Beer Reviews – El Jefe and “Rejewvenator”
Always looking to expand my hop horizons, I had the good fortune to sample several new beers this week. The first of these I’ll review here is the impressive looking “El Jefe” from Hale’s Ales Ltd., in Seattle. That’s “el jefe,” meaning “the boss” in Spanish, not “the ‘Hoff” – if there’s a beer named after the latter, I certainly haven’t heard of it, nor would I want to try it if I had.
I’ve seen the stoic-looking visage of El Jefe in my local beer aisle before, but this was my first opportunity to taste this Northwest original. It was very heady, with a slightly fruity smell. It was fairly flavorful and somewhat spicy, and reminded me of other wheat beers I’ve tried in the past – although this particular weizen was very slippery, almost slimy going down my throat, and seemed pretty insignificant, with very little body and no real finish to speak of. I could see this beer being refreshing in the heat, but all in all it’s a little underwhelming. To be honest, there’s just not much else to say about it. 3.5/5
The other beer I brought home to review this week is the very… different Rejewvenator ale from the He’Brew line (brought to you by the folks at Shmaltz Brewing Co., NY). It’s “the chosen beer” – get it? This is actually my first time trying a He’brew ale, although I’ve always chuckled when I’ve seen their various beers at the store in the past. This particular variety is a seasonal “harvest to harvest ale,” a “limited release” for the “year of the date” (2009). As such, it is a half dobbelbock, half Belgian-style dubbel “brewed with all natural date concentrate.” And living up to the brewer’s name, this beer comes complete with a “KSA kosher certified – Rabbi approved” stamp on the label. Actually, there’s a lot happening on this label, if you couldn’t tell by all the quotes above. In teensy-tiny text on the side of the bottle there’s even this spiel describing the ale:
“The righteous shall flourish like the Date palm.” Psalm 92:12 Hark! The second coming of REJEWVENATOR, infused for 2009 with the sacred DATE. Jewish tradition celebrates two New Years: The first in Spring after the barley harvest. The High Holidays in Fall mark the creation of the world. Harvest to harvest – the perfect bookends for deliciousness! Dates were used to sweeten beer in Ancient Egypt as early as 3500 BCE. Pliny the Elder, 1st c. Roman naturalist, lauded Judea’s Dates for their succulence and sweetness. So important for food and shelter, the Date palm became a symbol of the Kingdom of Judea, stamped on the ancient and modern Israeli Shekel coins. Shaking your Lulav on Sukkot and covering your kosher Sukkah demands Date palm leaves. Palm Sunday reenacts the procession of Jesus into Jerusalem. In Arabic, “Tamr” is the 4th stage of a Date’s ripening. Mohammed: “Whoever eats seven fresh Tamr fruits at breakfast shall rise above magic and poison on that day.” The Hebrew word for Date palm is “Tamar,” commonly describing the beauty and elegance of a woman. Solomon’s sister was named Tamar. ”The only difference between a date and a job interview is that not many job interviews have a chance that you’ll end up naked at the end of it.” – Jerry Seinfeld. Like its Latin genus the Phoenix, rise and shine with our newest Double Date Shmoppelbock – and flourish! L’Chaim! - Jeremy Cowan, proprietor
What a mouthful! Unfortunately, I think the history lesson on the label was the best part about this beer. Thick, reddish-brown or caramel in color, this fruit beer looked more like Coca-Cola in my glass than what I’m used to. The smell is somewhat fruity, but actually a little syrupy and off-putting. Like other fruit beers I’ve tried in the past, the taste of this date ale was not nearly as strong as the smell, but the too-sweet syrupy essence remained. I couldn’t necessarily identify the flavor as that of dates if I didn’t know ahead of time, but it is pretty sweet, malty, and somewhat date or prune-like. This would (perhaps) be a good dessert beer, but I wouldn’t recommend drinking it with most meals – or as a refreshing treat in the Summer heat. How unfortunate, since dried dates are one of my all-time favorite snack foods. 2 or 2.5/5