Shmaltz Brewing to Pour in ‘Meet the Brewer’ Section at GABF

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Clifton Park, NY — It’s that time of year again when the country’s finest breweries congregate to celebrate the unbelievably imaginative and innovative American craft beers consumers now have at their fingertips. New to this year’s Great American Beer Festival (Denver, CO) is the 30,000 square feet of hall space dedicated to the special “Meet the Brewer” section featuring Shmaltz Brewing Company and upwards of 100 additional breweries. Each brewery’s booth will be staffed entirely and exclusively by its employees (no volunteers). Passionate beer fans will have a chance to talk shop with the brewers and employees themselves who’re making all the magic happen.

For the “Meet the Brewer” sessions, Shmaltz delves into their archives to pour three vintage Jewbelations® (Sweet 16, Reborn: 17, 18), Funky Jewbelation® 2014, Slingshot American Craft Lager®, Hop Manna IPA®, and Bittersweet Lenny’s R.I.P.A.®. Seven employees including Shmaltz Founder Jeremy Cowan will be on hand at their booth to schmooze about their special GABF offerings.

Hundreds of breweries and thousands of craft beer aficionados in one place is the ideal setting for the year’s most outrageous beer-infused comedy showcase: The 2nd Annual Offensively Delicious: A Craft Beer Comedy Show. Following last year’s hilarious set by Shmaltz’s National Sales Manager Zak Davis, Alaina Jones (SW Regional Sales Manager) takes to the stage for what’s surely going to be a not to be missed GABF throwdown.

Offensively Delicious takes place at the Oriental Theater on Wednesday, September 23, 2015 (6 pm – 10 pm) with beer and humor from Shmaltz, Renegade, Breckenridge, Epic, Fort Collins, Telluride, New Holland, Ommegang, Lagunitas and Lakefront breweries, along with headliner Kyle Kinane and local stars Andy Juett, Sam Tallent and Adam Cayton-Holland. Tickets are $45 for two hours of unlimited beer samples, three full pours, and a seat at the comedy show. Proceeds will be donated to the Denver Public Library.

If you’re heading to GABF, make sure to stop by “Meet the Brewer” for delicious samples of the following Shmaltz brews:

Slingshot American Craft Lager® (5.3% ABV)

Take hold of Shmaltz’s newest addition to its year-round offerings, Slingshot® (5.3% ABV, 97 Rating on ratebeer.com), an American Craft Lager purposefully created to stand up to the big beer Goliaths of the world. Boasting a bright, citrusy hop aroma, supported by touches of wheat and rye, Slingshot® is guaranteed to strike the craft beer bullseye every time.

Although there are upwards of 3,200 craft breweries within the United States, craft beer sales only make up a total of about 8% of the volume of the national beer market. The overall annual beer market pulls in a staggering $100 billion, of which craft beer brought in $14.3 billion. Every year, craft releases increasingly dominate more retail shelves and tap lines. Shmaltz raises a glass to the small production breweries that are making a BIG impact on the beer industry at large. Slingshot® is Shmaltz’s fermented tribute to the glories of the loveable underdog…Watch your back Big Beer!

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Hop Manna IPA® (6.8% ABV, Now Available in 4-Packs)

A delicious IPA bearing floral and citrus flavors, Hop Manna IPA® features six robust hops (Warrior, Cascade, Citra, Amarillo, Crystal, Centennial), it’s dry hopped with Centennial, Cascade and Citra hops and is balanced out with five delicious malts (Specialty 2-Row, Wheat, Munich, Vienna, CaraMunich 40). Not a San Diego IPA (enticing as they are) and not trying to re-create the excellent standouts from friends such as Dogfish, Founders, Lagunitas, Three Floyds and so many others, Hop Manna IPA® aims to create a unique story of its own.

Hop Manna® is a World Beer Championship Gold Medal Winner, and critics have offered overwhelming praise for its singular profile. All About Beer’s “Beer Talk” judge Roger Protz notes, “Manna from heaven, indeed! The hop regime is amazing. It has a lush pale bronze color and a hop aroma that is literally stunning.” DRAFT Magazine adds, “…its malt presence is sublime.” Esquire.com included Hop Manna® as one of “The Best Beers of 2012.”

You’ve tried the rest…now you have four new reasons to pick up a Hop Manna® 4-pack and ascend into hop heaven with this 6.8% ABV, 65 IBUs dry hopped sensation.

Funky Jewbelation® 2014 (9.4% ABV)

2014’s hand crafted recipe of Funky Jewbelation® features a unique blend of seven ales from the Shmaltz beer lineup aged in Buffalo Trace Bourbon and Sazarac and Willett Rye whiskey barrels, and hustles in at 9.4% alc. Funky Jewbelation® is an expert mash-up of Jewbelation 15® (aged 18 months), Messiah Nut Brown Ale® (aged 3 months), Bittersweet Lenny’s R.I.P.A.® (aged 12 months), Reunion® (aged 6 months), Origin® (aged 6 months), Rejewvenator® (aged 6 months), and Death of a Contract Brewer® (aged 4 months).

Praise and fun with Funky Jewbelation (2012 & 2013)

“Shmaltz brings the funk with Funky Jewbelation.” -Cigar Aficionado

“You best be ready to shake some tail feathers when you bring this extra-special beer to the party.” -The Kitchn

“Cheers to He’Brew for managing to, impossibly, blend six beers into a whole greater than it’s parts.” -Yum Sugar “…in this brewmaster’s skilled hands, the result is a beer with great depth and nuanced flavor.” -Brewsandbooks.com

“The beer is indeed funky, in all the right ways.” -Cooking District

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Jewbelation Sweet 16® (16 Malts, 16 Hops, 16% ABV)

Shmaltz celebrated its 16th Anniversary with cupcakes and unicorns and the most extreme “Sweet 16” (and Chanukah beer) ever created. Jewbelation Sweet 16 is brewed with 16 malts, 16 hops and soars to 16% ABV.

Jewbelation Reborn® (17 Malts, 17 Hops, 17% ABV)

A complex, enormous brown ale with a dynamic labyrinth of multi-layered flavors, Jewbelation Reborn® celebrates the birth of Shmaltz’s new brewery in Clifton Park, NY (10 miles north of Albany). Jewbelation Reborn® is brewed with 17 malts, 17 hops and comes in at 17% alc.

Jewbelation 18® (18 Malts, 18 hops, 12.4% ABV)

Over the last decade, Shmaltz Brewing has boldly elevated each year’s Jewbelation® with increased amounts of malts, hops, and ABV — in 2004, they debuted Miraculous Jewbelation® with 8 malts, 8 hops, 8% ABV and continued through 2014’s Jewbelation Reborn® (17 malts, 17 hops, 17% ABV). Jewbelation 18® is the birth of an entirely new take on the series and the introduction of a brand spankin’ new category, Black Session Barleywine. Jewbelation 18® is brewed with 18 malts, 18 hops, and is highly sessionable at 12.4% ABV.

About Shmaltz Brewing Company

Ranked in 2013 as one of the “Top 100 Brewers in the World” by RateBeer.com, Shmaltz won 9 Gold and 5 Silver Medals in the World Beer Championships in 2012. A recipient of the “Distinguished Business Award” by the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, Shmaltz was also included in the “Top 50 Fastest Growing Bay Area Companies” by San Francisco Business Times. 

Founder and owner Jeremy Cowan established the company in San Francisco in 1996 with the first 100 cases of He’brew Beer® hand bottled and delivered throughout the Bay Area in his Grandmother’s Volvo. He’brew® now sells across 35 states, through 40 wholesalers and nearly 5,000 retailers. In 2007, Shmaltz released a new line of craft brewed lagers under the Coney Island® banner. The Coney Island brand was recently acquired by Alchemy and Science, a craft beer incubator, owned by Boston Beer (Sam Adams).

After 17 years of being an outspoken cheerleader for contract brewing, Shmaltz recently broke with tradition and opened its own New York State production brewery in Clifton Park, NY, 10 minutes north of Albany’s capital district. Shmaltz’s new home boasts a 50-barrel brewhouse with 20,000 barrels of annual capacity. The new brewery packages 12 and 22 ounce bottles and kegs of their diverse core and seasonal favorites, and hosts fans and beer tourists in their new tasting room for tours, barrel-aged previews, and special releases.

In 2010/11, Cowan published his small business memoir, Craft Beer Bar Mitzvah: How It Took 13 Years, Extreme Jewish Brewing, and Circus Sideshow Freaks to Make Shmaltz Brewing Company an International Success. A free sampling of Chapter One and suggested beer pairings, can be viewed at www.craftbeerbarmitzvah.com. In 2012, Cowan spearheaded the creation of the non-profit New York City Brewers Guild (which manages NYC Beer Week) and served as its Founding President.

Cowan also has presented at the 2013 Craft Brewers Conference, as well as previous Great American Beer Festivals, BevNet’s Brewbound conference, Beer Advocate’s Extreme Beer Festival, the Atlanta and the St. Louis Jewish Book Fairs, and the San Francisco and New York Jewish Museums.

Shmaltz Brewing beers have appeared in such distinguished media outlets as The New York Times, CNN Headline News, Beer Advocate Magazine, NPR’s “Weekend Edition,” Fox Business News, Men’s Health, San Francisco Chronicle, The Jerusalem Report, New York Jewish Week, and Washington Post.