only do they produce good beers but also they have the best sense of humor of any brewery on the planet. In this litigious day and age when special interest groups protest using names like Crazy Horse or Jaguar I find it refreshing to read a beer label, with a magnify, ing glass, that rings like a script for stand up Jewish comedy.

This beer is named Jewbelation Bar Mitzvah. The neck label says uCelebrating Our 13th Year of Brewing... with Chutzpah.

L'Chaim!" The 13th year is a big deal for these folks and it is celebrated with a beer made with 13 grains, 13 hops and is 13 percent alcohol. It pours dark with a tan head. Light reveals bright red translucence. With all these ingredients, it is already a complex brew. The aroma is a tropi, cal fruit bowl and hops. The beer is medium heavy with good mouth filling chewability. It is smooth and warming with a long lingering alco' hoI and metallic hop finish. I got a lot of Tootsie Roll and caramel, but dates, raisins, plums, fruitcake, caramel green apple and chocolate covered pineapple passed by. Bitter without harshness, dry but falling just short of astringent. And of course, it's Kosher. MBG

Mazel Tov! Shmaltz celebrates Jewbelation Bar Mitzvah during Beer Week

By Molly Freedenberg/Wednesday, February 10, 2010

I didn't have a Bat Mitzvah when I turned 13, but if I had, I would've wanted it to be just like the one Shmaltz Brewing Company threw for its newest Jewbelation ale last night at Amnesia. (And yes, I just said that I wish my 13th birthday party had been at a bar.) The event, which replaced the spot's regular Tuesday program of open mic and Rock'n'Schlock karaoke in honor of SF Beer Week, was hilarious, fun, and exactly as tongue‐in‐cheek as you'd expect from a brewing company whose first beer (He'Brew) was the result of an inside joke between founder (and Bay Area native) Jeremy Cowen and his high school friends.

Highlights of the night included performances by Meshugga Beach Party, whose schtick is playing Jewish favorites like "Shalom Alechem" and "Ose Shalom" in Dick Dale surfer style (while wearing fake beards), and Sex with No Hands, a klezmer polka party band with nearly a dozen members and a range of danceable songs from covers like "Sunrise, Sunset" to originals like "Golden Showers" (yes, the latter's about what you think it is). And of course, as at any Bar Mitzvah, guests received commemorative yarmulkes (in either blue or maroon, with the Shmaltz logo on top and "This is not a frisbee" written inside).

Meshugga Beach Party played favorites from albums like Let's Go Shleppin' while Hebrew School alums channelled memories of Israeli dance class.

But this whole evening was really about the beer, a dark, complex, special edition brew that goes down deceptively and dangerously smooth at 13 percent alcohol. (Get it? Shmaltz has been around 13 years? The beer's 13 percent alcohol? It's called Bar Mitzvah?) In fact, it seems to be the quality of Shmaltz's beer, in addition to the label's sense of humor, that's responsible for its success (and especially so far beyond the demographic of Jews who love a good pun). Though there were certainly more members of the tribe in attendance at Amnesia than I've seen in one place since summer camp, there were plenty of goys also happily getting their drink on. And I expect the ratio will be even closer to 50/50 at Thursday's Beerlesque event at Paradise Lounge, which celebrates the return of Coney Island Human Blockhead with a night of burlesque courtesy of Hubba Hubba Revue.

November 19, 2009

Jewbelation Bar Mitzvah What 15 is to Latin American teenagers and 16 is to spoiled girls on MTV (that is, the age of a rite of passage), 13 is to Jews. So it only makes sense that the 13th of Shmaltz Breweryʼs Jewbelation series would be named after the celebration of a young Yidʼs transformation into an adult Yid. Made (appropriately) with 13 malts and 13 hops, this 13% brew is being billed as an extreme Channukah Ale and should be available throughout the holiday season. My favorite part? Bottle artwork features consumer-submitted photos from their own bar and bat mitzvahs. They are, after all, the Brews.

DRINK UP November 4, 2009

Drink Up: He'Brew Jewbelation Bar Mitzvah by Shmaltz Brewing Co.

$5.98 per 22-ounce bottle It's a big year for the crazies at Shmaltz, and they're marking their 13th as you might expect — with their biggest Jewbelation yet. This is a hard beer to categorize, closest to a stout or a brown ale but with barleywinestrength alcohol of 13 percent by volume. Triskaidekaphobes might avoid this one, with its 13 malts (including two rye variations) and 13 barleys. The pour is high-viscosity, an opaque dark brown, with a slight, light-brown head.

Whiffing it yields molasses, rye, coffee, some alcohol and a light sweetness. In the mouth, it's rich and heavy, complex, sweet and a bit earthy, with a bitter hop finish, some warmth and a bourbonlike aftertaste. The price makes this one a real bargain. L'Chaim!

December 2009

One good brew Hanukkah begins tomorrow, and this year there's even more reason to celebrate as He'Brew Beer turns 13.

Shmaltz Brewing has released its Jewbelation Bar Mitzva, a limitededition holiday brew with 13 malts and hops and 13 percent alcohol. He'Brew, which retails for $5.99, will be available until March in many stores including Mug & Jug in Farmington, Hiller's Markets, Whole Foods, select Krogers and Mapleview Party Store in West Bloomfield. Â

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Have your Bar/Bat Mitzvah photo on Jewbelation Beer bottle The Jewish beer company, Shmaltz Brewing, celebrates its 13th year of beer and shtick with the special release of Jewbelation Bar Mitzvah Beer. It's brewed with 13 malts, 13 hops and soaring to 13 percent alcohol. It will be nationally available in 22-ounce bottles and a very limited amount of draft for select bars.

Shmaltz Brewing turns 13 this year, which in Judaism marks the year of the Bar/Bat Mitzvah, the coming of age for a Jewish boy or girl.

Shmaltz embraces this monumental occasion by inviting consumers to submit Bar/Bat Mitzvah photographs for potential inclusion on the label of Jewbelation Bar Mitzvah beer.

The national contest runs from now until July 4. Photos can continue to be submitted until Chanukah 2009 as all images will be posted on the Shmaltz website.

Shmaltz welcomes pictures from people who are now 21 years or older of when they were Bar/Bat Mitzvah. Bring on the braces, awkward suits, frizzy hair, '80s-tastic family portraits with Aunt Linda and Uncle Dan. And celebrate the day you became an adult.

The "winning" photos in each of these categories will receive a HE'BREW Bar Mitzvah Gift Set and be featured on Shmaltz's website: "Best Hair," "Best Family Photo," "Most Awkward Moment," "Youngest-Looking Adult," "Funniest Shot," "BestDressed," "Best Braces," and "Best Dance Moves."

Shmaltz looks forward to laughing with you. Please send photos with your name, date and location of event to info@shmaltzbrewing.com â&#x20AC;Š

Beer: Made with 13 sh‐maltz Thursday, December 03, 2009 The flurry of winter holiday brews includes a new one perfect for Hanukkah: He'brew Jewbelation Bar Mitzvah. This "limited edition holiday seasonal" comes from Shmaltz Brewing Co., which is turning 13.

And so this is brewed with 13 malts and 13 hops to an extremely festive 13-percent alcohol. It comes in 22-ounce bottles and a very limited amount of draft. You can find it at area bottle shops and better beer bars (Fat Head's in South Side just got the bottles -they're $7.95 -- and will have draft, too).

The label artwork incorporates bar and bat mitzvah photos that customers submitted to the company's recent contest. This winter, He'brew is once again pitting Jewbelation and its other "chosen beers" against other holiday brews in its "Chanukah vs.

Christmas: The Battle Royale of Beers" challenge in New York City, San Francisco, Baltimore, Atlanta and other cities. (A spokesman says Bar Mitzvah parties will be held in Pittsburgh, too.)

Shmaltz is San Francisco-based, but the beer is brewed in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., by Mendocino.

Eight gifts for the beer-lover on your list by brian yaeger, correspondent Mentions of wine and/or strong drink, shekar, in the Bible, some historians and brewers believe, do not refer to wine — but to beer.

Some speculate that the manna that preserved Moses and the Israelites wasn’t just bread, but liquid bread, which fermented into beer. In other words, Jews and brews are a storied pair.

While Chanukah is the Festival of Lights, “lite” beer is no way to celebrate with family and friends. For the suds-lover on your list, here are some recommendations.

FIRST NIGHT: Undoubtedly, the most appropriate beer for Chanukah is Jewbelation 13 (22 ounces, $5.99), brewed by San Francisco–based Shmaltz Brewing Co., creators of He’Brew.

To commemorate its anniversary, the brewer each year releases a new Jewbelation. Bay Area native and Stanford grad Jeremy Cowan launched Shmaltz in 1996, so this year marks the company’s 13th birthday, and Jewbelation 13 is an apt way to celebrate the onset of “brewberty” by becoming a bar mitzvah.

Brewed with 13 grains from barley to quinoa, 13 varieties of hops, and weighing in at 13 percent alcohol by volume, this is serious shekar.

L’chayim! Brew marks its bar mitzvah Published: Friday, November 13, 2009 1:10 AM EST

Thirteen years after the debut of He’Brew beer, SanFrancisco-based Shmaltz Brewing Company celebrates its coming of age with Jewbelation Bar Mitzvah, the awardwinning brewery’s thirteenth Chosen Beer. With an alcohol content of 13%, the beer contains 13 malts and 13 hops.

“This is the most ambitious beer recipe we’ve ever made,” enthuses Shmaltz founder Jeremy Cowan by phone. “It’s a remarkable, spectacular beer that is enormously complex with layers of curiosity. It’s a real connoisseur’s beer.”

Shmaltz labels feature b’nai mitzvah photographs from Cowan’s staff, friends, parents and others. The new release highlights Cowan’s 1982 bar mitzvah and sports his thoughts – both religious and secular – about the number 13.

Jews recite 13 Attributes of Mercy on High Holidays, he notes, while Maimonides wrote the 13 Principles of Faith and died on Dec. 13. Likewise, Apollo 13 exploded on April 13, and Black Sabbath’s debut album was released on Friday the 13.

“Our beers have crossed over with the best beer drinkers in the country,” says Cowan, who has sold more than five million bottles of beer. “There’s a cult following of our beers, based on the foundation within Jewish text, tradition and humor. At the same time, it reaches far into the broader community because of the quality of the beer. It’s exciting that you can take something so absolutely flamboyantly Jewish and tickle sensibility, interest and enthusiasm beyond the Jewish community.”

Chanukah gifts to treat and pamper

By Erin Cohen November 30th, 2009

With all of the tumult and uncertainty in the world these days, this year for Chanukah, why not give gifts geared toward enjoyment and relaxation?

Whether it is a decadent treat, a glass of wine, comfortable loungewear, or pampering bath and body treatments, there is something for everyone to help them relax and unwind this time of year.

Beer or wine is a perfect hostess gift for any party, and also good to have on hand at your own home for unexpected guests. This year, He’Brew – The Chosen Beer, is celebrating its 13th year of brewing with a limited edition Jewbelation Bar Mitzvah beer. This special brew, in 22 oz. bottles, will be available nationally until March 2010. To find the beer near you, visit www.shmaltz.com.

5/27/2009 Your face on the 'chosen beer' The folks who make He'brew are up to their clever -- or groaninducing -- marketing once again.

This time, in celebration of the company's 13th anniversary, Shmaltz Brewing will hold a national photo contest inviting consumers (21 and older) to submit bar and bat mitzvah photos for potential inclusion on the label of Jewbelation Bar Mitzvah, Shmaltz's "13th chosen beer."

Brewed with -- what else? -- 13 malts and 13 hops, the 13 percent-alcohol content beer is expected to be available in September. â&#x20AC;Š

MensHealth.

NOVEMBER

Party Cheer, with Beer BEER COCKTAILS COMBIt\IE THE PUNCH OF A COCKTAIL WITH THE COMPLEXITY OF A GOOD BEER, SAYS JILL SCHULSTER, BARTENDER AND CO-OWNER OF JOEDOE, IN MANHATTAN, HERE ARE HER SUGGESTIONS FOR YOUR FALL PARTY MENU

DRINKS

Lucky DreideL Drink and dessert? L'chaim!

1

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splash cider vinegar

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Shake together the vodka, Manischewitz, and cider vin足 egar. Pour the mixture into a glass with ice, add the beer, and stir.* Garnish with gelt. *Stir better Stir while rotating the spoon with your fingers, so that its back is always against the inside of the glass.

Do this for 30 seconds. That will create more movement in the liquid, allowing flavors to mix better, says Hannah.

Beer

Rye Observations

By Greg Kitsock / Sept. 30, 2009

Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. hits you like a double shot of rye whiskey. "It's on the verge of being liquor," says Jeremy Cowan, founder of Shmaltz Brewing Co., an operation best known for its Jewishthemed beers such as Genesis Ale and Messiah Bold. He says of his 10-percentalcohol-by-volume brew: "I love whiskey and bourbon. This is our ode to that flavor category."

The label pays tribute to the late comedian Lenny Bruce. The beer was first brewed in 2006, Cowan explains, to mark the 10th anniversary of Shmaltz and the 40th anniversary of Bruce's untimely death at age 40. Like Bruce's stand-up act, the beer is earthy and abrasive. It delivers a palatenumbing assault of citrusy and resiny hops (six varieties are used). Two varieties of malted rye as well as torrified (pregelatinized) rye contribute a peppery burn in the back of the throat.

Bittersweet Lenny's contains about 20% rye, which for most brewers is the limit.

Hip Hops: Make room in the fridge for new brews Evan Benn ST. LOUIS POST‐DISPATCH 02/12/2010

WORTH TRYING

• He'Brew Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A.: This rye‐based double IPA was first brewed in 22‐ounce bottles in 2006 as a tribute to the 40th anniversary of comedian Lenny Bruce's death. He'Brew is now making it available in 12‐ounce bottles. Billed as being "brewed with an obscene amount of malts and hops," this chewy, full‐bodied beer packs 10 percent alcohol by volume.

He'Brew and Coney Island beers come to New Orleans

By Todd A. Price March 14, 2010, 3:00PM

The new beer in town comes with a side of schtick. He’brew, headquartered in San Francisco but brewed in New York, bills itself as the “chosen beer.”

“The whole reason I started this,” said Jeremy Cowan of Shmaltz Brewing, which makes He’Brew beer, “was as a tribute to Jewish culture.”

The powerful ales, all certified kosher, wear their heritage on their labels, with names like JewBelation Bar Mitzvah, with 13 malts and 13 hops, or Bittersweet Lenny’s R.I.P.A., a tribute to the groundbreaking comic Lenny Bruce.

Shmaltz also brews the Coney Island lagers, which will be available locally. Lagers, which tend to be lighter, are often an afterthought in the craft beer world. Coney Island’s lagers, named after freakshow performers at the New York amusement park, ramp up the flavor with extra malts, hops and spices.

Shmaltz Brewing Company celebrates its arrival in Louisiana with a party at the Avenue Pub (1732 St. Charles Ave.) on Wednesday, March 24 at 5 p.m.

As an extra incentive to try New Orleans newest brew, stop into Stein’s Market and Deli (2207 Magazine St.) the week of March 23, buy a six‐pack or 750 ml bottle of Shmaltz beer and get $2 off any sandwich.

(February/March 2010 Issue) Celebrator Beer News: Blind Tasting Panel Bittersweet Lenny's RIPA Exceptionally Great, Something Special (rating) Hoppy, herbal nose with rye and caramel malt aromas.

Dark amber in color with a thick tan head. Rich and sweet, with excellent malt character, nice warming alcohol and a big wallop of a hop finish. Â

He'Brew Rejewvenator ­ Beer of the Week

Posted Jun 8th 2009 11:00AM by Joshua M. Bernstein

Joshua M. Bernstein, Gourmet.com's beer columnist, has written about brews, bars and booze for New York Magazine, Imbibe Magazine, Time Out New York, ForbesTraveler.com and The New York Times.

As a Jew who has glugged sickly sweet Manischewitz wine, I have little faith in the Chosen People's ability to concoct alcoholic beverages.

However, Jeremy Cowan's 13‐year‐old Shmaltz Brewing Company (the craftsmen helming He'Brew) makes Judaic‐themed suds, such as the potent Origin pomegranate ale and rich, nutty Messiah Bold, that are more mitzvah than mistake. For his latest Rejewvenator (the last rendition featured figs), Cowan leans heavily on dates, a fruit that the Jew‐enslaving Egyptians (boo!) once used to sweeten brews.

About 400 gallons of fresh‐pressed, fiber‐packed California date juice were incorporated into a hop‐heavy fermentation (five varietals were employed) featuring not one, not two, but three yeast strains. "They were a total experiment," says Cowan of employing crisp lager yeast and sweeter, candied abbey and trappist yeasts.

"The dryness of the lager is a wonderful balance to the richer, fruitier elements of the Belgian ale yeasts."

Confident words, but I still expected the Rejewvenator to be a flavor car wreck: sweet and savory should play separately, right? With my first taste of the sienna‐tinted mash‐up, I was pleased to be wrong.

The nicely bubbled doppelbock‐Belgian dubbel hybrid tastes of dark brown sugars and sun‐baked raisins, of mouth‐coating malt and ripe fruit, with a snappish finish that sends the deceptively strong (7.8 percent ABV) elixir sailing into my stomach.

Forget Manischewitz: I'm pouring Rejewvenator at my next Sabbath dinner.

Brooks on Beer: Summer of Beer

By Jay R. Brooks Oakland Tribune Contributor 7/01/2009

SUMMER RECENTLY roared into the Bay Area — my backyard commemorated the event by tipping past 100 degrees.

Beer, of course, is a natural to beat the heat, although some beers do a better job than others. Many styles of beer literally are designed for hot weather — and quite a few breweries release a special seasonal beer just for the summer.

Drink in style While the sweltering temperatures might tempt you to pick up the cheapest light beer, don't do it. You don't have to sacrifice flavor to quench your thirst. And don't fall prey to advertising telling you to drink your beer as cold as possible. The colder the beer is, the less of it you can actually taste, because the closer the temperature gets to freezing, the more your taste buds are numbed. You want to drink your beer cool, but you also want to be able to taste the delicate, refreshing flavors the brewers worked so hard to make.

One often overlooked style is saison, a Belgian-style beer that literally means "season." Also called farmhouse ales, they're lightly fruity and spicy, with zesty effervescence that makes them ideal food beers. Some of the best include Saison Dupont, Lost Abbey's Red Barn Ale, Ommegang Hennepin, Sonoma Farmhouse Ale by Lagunitas and The Bruery's Saison Rue. Although less common, Biere de Garde is a farmhouse ale that's usually sweeter with more malt flavors and fewer spices than a saison. But it's an equally wonderful summer food beer, refreshing and complex. Look for Lost Abbey Avante Garde, Russian River's Perdition, Jolly Pumpkin Oro De Calabaza or New Belgium's Biere De Mars Ale. Wonderful white wheat The most common beer styles we associate with summer are undoubtedly wheat beers, because the addition of wheat in a beer naturally makes it lighter-bodied and more refreshing. But there are many types of wheat beers, although the best summer styles are hefeweizens (both German and American varieties) and white or witbiers. If you like the signature banana-and-clove aromas of the Bavarian style, try Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier, Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse or Sierra Nevada's new Kellerweiss.

For the refreshing American-style, you can't go wrong with Widmer Hefeweizen, Pyramid Hefeweizen, Anchor's Summer Beer or New Belgium's Sunshine Wheat. While Blue Moon (brewed by Coors) is by far the best-selling white beer in America, also look for Allagash White, Alaskan White, Lost Coast's Great White, Napa Smith's Wheat Beer, New Belgium's Mothership Wit, Samuel Adams Summer Ale or the original, Hoegaarden. You may also want to try Lagunitas' summer seasonal, A Little Sumpin,' Sumpin' Ale, as unique as it is delicious.

Many other styles shine in the summer, too — pilsners such as Trumer Pils, Lagunitas Pils, and Moonlight's Reality Czeck; kölsch beers such as Alaskan Summer Ale or Pyramid's Curve Ball; and cream ales such as Anderson Valley's Summer Solstice Cerveza Crema or Pete's Wicked Wanderlust Cream Ale. 'Tis the seasonal Some breweries eschew the traditional summer styles and just brew what they like and what they hope their customers will clamor for, too. While their seasonal offerings may seem counter to the season, here are a few of the best that are worth drinking any time of the year.

The best summer release that's against the season is without a doubt He'Brew's Rejewvenator, which they describe as half doppelbock, half Belgian-style dubbel.

Five kinds of malt and five hop varieties were used along with an unusual Belgian yeast. Last year it was brewed with figs, but this time 400 gallons of date juice was added to the fermenter to create a one-ofa-kind 7.8-percent beer. With rich malt flavors, dark fruit character and a Belgian-style candied sweetness, it almost defies description.

Another trio worth keeping an eye out for include Grand Teton's Lost Continent, a double IPA brewed with more than three pounds of hops per barrel (that's a lot!) but well-balanced with great fruity, floral hop character. Also watch out for The Mad Belgian from Mad River Brewing, where they took their flagship Steelhead Extra Pale Ale and fermented it using a Belgian yeast from the Ardennes. Lastly, try to find Napa Smith's Lost Dog, a robust red ale by legendary brewer Don Barkley.

So when you're shopping for the 4th of July picnic, barbecue or however you'll be celebrating America's birthday this weekend, keep in mind that you have some wonderful choices for the beer, practically designed to enhance your holiday experience and perfectly match your food. Can't decide which one to pick up?

Get one of each, and host a summer beer festival in your own backyard.

Beer Pick of the Week: Rejewvenator 2009 July 14th, 2009

by Jeff Holland

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 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 front 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!

10 Summer Beers In & Around The City

by Henry Stewart May 27, 2009

SHMALTZ: Rejewvenator From the company that brews Coney Island Lager and He'Brew beers comes Rejewvenator: half dubbel — a Belgian style of dark-colored beer invented by monks — and half dopplebock—another dark-colored monk-born beer, this one Bavarian — made from dates. It tastes like wineflavored beer, and it got us tipsy.

Ideal Summertime Situation During Which to Drink It: Shavuot, in late May, the Jewish holiday that celebrates the end of the barley harvest and the start of the wheat harvest. You can make beer from all those things!

Rejewvenator Shmaltz Brewing Co. San Francisco/New York The brewers at Shmaltz are always up for something weird and wild, and this is no exception. It’s described as 1/2 Belgian-style dubbel, 1/2 double bock, and date juice.

Overall, it leans toward a double bock, but what a double bock! Redolent with fruit and caramel aroma, flavor is rich and sweet with layers of Munich malt, candi sugar—and date concentrate! “All sorts of aromas,” said Gregg Glaser, “fruit and sugar.” “Nice malty nose, with a touch of cane sugar,” said Marty Juliano.

“Some malty sweetness, some fruit sweetness and a little floral hop,” said Gregg Zannella. “So much sugary sweetness,” said Robert Lachman. “Sweet sticky mouthfeel, with some burnt molasses, and some fruit from the dates.

I think it needs more alcohol to burn off the sugars.” “Wild stuff,” said Marty Juliano, “but I kind of like it. You can’t say it’s not different.”

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If you're a rabid pomegranate fan looking for that intense, tart pomegranate flavor in a beer. you may be disappointed. That said, this is a wonderfully made beer. Starting with a big caramelized malt aroma and a pleasant aged characteristic, the beer is inviting from the gate.

You'll also find. as it warms, a winelike quality, mild alcohol tinge and no hops. The flavor boasts burnt sugar sweetness up front that carries through to the aftertaste, reminiscent of the burnt fruit on the edge of a baked tart.

The hops provide an assertive bitterness and a citrusy aftertaste. Origin's full body, mild alcohol warmth and gentle carbonation harmonize to create an easily enjoyed beer. It finishes dry with a lingering mild bitterness, but offers little in the way of pomegranate.

And while a striking label definitely woos buyers, the craft brew art movement isn’t all style and no substance.

The art of the six-pack

“The art has been a good way to have people pick up the bottle and drink our beer,” Polacheck says.

“But once they drink it, they realize that it’s not just about marketing — we devote a lot of time to the quality of the beer as well.”

San Francisco’s 21st Amendment Brewery is one of the few breweries to can craft beers. “Cans are simply better for the beer,” says co-founder Shaun O’Sullivan. “They keep it fresher by protecting it from light, they fit the craft beer drinker’s lifestyle, and cans are better for the environment.” “But once they drink it, they realize that it’s not just to the quality of the beer as well.”

Shmaltz’s Coney Island line boasts sideshow-inspired art.

Craft beer labels are as interesting as the brews Fans of microbrews know the beer poured into their pint glasses is a work of art. But what’s outside the bottle is just as lovingly created. Craft beers boast such inventive, artful packaging, the beer aisle has become a veritable grocery store gallery.

“The craft beer industry is a very creative industry,” explains Matt Polacheck, Art Director at Brooklyn-based Shmaltz Brewing, whose Coney Island Craft Lagers line features colorful, sideshow poster-inspired labels. “The artful labels tie in to the whole culture of craft beer — it’s about creating new, interesting beers — and so to go along with those beers, we’ve made the experience of the bottle as interesting as what’s inside.”

Bucking the idea of beer as lowbrow, we love these labels featuring cute animals and idyllic nature scenes.

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. Shmaltz Brewing Company, ringleaders for well over a decade of He'Brew: The Chosen Beer, have nationally launched a new line of five sideshow-inspired Coney Island Craft lagers. The new brews feature a self·titled lager; an Albino Python; Sword Swallower; Human Blockhead; and Freaktoberfest. These . aren't just any lagers-they're lagers with a lust for an! Schmaltz commissioned Brooklynbased tattoo artist Dave Wallin to create the outrageously original illustrations for the labels. The artwork is clever...but do they taste good?

Close your eyes (someone else reads aloud, duh). Try to imagine the

sensual dance of hops and spices of ginger, orange peel, coriander and

cnushed fennel seed entwined with a sumptuous and elegant malt body

of wheat, barley and a touch of oatmeal. Aahh. Albino Python tastes

good, doesn't it? Another one of our favorites was the Sword Swallower.

It gracefully thrusts eight penetrating hops into the inner sanctum of its

four luscious malts. Astonishing in depth, dazzling in mouth feel. a truly

scintillating brewing performance!

In addition to it's good taste, literally and figuratively, proceeds are

also being made to Coney Island USA, a non-profit organization whose

mission is to defend the honor of lost forms of American popular arts and

culture in Brooklyn's historic Coney Island neighborhood.

With the unequivocally distinct brewing recipes and artwork of Coney Island Craft lagers, Schmaltz Brewing aims to continue to expand its own tradition of designing unique creations that can stand with the country's best gourmet microbrews..

To taste this new Coney Island spectacle visit www.schmaIUbrewing.com.

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ROOKLYN'S CONEY ISLAND, LONG KNOWN FOR SEA­ SIDE AMUSEMENTS AND BOARDWALK ENTERTAIN­ ~'?~. MENT, IS THE LAST PLACE IN THE USA WHERE YOU CAN ~~\LJ . WITNESS A TRADITIONAL CIRCUS SIDESHOW THESE ~ 'FREAKS, WONDERS, AND HUMAN CURIOSITIES HAVE BEEN IMMORTALIZED BY THE SHMALTZ BREWING COMPANY IN A LINE OF HIGH-QUALITY, MICRO-BREWED LAGERS,

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For over ten years, craft beer enthu­ siasts have been "blessed" with some great beer land entertaining shtick) from the Shmalu Brewing Company, known best for their He'Brew craft beer. He'Brew's award-winning lineup inclUdes its flagship Genesis Ale and Messiah Bold as well as Rejewvenator (summer season­ Origin Pomegranate al), Strong Ale, the "extreme" Chanukah annual, Jewbelation, and the Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A It was the Bittersweet· Lenny's R.I.P.A.. which pays tribute to Lenny Bruce, that caught the attention of a Coney Island not-for­ profit arts organization.

"We were approached by the folks at Coney Island USA who had seen our tribute to Lenny Bruce." said Jeremy Cowan. founder of the Shmaltz Brewing Co, "They had received a grant from the city. they were looking for addi· tional fund raising oppor· tunities. and they asked us if we would be inter­ ested in partnering with them on a project: The answer was an astound­ ing yes and the clever minds at the Shmatlz Brewing Company start­ ed percolating.

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The concept for the Coney Island Craft Lager series is based on current performers at the Coney Island Circus Sideshow, The 6-foot tall sexy snake charmer. Serpentina; the youngest sword swallower in the world. Heather Holliday; and the emcee of the sideshow, Donny Vomit, aka The Human Blockhead. who can be seen hammering spikes into his skull. tossing chain saws with style and grace. and other oddly amusing tasks, "As a kid. I always thought it would be cool to have an action figure made after me, but having a kickass beer is a whole lot better. Drink my beer!!" - Donny 'vbmit (aka The Human Blockheadl

In addition to this cast of characters is the flagship lager of the series, appro­ priately named Coney Island Lager; a blood-red fall seasonal lager called Freaktoberfest. and the newest. the Mermaid Pilsner. Released in June 2009 as a special draft­ only summer attraction exclusively for New Yorkers, the Mermaid Pilsner is an intentional nod to the mermaid parade held each year in Coney Island.

"AS A KID, I ALWAYS THOUGHT IT WOULD BE COOL TO HAVE AN ACTION FIGURE MADE AFTER ME, BUT H,AVIf\JG A KICKASS BEER IS A WHOLE LOT BETIER. DRII\JK MY BEER!!"

DONNY VOMIT (AKA THE HUMAN BLOCKHEAD)

Make no mistake about it! While the concepts behind the Coney Island Craft Lagers and the He'Brew line of beers are quite amusing, these beers are top­ notch, consistently receiving As and Bs from Beer Advocate. If these better than average beer reviews don't encourage you to give these beers a shot, the outra­ geously original illustrations created by Brooklyn-based tattoo artist Dave Wallin and Shmaltz Brewing Company's Northeast rep and resident graphic artist, Matt Polacheck, might be the thing that catches your attention. "People are con­ stantly amazed at the quality of these beers," said Eric Rifkin, owner of Bobbique, one of the most popular craft beer bars on Long Island. 'We had a sold out beer dinner featuring the Coney Island lagers. It was a testament to the fact that these beers are more than just a clever marketing gimmick. Shmaltz con­ sistently delivers a first rate craft beer: In a recent interview Cowan was asked if Shmaltz Brewing was "going mainstream" by adding a new line beyond the award-winning Jewish cele­ bration ales under the He'Brew banner, to which he replied, "I guess if circus sideshow freaks are more mainstream than Jews, Shmaltz is going main­ stream!" Cowan added, "For over 125 years Coney Island has been and contin­ ues to be America's Playground. Shmaltz ecstatic to celebrate that flavor, spirit, and future through this exceptional line of unique craft lagers."

With the unequivocally distinct brew­ ing recipes and outlandish artwork Shmaltz Brewing Company aims to con­ tinue to expand its own tradition of designing unique creations that can stand with the country's best gourmet microbrews.

Established in San Francisco in 1996 with the first batch of 100 cases bottled, labeled, and delivered by hand, Shmaltz Brewing Company is seeing wide accept­ ance and unprecedented growth­ 1000% growth in sales from 2003-2008, and over 5 million bottles sold to date.

Shmaltz brews are available in over 25 states, through more than 30 whole­ salers, in over 1500 retail specialty shops across the U.S. "I've been selling beer for over 12 years: said Cowan. 'This is the craziest groWth so far: The craft beer market has shown steady growth, despite mostly flat or declining statistics reporting from the other alcohol categories. "Small craft brewers are getting better at their jobs," added Cowan. t.:Chaiml

Proceeds from the sale of the Coney Island lagers help Coney Island USA, a 501 [c)(3} Arts Non-Profit ful足 fill its mission to defend the honor of lost forms of American popular arts and culture in Brooklyn's his足 toric Coney Island neighborhood.

Photos used with permission from Shmaltz Brewing Co.

"I GUESS IF CIRCUS SIDESHOW FREAKS ARE MORE MAINSTREAM THAN JEWS, SHMALTZ IS GOING MAINSTREAM!" -JEREMY COWAN, FOUNDER, SHMALTZ BREWING COMPANY

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Beer Culture Defined

Shmaltz's artwork can be somewhat shocking, but when asked how far he is willing to take it, Polacheck noted, "l have to submit all the labels to the government for approval, so 1keep that in mind when designing the artwork. That's not to say J don't push the boundaries." He added that Shmaltz's "version of the Clydesdale horse" is either the He'Brew logo's beer颅 raising rabbi or the "tattooed freak face" on the Coney Island bottles.

The Clydesdale that Polacheck refers to is of course synonymous with Budweiser by Anheuser-Busch lnBev, and even that mega-brewer tries to be a bit creative now and then when it comes to label and packaging design, though, as one would expect, its labels are typically more conservative than those from small breweries. Still, Nate Scudieri, the brand manager for Michelob, explained that they "don't have stringent rules to follow.

"Inspiration for a package design can come from many places," Scudieri said of the process. "We watch color trends and pay attention to what is going on in many other industries like fashion, electronics, digital, automotive and other food and beverage categories. For a new label or packaging, we determine what is or isn't working with the current look and search for a design that is the right fit for the beer style, brand and adult consumer. We conduct research with consumers to make sure we are on target and not creating any confusion. The goal is to develop a design that communicates the beer's attributes clearly, while still feeling familiar and recognizable to our consumers."

Recently Michelob, whose brewing tradition dates to 1896, used a mohawked

Issue I, Winter 2009 / 20 I 0

orange slice wearing sunglasses to represent its Shock Top Belgian White beer in an attempt to reach a younger audience. Shock Top "has the same general look, label shape and bottle as the other Michelob Brewing Company beers, but with a twist," Scudieri explained. "The beer was originally introduced as a spring seasonal under the name Spring Heat Spiced Wheat. Its label design was similar to the graphics, characters and brand names seen on our seasonal beers like Jack's Pumpkin Spice Ale and Hop Hound Amber Wheat. The initial response to Spring Heat Spiced Wheat was tremendous. When we introduced the beer year路round under the Shock Top name with a new label, we wanted to ensure it maintained a design style that its fans would recognize."

Such exacting market research stands in stark contrast to the approach small breweries often take in designing their labels and packaging. "I think that others probably overanalyze everything that they do so it just becomes sterile," Terrapin's Buckowski said. "We pretty much fly by the seats of our pants and see what happens."

Storeowners who specialize in craft beer, like Kraig Torres from Atlanta's Hop City and Rich Carley of the Charleston Beer Exchange in South Carolina, offer another window in to the ways that brew art impacts consumers.

"As a beer retailer, I see a clear correlation between packaging and sales," Torres said. "Brands like Rogue, Coney Island and Magic Hat are smart to create eye-catching bottles and six-pack art. It often leads to a first-time purchase, which translates to repeat purchases when the beer tastes as good as the marketing."

"People love the art," Carley added.

"Sometimes a guy would come in with his girlfriend or whatever and she would see something like the Sword Swallower for Coney Island and buy it. With the Terrapin Wake and Bake, that one is really popular, too.

Founders is also an admired brand regarding artwork. People certainly respond to the labels a lot - along with the actual names of the beer - and I think they make purchases sometimes solely because of that."

Thanks to the vivid creativity of breweries. whose bottles and packages do everything from honoring the legends of their homelands to providing eye-popping images of freaks, the artwork of the beer world may soon start to garner the same admiration as the very ales and lagers it aims to portray.

Retro Beer Cycling Jerseys from Shmaltz Brewing Posted by Tyler (Editor) ‐ June 28, 2009 ‐ 8pm ED

Shmaltz Brewing Company sent word that Micro Beer Jerseys (yes, there’s such a company) has just released two retro jerseys with their Coney Island Lager and He’Brew brands’ logos.

All jerseys are $69.90 and share the following feature set: •

• •

High quality Euro Mesh fabric wicks away moisture 19-inch, 3/4 hidden zipper Three convenient rear pockets for storing essential gear

There are several other brands represented on MBJ’s site, too.

Hit ‘more’ to see the He’Brew jersey…

Imbibe Unfiltered Friday, January 30, 2009

“Drink of the Week” Coney Island Lager

Coppery gold in color with aromas of floral hops and orange peel, this crowd‐ pleaser is blended from eight different malts and six types of hops. Complex and balanced layers of sweet, toasted malt and bright citrus unfold around a rich, creamy mouthfeel and finish with lingering orange rind and a palate‐ cleansing, hoppy bitterness. With a personality unlike many macro‐lagers and a portion of the proceeds going toward Coney Island USA, a Brooklyn based arts non‐profit, this beer will go down perfectly.

Fri., Mar. 26, 2010 5 p.m. HOUSE OF BREWS 363 W. 46th St., at Eighth Avenue; 212-2450551 Wendt had hardly sipped his first pint of Chelsea Brewery’s Hop Angel IPA when it began.

“Norm! Hey, that’s Norm!”

With that, the actor was surrounded, this time by a pack of tourists from Maryland, grabbing a drink before their Broadway show. They were overjoyed to lift a glass with Wendt, as if they were suddenly part of that warm and jovial world where Sam, Cliff and Normy passed their evenings, every evening. There were many hands to shake and photos to pose for before they finally let Wendt get back to his true love — his beer.

“I can’t expect to go to a bar and not be recognized,” he said. “If I was going to feel weird about being called ‘Norm,’ then I shouldn’t be out. Instead of hiding, or acting like I don’t want to be bothered, it’s best to embrace the attention.”

Wendt became a fan of House of Brews last year while staring in “Hairspray” on Broadway and on this night he sampled a good number of local beers, moving from IPA to Coney Island Lager. All he’ll say is that he “never met a beer he didn’t like.”

BEER OF THE MONTH

Shmaltz Brewing Albino Python

January 6, 2010

We're getting used to spices in beer, such as the coriander in Belgian witbier and the fruitcake spices in Christmas ales. This one makes a quite different choice, ginger and fennel, along with the dash of orange peel that's been showing up in a lot of ales. But here's the thing: It's not an ale ‐‐ it's a crisp lager, so the spices are out there on their own, not supported by the forgiving musk of ale flavors.

So it has a straw‐yellow color with a moderate head and a grassy (three kinds of hops in there), faintly celery‐like nose.

On the palate, the fennel and orange add a bit of breadth to the aroma, with the ginger dominating. It finishes quite dry and hoppy.

Shmaltz Brewing is best known for its jokey He'Brew line, but this belongs to its Coney Island line, which raises money for an outfit that honors "lost American pop arts and culture" and the renaissance of Coney Island, N.Y. So you could pat yourself on the back while you chug it (assuming that's even possible). It would go with mild curries, substituting for the clichéd ginger beer.

­­ Charles Perry

Style: a crisp, easy‐drinking lager with an intriguing spice note and a thoroughly dry finish.

Where to find it: About $4.59 for 22 ounces at Hi‐Time Wine Cellars in Costa Mesa ( www.hitimewine.net) and Beverages & More stores (for locations, visit www.bevmo.com).

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DAILY~NEWS

NEW YORK'S HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER

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In other Brooklyn booze news, look what has washed up on the Coney Island shore.

Shmaltz' Brewing Compa.ny rolled out th€ Mermaid Pilsner - ~----~----------; their Mermaid~themed lager - at the Siren festival last Saturday.

Although the 5.3~proof beer debuted at the Mermaid' Parade lastmonth, it's not too far off from the Siren image to make another appearance. AfteraJl, it's all about the ladies.

Hence the lower -alcoholiccon~ tent. "We're not necessarily say­ ing it's only for the ladies, [but] when you see the imagery onit ­ Label for Shmaftz's Coney it's female~oriented. There's a mermaid doing h€r hair," said the Island Mermaid pilsner. beer's spokesman,. Jesse Cutler. .

The beer is only avaHablein New York for the summer. No word if King Neptune or the Sirens themselves are next to be immortalized on a beer label.

"I don't know if they've considered the Si~ rens," Cutler said. .Speaking of Coney Island characters on beer labels: May we suggest Joey Chestnut?

GRUB STREET

Monday, January 12, 2009

Coney Island, Though Going to Shit, Is Still Available in Beer Form

One of our favorite local brewers, Schmaltz, is now introducing Coney Island Human Blockhead to stores. The beautiful thing about this “tough­as­nails lager” (besides the fact that it incorporates six varieties of hops — from European to American Pacific Northwest) is that it’s named after the Coney Island Sideshow’s infamous emcee, Donny Vomit — so if pounding 22­ounce bottles gets the better of you, you’ve done the beer justice, in a way. Sadly, the way Coney Island is going, it looks like your deli fridge is the last place you’ll be able to get a taste of what our sword­swallower friend Heather Holliday (another face of Coney Island Lager) lovingly calls Coney­baloney.

Friday, January 16, 2009

The news coming out of Coney Island these days is enough to drive one to drink, so we suppose it's lucky there's a new lager in Shmaltz Brewing Company's line of Coney Island sideshow‐inspired brews. The latest is the Coney Island Human Blockhead, a strong lager with 10% alcohol content and six hops varieties.

It takes its name from sideshow performed Donny Vomit‐The Human Blockhead. We talked with Donny about having a beer named after him, Coney Island, and hammering things into your head. Our conversation is after the jump.

I've never seen your act. Tell me about it.

For the past 4 years, I've been the host of the Coney Island sidehow. For my specific act, I hammer six inches of solid steel into my head and live to laugh and joke about it.

Where does the "vomit" in your name come from?

The name vomit was given to me early in my career by another performer who saw my act and said it made him want to vomit. It's a catchy name, people seem to remember it.

Have you tasted your beer?

Yes, it's quite unique. The've gone through quite a few batches. It's a great beer. I'm very happy that it's 10% alcohol.

Everytime I talk to the brewers, it tends to get a little higher, which pleases me. If I'm going to have a beer with my name on it, it better get you hammered.

How would you describe the taste of the beer?

I'm really not that good at describing it. It's been interesting, meeting the brewers, I've actually gotten an education in beers. It's a beer that let's you know you're drinking a beer.

Did you taste different batches and give input?

I let the brewers do what they do, and they let me hammer nails into my face. I remember when they first came to me, they wanted to call it "the regurgitator." But, it's probably better they decided to call it Human Blockhead.

How do you think your beer tastes compared to the other Coney Island brews?

The cool thing about this line is that they're all very unique. I like mine because it's a dark strong beer and that's more to my taste. It's tough as nails, that's the tagline.

Have you ever performed your act under the influence?

No, of course not. Safety first in the sideshow world.

What's the next act you'd like to learn?

Right now, I'm still mastering sword swallowing. I've been working on some other less traditional acts, and combos, like straight jackets, or balancing on things while wearing a straight jacket.

Does the "vomit" in your name have anything to do with something you tend to do if you drink too much?

No, the vomit has nothing to do with my drinking habits. It's hard to hammer a nail into your head if you're hungover.

FOOD

By Marcus Chamberland

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Coney Island Human Blockhead, by Shmaltz Brewing Co.

Coney Island Human Blockhead, by Shmaltz Brewing Co. $5.49 per 22‐ounce bottle

Human Blockhead is a bock‐style brew in the Coney Island series by the New York madcaps behind He'Brew. The startling label features a drawing of Coney Island sideshow freak Donny Vomit pounding a nail into his left nostril. The pour is a clear reddish brown, with a medium wheat‐colored head. Sweet malt dominates the aroma, which reminds of the smell of an outdoor music festival — it'll whet your appetite for spring. The flavor is complex, owing to the eight varieties of grains and six hops used in its brewing. It's mostly sweet caramel with rye, followed by a bitter hop finish and some alcohol warmth on the swallow. Mouthfeel is thin, drinkability refreshing. Alcohol by volume a somewhat sneaky 10 percent. Stay away from hammers.

Shmaltz Brewing Co., Saratoga Springs, N.Y.; shmaltz.com

Monday, January 19, 2009

Shmaltz Unleashes the Latest in Its Coney Island Craft of Brews

Blockheads, Burlesque & Beer Commemorate the Sideshow

By Matthew Goldberg

DUMBO — “Could we have a Blockhead for the blockhead?” piped Matt Polacheck to the barkeep at the still‐new Galapagos Art Space as Donny Vomit graced us with his presence once the festivities started to unfold here.

“You could do better — no, it’s good,” kidded the infamous sideshow performer and resident “human blockhead” at the Coney Island Sideshow as he took his first sip at the official unveiling of the beer named in his honor, courtesy of Shmaltz Brewing Co., which encompasses Coney Island Craft Lagers and HE’BREW – the Chosen Beer.

“Aww... it’s real strong,” he said as an afterthought, taking another sip.

On Thursday, Jan. 15, Shmaltz unleashed its latest of the Coney Island brews, the Coney Island Human Blockhead, labeled the “Tough‐as‐Nails Strong Lager.”

It was quite a raucous evening, featuring Donny Vomit as emcee, hosting a feast of friends — freaks and burlesquers from the Sideshow.

Celebrating the release of his eponymous beer, Donny held up a 22‐ounce bottle of the beer to the light, commenting wistfully:

“Human Blockhead: Get Hammered!”

And as the crowd ooh’d and ah’d, Vomit went on to perform a few tricks of his own — such as hammering a nail into his nose, and then driving another one in with an electric drill — before bringing out his other guests.

Vomit is the third of Coney’s Sideshow attractions to have a beer named after him. Brooklynite Matt

Polacheck says Shmaltz was thrilled when Coney Island USA approached it about introducing the sideshow‐ themed brews. (The first two are their Albino Python and Sword Swallower.)

Polacheck serves as “Northeast manager, art director, and ‘other Shmaltz guy,’” as he put it — his ‘other’ being friend and co‐Shmaltz chair Jeremy Cowan, based in San Francisco.

The “human blockhead” was a stunt developed in the 1930s by renowned sideshow performer Melvin Burkhardt — the moniker was given to him by Robert Ripley — who turned the performance into a Coney Island staple, which Donny has continued and made his own to this day.

Polacheck and Cowan strove to give their newest lager an added heft as “a finely crafted professional [with an] enormously developed body,” and the beer is advertised as containing 10 percent alcohol, which “nails it home.”

But, as Polacheck informed the Eagle, an odd production glitch in preparing for the event kept the batch they were planning to pour tonight idling in the barrels a little longer than they had intended — before being tapped for the bar — allowing the lager to ferment just a little bit more.

So, the Blockheads we were drinking were actually a little closer to 11 percent, according to Matt.

Try This at Home

Donny is originally from Oklahoma, where he used to toss pizzas in college.

“As a kid,” commented Donny, “I always thought it would be cool to have an action figure made after me, but having a kickass beer is a whole lot better.”

He packed up everything he owned, and came to NYC “because that’s where the [Coney Island] Sideshow was,” he told the Eagle. Eventually he hooked up with the freaks at the Sideshow, and he has been ringleader for the whole cast of characters for four years.

As he told me, “I weaseled my way into the hearts of Coney Island with my wits and [now] my beer.” The beer has many taglines decorating its bottle, such as: “Try this at home, or in your favorite drinking hole.”

On the sideshow trade, and how he got started with it, Donny said, “It’s what I was good at.” He expounded that he never was a musician or anything like that, but he “could hammer a nail into his face” with the best of ‘em.

And he fits right in. The sideshow scene at Coney Island, he said, “is a small community” affording him the opportunity of “meeting some of the coolest people in the world.”

Donny’s first guest performer of the evening was Legs Malone, a full‐time burlesque dancer who lives in Fort Greene.

Starting out in a trench coat and then an adorable polka‐dot number, she danced with a touch (twist?) of mime to an old Duke Ellington tune that was accidentally sped up by DJ Mikey Palms, according to Legs, giving the piece a hint of ‘20s Dixieland flavor.

“I’m a huge Coney Island enthusiast,” Ms. Malone told this reporter after her performance.

Meanwhile, back at the bar, Nik Sin, a local midget sideshow performer, is an old friend of Donny’s (and when asked the preferred nomenclature — ‘midget’ was his choosing — he said, in no certain terms, that he doesn’t give a darn). He fondly recounted to me their first meeting at a party, where Donny taught the young protégé a rather curious thing to do with a Q‐tip®.

Nik was on hand to show his support tonight, loitering at the bar along with fellow sideshowers Albert Cadabra and Jonny Porkpie, whose wives, Gal Friday and Nasty Conasta, respectively, were among the burlesque performers Donny later introduced.

Rounding out the affair, Ms. Friday showed us in glittering fashion what a “Town Without Pity” can do, and in her finale did manage to get if just one of her tassels spinning correctly. Ms. Conasta used vintage ostrich feather fans to shield her form (at first), choosing for her theme music the “Imperial Death March” from Star Wars, wearing just one black glove in homage to Luke Skywalker.

“She’s an incredible nerd,” said Porkpie, who lives with his wife in Park Slope or Windsor Terrace (“depending on which realtor you ask”).

The Future of Shmaltz

Said Donny of his future in sideshow, his calling, “I want to take what I do and do it in front of as many people as possible.”

“In four years,” he proudly told the Eagle, “I’ve become the host of the Sideshow and got my face on a beer.”

And life doesn’t get much better than that.

Vomit closed out the evening performing one of his most popular hits, “The Big Swallow.”

In this particular number Donny does something interesting with an elongated balloon: he inflates and then gradually swallows it. Then he washes it down with a beer — a Coney Island Human Blockhead, of course.

“Take it all!” cried someone in the crowd. (But where does it go? this reporter wondered.)

Shmaltz considers its brewing company “set for the year” with beer, says Polacheck. Their goal in the months ahead is to get on “repackaging” their various lager products, like from the exclusively 22 oz. bottles they currently distribute, to the more common 12 oz. containers getting the bottles into places like KeySpan Park.

The guys at Shmaltz teamed up with Coney Island USA, a nonprofit defending “the honor of lost forms of American popular arts and culture in Brooklyn’s historic Coney Island neighborhood,” to bring out this fifth of the Coney Island Craft Lagers.

The colorful labels for all of the Coney beers were drawn by Dave Wallin, an artist at Tattoo Culture in Williamsburg. All of the specimens posed for Dave in his studio — including Donny, and the likeness to the real thing is rather astounding.

Coney Island Human Blockhead will be available in 22 oz. bottles and a very limited supply of kegs at specialty shops and select bars across 30 states, Canada, London and, soon, Amsterdam, from now until April 2009 (through the summer in NYC only). Proceeds will help Coney Island USA.

He’Brew broadens market for 2 brews January 18, 2010 at 2:58 pm by Bill Dowd NEW YORK — One of the difficulties of discovering a fine craft beer is that too often you can’t find it after sampling it at a competition or other special event.

One such is Coney Island Human Blockhead, from the whimsical and marketing‐savvy folks at Shmaltz Brewing Company in New York where they turn out what they call “He’Brew, The Chosen Beer.”

Human Blockhead was awarded the grand prize in the “Loose Lager” category at the U.S. Tasting Championship last July 2009, and it took second place in the “Strong Lager” category at the 2009 Manitou Springs Craft Lager Festival in Manitou Springs, CO, in August.

After that, demand grew for the beer, but supply wasn’t yet there to meet it. However, it will be made available nationwide from this month through May 2010.

Schmaltz brewers use eight specialty malts of barley, wheat, rye, and oats to create Human Blockhead, along with six hop varieties from European Noble roots to American Pacific Northwest new school flavors, and a proprietary lager yeast. The finished product comes in at 10% alcohol.

Schmaltz also likes to name some of its products for prominent Jewish personalities, such as satirical comic Lenny Bruce. To commemorating the 40th anniversary of the caustic‐tongued icon’s death, the company is re‐issuing Lenny’s R.I.P.A. “brewed with an obscene amount of malts and hops.” It is being offered in four‐packs of 12‐ounce bottles as a new year‐round product beginning this month.

For those not up on their amusement park history, Coney Island has been part of Brooklyn legend as a vacation spot and then amusement center since the 1830s. One of its most enduring attractions for generations was the carnival area with its sideshows and rides.

Shmaltz Brewing uses some of the more bizarre sideshow personalities that have appeared there over the years as the title characters in its lineup of brews: Sword Swallower Steel Hop Lager, Albino Python white lager with spices, and so on. The Human Blockhead was a performer who pounded nails into his head — or at least appeared to do so — to the horrified amusement of all who paid to see him. The first to have the role was magician Melvin Burkhardt, who had it for 25 years, and the act continues to this day as performed by the quaintly named Donny Vomit.

Fri, Sep 11, 2009 You always knew Williamsburg was a real freakshow. And if you like both craft‐brewed beer and sideshows, then has Spike Hill got the lager (and entertainment) for you. Coney Island Lager is finishing a week‐long residency at the Bedford Ave bar. How does a beer have a residency you may ask? Glad you asked.

The lager line, a product of Brooklyn's Shmaltz Brewing Company, features sideshow performers ‐‐ a tattooed freak, a sword swallower, and a snake charmer ‐‐ emblazoned on its labels. All week long the lagers are $5 at the bar, and the rep from the brewery says it's all love between Shmaltz and its brethren at Brooklyn Brewery, even when a patron was served a Coney Island Lager in a Brooklyn Brewery pint glass. It must have something to do with the fact that they both contract bottling to a brewery in Ithaca.

To launch its new beer, Human Blockhead Tough As Nails Lager (yes, it's tough to order), Coney Island Lager has brought in label cover model Donny Vomit, also known as, you guessed it, the Human Blockhead. And what does Donny do for your viewing pleasure as you are enjoying his tasty beverage?

He pounds seven‐inch spikes into his nose, inserts a running drill into his septum and swallows a sword. All while folks are enjoying their dinners just steps away.

In a bit of kismet (or odd timing depending on your point of view) Spike Hill also has a guest chef in the bar. His flare for flambés really adds something to the show. Seeing Donny insert a condom‐wrapped nail into his nostril probably does not complement the food in the same way.

RACKET MAGAZINE Shmaltz’ Coney Island Blockhead Lager - Booze Review March 10th, 2009 by Racket Magazine

Here at Racket, we love booze. So much, that RacketMike has gone on to be a professional brewer, as well as an avid home brewer. I once made a home-brewed Honey-IPA that had RacketMike and RacketCasey screaming about God knows what while rolling around on the ground singing Weezer songs. Granted, we drank like a 2 liter bottle of the shit, but still. We love Guinness, Newcastle, Boddingtons and more. And as you can tell, we love dark beers. When RacketCaitlin and I got to try He’Brew’s Coney Island Blockhead Lager, we were expecting, you know, a lager. Something crisp, clean and ultimately light and weak. They kind of beer you have with chips and salsa, not a beer for beer drinkers. This is a beer for beer drinkers.

With an assload of six different kinds of hops and eight different malts, this lager becomes barely translucent with a rich caramel color. At 10% alcohol, this beer grabs you by the balls, but just to “convince” you to down the rest of the 22 ounces of pure deliciousness. Not only does the Blockhead Lager get you a decent head change after one bottle, but your night of drunken debauchery goes to a good cause, Coney Island, USA, an arts non-profit to “defend the lost forms of American pop culture in Brooklyn’s historic Coney Island neighborhood,” i.e. carnival sideshows.

Featured on the bottle, illustrated by tattoo artist Dave Wallin, is current MC of the Coney Island Sideshow and Human Blockhead himself: Donny Vomit. While Vomit dreamed of once having an action figure made of himself, he is completely correct in saying “having a kickass beer is a whole lot better. Drink my beer!!” Preach on, Donny.

-Jonathan Yost Seriously: Some badass shots of Donny, and I couldn’t leave them out.

Click to make them bigger.

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Coney Island Human

Blockhead Lager

Shmaltz Brewing, having

proven their prowess with

a variety of innovative ales,

adds to their Coney Island

lager series with the Human

Blockhead Tough-As足

Nails Strong Lager. It's a

tag-team effort, using eight

malts, wheat, rye, and oats,

along with a combination

. of six hops from the Pacific Northwest and Europe, to reach a head-pounding 10% ABV. A variety of details is available from Jesse Cutler (415-655-3431; publicity@jpcutl足 ermedia.com) .

February - tVlarch 10

ShlYlalrz Brevving Co. released Coney Island Hun"lall Blockhead in Jan uary. The craft lager won ll1ulriple a\vards last year, including the National Grand Prize in the "Loose Lager" category at the United States Tasting Chalupionship and Second Place in the Strong Lager" category at the 2009 Manirou Springs Craft Lager FesIival in l\1anirou Springs, CO. (C

(June/July 2009 Issue) Coney Island Human Blockhead "New Releases" Amber color, big phenolic alcoholic aroma.

Fermented at high temperature. Hot, high alcohol on the palate. Two of these and we'd be pounding nails in our noses too. High-gravity malt liquor at 10% abv.

Recommended for those seeking to join the circus quickly. Â

Tu SfUlcus Es'

OCTOBER 2,2008 ' VOLUME 44!SSUE40

@theOMIOM'

AMEHICA'S FINEST NEWS SOURCE' ONION.COM

FOOD

Patrick FondilLer is manager of the Brooklyn bar The Gate as well as an organizer of the Coney Island Freaktoberlest Boutique Beer & Music Festival, a big gather­ ing of just that on Friday IOct. 31. The festival wiLL transpire in a new bar on Surf Avenue, with music-by the Likes of Chin Chin, Dogs Of Winter, Junk Science, and more-on the street outside. The A. V. Club spoke with FondilLer about, weLL, beer.

PF: We'll have a keg of Hop The A.V. Club: Whe'n did you firsl Stoopid from Lagunitas, from get inlo beer seriously?

Califb.rnia, which I think is the.

Patrick Fondiller: Back in the . . . .' . '" .. ' . second keg of that ever on the late '80s. [ was' in a bar one East Coast. Lagunitas is proba­ night in Northern California, '---=: ' ­ ~ --:; and this guy was sitting there bly my favorite American brew~ drunk and unmercifully bust­ ery. The Hop Stoopid is a dou­ ~ ble IPA, with a huge amount of ing my balls for ordering a Bud­ .. .. weiser. [t got to the point where hops. It's definitely a coup. You can get it in bottles, but they I was about to take him out- :.=._ don't ever send them to New side, but then he bough t me a York. Ithaca Beer Company is Sierra Nevada pale ale. I took a Sip and it was an epiphany. sending uS a keg of oak-aged AVC: What sources do you consult as a beer brown ale. We'll have Sly Fox Oktober­ connoisseur? fest, a really good malty marzen beer.

PF: I read.Beer Advocate once in a whiJe­ Then the signature beer of the festival is those guys are good at what they do. At Freaktoberfest. frOPl Shmaltz Brewing the bar we get Yankee Bre'''' News. All' Street Company, a very tasty blood-red lager.

News is one of my favorites: It's a local AVC:What kind of beer do you keep on-hand at home? publication [published in New Jersey] with articles on festivals and specific types PF: I have a pretty serious collection of aged beer. at my .place. My girlfriend of beer with tasting panels, ratings and re­ views, a homebrew column with different thinks I'm totally insane. I've co-opted entire cabinets and closets, and have a recipes.

AVC: How will the beer work at the fridge full of beer that· I like to turn peo­ ple onto when they come over. The old­ ~~Rn .

PF: There's a bar going into what used to est beer I have right now is a 2000 Brook­ be an Army recruiting station on the cor­ lyn Brewery Monster Ale. Most beers are ner of 12th Street arid Surf Avenue, by the not conducive to aging. Especially stuff freak show, and there will be what they made with a lot of hops, you want to call jockey boxes, which are coolers with drink fresh. But big barleywines or big draft lines in them that you hook up just stouts are really better with age. I was like at a bar. We'll have] 2 to 14 lines of reo reading an article recently about this sci­ entist who extracted yeast from a weevil ally good beer at the bar Inside. Then up­ stairs, for the VIP tickets, will be an insane encased in amber~it was really old [25 array of high-end beer. We'll have a cask or to 45 mHlion years old-Ed.l-and some­ how he brought it back to life and got it two of gravity-pour cas~ ale, where the to multiply. Yeast is a weird thing. beer is fermented inside a keg and then tapped old-school, with a hammer and a -Andy Battaglia pin. Upstairs wiII be for the total connois· seur; downstairs is for people who just want to come and see the freaks, watch the bands, and drjnk really, really good beer.

AVC: What beers are you most excited about?

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Shmaltz Brewing Company has teamed up with several breweries to host the sec颅 ond annual Freaktoberfest) a daylong party with live music, DJs and more than a dozen ales ripe for the tast颅 ing. "So many beer events are just people standing around drinking," said Jeremy Cowan, one of the event coordinators. "Vle are a little bit more ambitious, a lot more delicious, a lot more unusual."

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LOCAL RESTAURANTS, PUBS,

AND EVEN ENTIRE TOWNS GET

IN ON OKTOBERFEST ACTION.

BY KATIE MAVRICH I PHOTOGRAPHY BY MEGAN WYLIE

he beer connoisseur does not need an occasion to saddle up to a bar and order a micro • brew, but Oktoberfest celebrations are as good a reason as anything. The 16-day festival originated in Munich, Germany, in 1810 as a celebration of the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen, but is celebrated today around the world. Mugs of frosty Oktoberfest beers are filled, German bands play live music, and bratwursts abound. For Bocktown Beer and Grill's "beer librarian" Tera Bevilacqua, Oktoberfest beers signal that her favorite time of year is here. "1 get very excited to see the Oktoberfests come wheeling in through the front door, because it means two things: fall, my favorite season, is right around the bend, and the season of malty beers is upon us ­ my favorite style of brew," she says. We put together the go-to guide for celebrating the season, from where to go, to what to eat and drink. ri

BOCKTOWN BEER & GRILL Tera BeVilacqua, the aforementioned beer librarian, loves pairing Bell's Oktoberfest - a copper, amber hued beer with a mild bite - with the restaurant's Seafood Trio entree - lightly seasoned and char· grilled Ahi tuna, salmon, and jumbo shrimp served with steamed rice and fresh, seasonal vegetables.

Great Lakes Oktoberfest's slight bitterness pairs well with the oh·so-spicy mussels Diablo. Or, sample a Thirsty Dog Barktoberfest, a traditional old world German·style lager made with all German yeast and hops, while enjoying the carnivore's dream entree - filet mignon, pulled pork, bratwurst, and hot sausage meatballs served with various dipping sauces. The daring beer drinker will look past the screaming red hue of Shmaltz Brewing Co.'s Cooney Island Freaktoberfest - a crisp, spiced lager with hints of dried pears and apple. Try it with Bocktown's traditional West End Wings with bleu cheese dressing.

24

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OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2009

Home Bar: Malt Madness, Part Two

by Peter Genovese/The Star­Ledger Thursday March 26, 2009

Pulse­quickening action. Edge­of­seat suspense. Dramatic come­from­behind victories.

The NCAA men's or women's basketball tournament? No ­ Malt Madness!

Our hoppier if not happier version of March Madness had its share of sudsy surprises and frantic finishes, as our esteemed judges worked their way through our field of 64 beers, bracketed in four styles ‐ lagers/pilsners; pale ales/IPAs; wheats and whites; stouts and porters. There were few lopsided victories, with many of the matchups decided by one‐vote margins. The judges took their duties seriously. Well, most of the time anyway.

"If this dog was in a pound,'' one judge said of Flying Dog Old Scratch Amber Lager, "I'd adopt it.''

"Get your nose in there; experience the beer,'' another said of an entry in the stout category.

Hey, get your nose out of our beer!

"Do the readers know we worked really hard at this?'' wondered judge Marcia Sheldon of Scotch Plains.

They'll have to take our word for it, Marcia. Jersey beers did reasonably well. Climax's Hoffmann Helles won the lager/pilsner division, while another Climax beer, Hoffmann Hefeweizen, knocked off Sam Adams Hefeweizen and Magic Hat Circus Boy in the wheats/whites category before being edged by Victory Sunrise Weissbier.

Coney Island Steel Hop Lager ‐ its sword swallower­ themed label was the tournament's best ‐ was a sudsy Cinderella, racing past Cricket Hill East Coast Lager and Yuengling Traditional Lager before being ousted by Hoffman Helles.

Biggest first‐round shocker: Stone Imperial Russian Stout, winner of our Suds Sweet 16 last year, upset by Arcadia Imperial Stout, from that little‐known hops heaven, Battle Creek Mich.

Best name? Hoppin' Frog B.O.R.I.S. The Crusher Oatmeal Imperial Stout. B.O.R.I.S., alas, was crushed in the second round by Oskar Blues Ten Fidy, the porter/stout winner.

Two toughest categories to judge? The pale ales/IPAs and porters/stouts. All the beers tasted good! We couldn't same the same for the lagers/pilsners, or wheats/whites. "Garbage‐y aftertaste,'' one judge said of a wheat that shall go unnamed.

Chicagoist

Wednesday, November 19, 2009

"Beer of the Week" Coney Island "Sword Swallower" Steel Hop Lager

Growing up on the Northwest side of the city meant that we looked forward to "carnival season," that period during summer when every Catholic parish transformed their parking lot into a sticky mélange of sawdust, neon lights and electric cables; horny teenagers acting like fools and skeevy laborers sizing them up like slabs of beef while blaring hair metal at full volume on questionably constructed thrill rides; games of skill offering prizes ranging from stuffed animals and toys to Def Leppard bandannas and coke mirrors; beer tents, soda syrup and vomit. One day we hope one of the local brewers will pay homage to carnival season with a line as tasty and with labeling as bright and freakish as Schmaltz's "Coney Island" line of lagers.

This week's selection — another one we picked up from Perman Wine Selections in the West Loop (802 W. Washington, 312­666­4417) —. The "Sword Swallower" steel hop lager ($4.99 for a 22­ounce bomber) features the visage of Coney Island Sideshow performer Heather Holliday, who's also able to absorb massive amounts of electricity and bleed it from her fingers. "Sword Swallower" is a blend of eight hops and four malts, giving the beer a good weight to it and an alcohol content of 6.8%, by volume. The hops are dominant here, reminding us slightly of Half Acre's lager.

Proceeds from the sales of the Coney Island beer line benefit the non­profit Coney Island USA, dedicated to preserving the traditions of turn­of­the­century popular art forms through exhibitions and education. If you're feeling charitable and wish to help preserve the All­ American carny tradition, and pick up a few bottles of Coney Island "Sword Swallower" Steel Hop Lager, Chicagoist's "Beer of the Week."