HOME FOR PURIM: HE’BREW ORIGIN POMEGRANITE

Way back when, the HE’BREW brand of beers were partners of sorts with ANDERSON VALLEY BREWING, and I remember enjoying those early Hebraic beers quite a bit. More recently, the SCHMALTZ BREWING COMPANY have gone their own way, and are now fairly well-regarded for their ales. A few years ago I had a couple of them and thought they were pretty tasty, though I’ve been hearing mixed reports about their recent concoctions, and somehow they all sort of passed me by. I decided to change all that by giving a try to the HE’BREW ORIGINAL POMEGRANITE ale the other day. Sort of a mixed bag on this one. It’s a very deep-looking reddish/orange brew, one that is instantly perplexing upon first sip and especially with the first gulp. ORIGIN POMEGRANITE is true to its name – hey, that funky aftertaste is pomegranate, right? Jeez, even after the US pomegranate advisory board’s ever-present marketing campaign for the fruit’s health benefits, I kinda forgot what they tasted like. This particular formulation has a strong acerbic bite that again, manifests itself mostly in the aftertaste. Beer is mostly malt-heavy and somewhat bitter. Very interesting – but strange. For “special occasions only”. 6.5/10.