Christ that’s Good Beer

Shmaltz BrewingA while ago I emailed the guys at Shmaltz Brewing and said they needed to show their Jewitch sisters some love with a Halloween Jewitch brew! Well, they responded, and I don’t think “Bubble, Bubble, Oy and Trouble” is exactly in the production line yet — but they did respond.

They noticed my love of pomegranates and told me that their 10th anniversary beer will feature the juice of 10,000 pomegranates. With that big of a sacrifice — I knew I had to check it out. This past week my wonderful husband found a bottle and we used it for Shabbat! I exchange borei pri hagafen for ha’adamah v’eytz” — fruit of the earth and tree. I must say — it’s a darn nice beer. Complex without being “winey” — which is impressive for a Jewish brew (you kind of expect whining).

In very tiny print on the label there’s this explanation of the origin and meaning behind the beer:

Creation, 1996, C.E.: On the floor of a San Francisco Mission District loft, intimate friends squeeze luscious pomegranates by-hand for the first 100 cases of HE’BREW’s Genesis Ale. Evolution, 2006: Shmaltz Brewing renews this sacred covenant, sacrificing over 10,000 pomegranates for our 10th Anniversary offering, Genesis 10:10. Revelation, on-going: In Jewish tradition, pomegranates symbolize righteousness, with seeds said to number 613, the total commandments in Torah. In Deut. 8:8, pomegranates, barley and wheat prove the bounty of the Land of Milk and Honey. In Exod. 28:33, G-d orders them embroidered on the robe of the High Priest. Kings 7:42 describes them sculpted on Solomon’s Jerusalem Temple. The calyx atop the fruit inspired the original Jewish crown. One Persian hero of myth consumed a pomegranate and became invincible. Muhammad instructed: “Eat the pomegranate, for it purges the system of envy and hatred.” Newlywed Greeks eager for a family crush one under-heel for fertility. Buddha cured a child-devouring demoness of her evil habit by instructing her to eat a pomegranate. Whether for knowledge or temptation, for virtue or strength, for art or for love
— Behold Genesis 10:10, the crowning glory to a decade of brewing …with chutzpah! To Life…L’Chaim!
Jeremy Cowan, proprietor

So, why am I shilling for them? Frankly, it’s because they make a good product and make me proud. They have sense of humor about being Jewish without putting it down. It’s not self-deprecating. It’s more, “Say it loud — I’m Yid and Proud.” That’s not something you see every day.

BTW — I found “Christ that’s Good Beer” on their site and almost died laughing. Normally, I don’t pinch graphics, but since they sent me the beer graphics I’m going to grab this one too, since I’m talking nice about them. 😉

Not intended to offend anyone

[tags]shmaltz brewing, beer, judaism, pomegranates, genesis 10:10, chosen brew[/tags]