NEW YORK – America’s smallest, biggest and most award-winning Jewish (and now Sideshow Freak) Beer Company, Shmaltz Brewing Company is proud to announce achieving over two and a half times the national average with nearly 25 percent growth over the past year.
In 2010, Shmaltz sold more than 100,000 cases of HE’BREW Beer┬« and Coney Island Craft Lagers┬«, and projects its annual sales for 2011 at $2.75 million.
With a staff of 10 employees, Shmaltz strides forward with a tradition of releasing exceptional specialty beers while producing jobs, marketing innovative label designs in a seemingly saturated beer market, and successfully maintaining a grassroots wholesale network of largely family-owned businesses.
Listed below is a round up of the top awards Shmaltz garnered in 2010, information about Shmaltz’s debut book Craft Beer Bar Mitzvah, and the forthcoming beer lineup for 2011.
2010 Awards
Shmaltz has received several distinguished beer and design awards marking 15 years of dedication to brewing up delicious beer and delicious shtick.
- Beverage World Magazine named Shmaltz “Best American Craft Brewer” for 2010, and recently awarded Shmaltz’s Art Director Matt Polacheck a Gold Medal at the Global Packaging Design Awards for his design of the Coney Island Variety Pack┬« (returning to stores in May 2011).
- Polacheck also took home two Gold Medals from The World Beer Championships Packaging Competition 2010 for his design of the Coney Island Variety Pack┬« and label artwork for HE’BREW’s Bittersweet Lenny’s RIPA┬«.
- At the Great American Beer Festival 2010 (Denver, CO), HE’BREW’s R.I.P.A. on Rye┬«, the debut release in Shmaltz’s barrel-aged series, won a Silver Medal in the Wood and Barrel Aged Strong Beer category, and received a Silver Medal at the Festival of Wood and Barrel Aged Beer 2010 (Chicago, IL).
- In January 2011, Ratebeer.com named Shmaltz one of the “Best 100 Brewers in The World.”
Shmaltz Proprietor Jeremy Cowan’s Debut Book
In fall 2011, Cowan will nationally release his debut book: Craft Beer Bar Mitzvah: How it Took 13 years, Extreme Jewish Brewing, and Circus Sideshow Freaks to make Shmaltz Brewing Company an International Success.
In this small business memoir, Cowan divulges how he took on the craft beer world, and ultimately created one of the most respected brands in the country. Established in San Francisco in 1996, with the first batch of 100 cases of HE’BREW Beer┬« bottled, labeled, and delivered by hand, Shmaltz Brewing Company has sold over 8 million bottles of HE’BREW Beer┬« and Coney Island Craft Lagers┬« to date.
Craft Beer Bar Mitzvah documents Cowan’s early days of delivering beers in his Grandmother’s Volvo, to winning awards 13 years later at top craft beer festivals around the country. This meaningful, relevant, and often hilarious memoir takes readers on a wild ride with the head of one of today’s most successful and award winning Jewish Freak Show Craft Breweries.
Beer Plans, 2011
Shmaltz will release an unprecedented product line-up in 2011. From ambitious barreling aging projects and collaborations with other top breweries to releasing a limited edition beer for charity, Shmaltz is brewing some of today’s most outrageous craft beers in the industry. Here are the featured beers for 2011.
Vertical Jewbelation®
Currently on shelves nationwide, Vertical Jewbelation┬« (10% alc) marks the third release in Shmaltz’s barrel-aged series. A blend of all seven recipes of Jewbelation┬« (8 — 14) barrel-aged in Sazerac six-year rye whiskey barrels throughout 2010, Vertical Jewbelation┬« recently won a Gold Medal at the World Beer Championships 2011.
Barrel-Aged Coney Island Human Blockhead®
Next up in the barrel-aged series will be Barrel-Aged Coney Island Human Blockhead┬« (June 2011), which features eight specialty malts of barley, wheat, rye and oats, and six hop varieties ranging from European Noble roots to American Pacific Northwest new school flavors. An imperial American bock aged in fresh first-use Buffalo Trace Bourbon Barrels, Human Blockhead’s┬« enormously developed body is rounded out by flavors of oaky deliciousness.
Genesis 15:15®
The final barrel-aged release of the year will be Genesis 15:15® (September 2011). A barrel-aged imperial amber brewed with pomegranates, figs, dates and grapes, Genesis 15:15® comes in at a soaring 15% alc. In Jewish tradition, each of these fruits is a sacred species.
Coney Island Variety Pack┬« & HE’BREW Holiday Gift Pack┬«
Shmaltz will once again release their most innovative packaging designs to date. In May 2011, the Coney Island Variety Pack┬« (12 oz bottles of Albino Python┬«, Sword Swallower┬«, Coney Island Lager┬«, and Mermaid Pilsner┬«) will be available in stores across the country. Coming up for Chanukah 2011, Shmaltz will update the HE’BREW Holiday Gift Pack┬« to feature all eight recipes of the award-winning Jewbelation┬« series including Jewbelation 15┬« (15%, 15 malts, 15 hops) plus a bottle of a new barrel aged Vertical Jewbelation┬«. The Gift Pack will include a custom glass, Chanukah candles and instructions on how to build your own beer menorah.
Reunion: A Beer For Hope®
In collaboration with Terrapin Brewing, Pete Slosberg (of Pete’s Brewing Company), Alan Shapiro and SBS Imports, Shmaltz will release the latest installment of Reunion: A Beer For Hope┬« (9% alc). Now in its fifth year of production, and with Shmaltz directly participating in the project for the first time, Reunion┬« is dedicated to raising awareness and funding for myeloma and bone cancer research. In tribute to the late Reunion┬« co-creator Virginia MacLean, Shmaltz is thrilled to help raise money for The Institute for Myeloma and Bone Cancer Research. An imperial brown ale, Reunion┬« is brewed with chocolate, vanilla and Mexican chipotle flavors to complement tales from the three namesakes of the beer.
Geektoberfest® & Coney Island Freaktoberfest®
For NY Craft Beer Week (September 16 – 25, 2011) and Halloween 2011, Shmaltz will release Geektoberfest┬« (a collaboration with Captain Lawrence and Ithaca Brewing) and Coney Island Freaktoberfest┬« (6.66% alc, four-packs). The 4th Annual Freaktoberfest Boutique Beer & Music Festival will take place in Brooklyn, NY on Friday, September 16, 2011, and for the second year in a row, it will mark the official kick-off event for NY Craft Beer Week. Event details will be announced in the coming months at www.freaktoberfest.blogspot.com.
The year 2011 is set to be an incredibly exciting one for Shmaltz Brewing. Come join the tribe for a delicious adventure your taste buds will never forget.