Shmaltz He'Brew St. Lenny's Review

Name: Shmaltz He'Brew St. Lenny's
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 10%
IBUs: 90

Today, I've got a very special review lined up because it involves a highly regarded between collaboration with two highly regarded breweries. I bring to you St. Lenny's, a Belgian Style Double Rye IPA, which is a collaboration between Shmaltz Brewing Company, based out of Clifton Park, NY & Cathedral Square Brewing, based out of St Louis, MO.

Shmaltz Brewing was kind enough to send me a sample of this for me to review in anticipation of the release of this beer. This is a variation of Shmaltz Brewing's Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A (Rye India Pale Ale) as St. Lenny's uses a Belgian Yeast strain but everything else in the recipe is roughly the same, at least to my knowledge

Appearance - A dark orange/almost ruby red color that has a very hazy look to it with no visible carbonation. The head is about 1-finger in width with a light khaki-colored appearance and the lacing is also quite abundant.

Aroma - Strong caramelized malt sweetness and Belgian yeasts dominate the front of the nose, which gives it a distinct bubblegum scent. I'm also picking up on some moderate dank piney hoppiness and the itself rye is tucked away in the back at first but it becomes more prevalent as the beer warms up.

Taste - Much like the nose, strong caramelized malts and Belgian yeasts make up the front of the palate with some cloves thrown in for good measure. While the caramelized malts linger throughout, the dank piney hops and rye shine through nicely on the back end of the palate. The aftertaste consists of more caramel sweetness, rye, and some mild bitter hoppiness.

I've had quite a few Belgian IPAs before but this is definitely one of the best ones I've had in a long time. The Belgian yeasts and candied caramel malt backbone give this a very nice sweetness while the dank hops and rye aspects of the flavor keep everything from being too sweet, which makes this beer strike a perfect balance in terms of flavor. A big thanks once again to Shmaltz Brewing for sending me a bottle of this for me to try out!

Shmaltz He'Brew St. Lenny's 9.5/10