By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO– Shmaltz Brewing Company, brewers and bottlers of He-Brew Beer, has issued in time for the Dec. 16-24 Chanukah holiday a new special-label beer. It’s called “Hanukkah, Chanukah Beer,” apparently with an eye toward not taking sides in the age-old debate about how the name of the 8-day holiday should be transliterated into English.
Here at San Diego Jewish World, we spell it “Chanukah,” but we recognize all the variations.
“No matter how you spell it, you now hold the official chosen beer of this holiday season,” suggests the advertising copy on the 12-ounce bottle’s label. “After 18 years of Shmaltz (and over 2000 years of Hanukkah tradition), we thought it was finally time to release a beer specifically to celebrate all the miracles of the 8 crazy nights. We hope our fermented creation will bring some light to the winter darkness and pair perfectly with the latkes and the battle royale of dreidels. Pass some Chanukah Beer over to your favorite freinds and family and delight in the warming of the season.”
In honor of the 8 days of Chanukah, the dark ale contains 8 malts, 8 hops, and 8 percent alcohol by volume, according to the brewer.
Ah, but that’s all advertising copy–hasbarah!–as it’s called in Hebrew. The real test, of course, is not how clever the brewer’s copy writer is is but how good (or bad) the beer tastes.
So on Sunday, Nov. 23, in my backyard, I was joined by son-in-law Shahar Masori and my neighbor (and walking partner) Bob Lauritzen to wish each other l’chaim– or in Bob’s case a ‘Salut!” — and to sample the beer and to give our oh-so-amateur opinions.
We only had one bottle to sample, so my wife Nancy carefully divided the dark ale into three small portions. We clinked our glasses, hoped for the best, and took a swig of the brew, as Nancy clicked away on the digital camera.
The results? “It’s smooth, rich flavor, nice aroma, a bit of an after taste, but it is something I think I can get used to,” commented my son-in-law.
“To me it’s a little bitter, but I’m more of a light beer kind of guy than an ale kind of guy, so it does have an after taste,” commented neighbor Bob. “But overall it’s pretty good.”
Well, between 1 and 10, what scores would they give it?
“Between 6 and 8,” said Shahar.
“A 7,” agreed Bob.
As for me, well who am I to disagree? I found myself wondering about the little note on the bottom of the label, saying returned bottles are eligible for nickel refunds in Connecticut, Maine, Deleware, Massachusetts, New York, Iowa and Oregon and dime refunds in Minnesota. Returned bottles also will fetch refunds in California and Florida of unspecified amounts. There was nothing on the label about Illinois, and gee, don’t lots of our fellow Jews live in Chicago? Does that mean their crazy Chanukah nights won’t be as warm as the rest of ours?
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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com