Shmaltz Brewing is releasing a very special limited batch of their Messiah Bold, which they aged in rye barrels. The release party for this limited beer was being held at the Utah Saloon. As we headed in, the outside of the bar was obscured by scaffolding for work on the upper building. A particularly daring man was doing pull ups on the scaffolding with a giant smile on his face when he saw he was being watched. We smiled back and headed inside for beer and dinner.

Inside the party had already started. My friend Zak was shaking hands and welcoming people. Jeremy Cowan, the owner and founder was on site as well.

We ordered two Messiah Bolds – one on Rye, and one “control.” I tasted the regular, then the Rye. Then I was pretty insistent I didn’t need anymore of the regular Messiah Bold – I loved the Rye Barrel’s effect on this beer. Inside those barrels, the brett yeast has worked wonders. It has turned their normally mild mannered dark ale into a new beast: it has a sour dimension that ads a whole new of depth of flavor. The result is a dry sour dark ale with pleasantly tart finish.

Glasses empty, I bellied back up to the bar for a refill and dinner. We ordered the Fried Cheese Sandwich and a special Tamarind and Habanero short ribs. After a bit of debate, they even let me order the fries with the sandwich as garlic fries. By time the food came we were ready for dinner.

The food was stellar, and really, much better than most any bar kitchen should be. The fried provolone in the sandwich was rich and golden with a slight chewiness as it cools. The garlic fries are served with crispy fried garlic bits and fresh parsley – much better than the mouth searing spiciness and oil mess at AT&T Park. The ribs were moist and flavorful, with just the right balance of spicy and sweet. The sour ale’s tartness balanced the beef perfectly, cutting the richness with a tongue cleansing lift. The tamarind in the sauce was especially good with the beer, replacing the sweetness lost in the barrel aging process.

As we finished our plates and began to head out, Zak broke out a special taster: their Halloween Seasonal, Freaktoberfest. He poured small shots for everyone at the bar, and really got into the spirit in which the beer was brewed.

The beer is blood red in color, and similar to their Coney Island Lager with slightly higher alcohol: 6.66%, of course. It had a more pronounced malt flavor and was slightly sweet, with a citrusy hop finish. Good, but not quite the knockout I thought the barrel aged bold is.

Jeremy, please barrel age more beers!

(Full Disclosure – I’m buddies with the He’Brew guys and regularly pour beers with them at festivals… speaking of which, look for me at GABF, but more on that later)

Tags: He'Brew, Messiah Bold, Sour, Utah Saloon

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 10th, 2008 at 5:57 am and is filed under Reviews, Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.