Brewed with chutzpah, Monumental Jewbelation is worth savoring
by Doug Blackburn
Talahassee Sentinel
December 20, 2006
You don't have to be Jewish or celebrate Hanukkah in order to enjoy a pint of the one ale made with that holiday in mind: Monumental Jewbelation. It is a beer with chutzpah.
Alas, I believe it's difficult to find in Tallahassee. Jeremy Cowan, the man responsible for Monumental Jewbelation, insists that large shipments of his kosher ales go to Tampa and that they are supposed to be available throughout Florida. But I have yet to see it in the Big Bend. According to his web site (shmaltz.com) his ales can be bought at dozens of locations in Florida and Georgia.
Cowan is a thirtysomething whizkid who started Shmaltz Brewing Co. a decade ago. He's a terrific promoter with an unforgettable motto: It's all about the shtick, he says whenever asked about his products.
Those products are three ales with clever names: HE'BREW Genesis Ale (The Chosen Beer), Messiah Bold and Monumental Jewbelation. Cowan is based in the San Francisco area, spends much of his time in New York where his ales have a growing following, and has all of the beer made for him at Olde Saratoga Brewing Co. in upstate New York.
Genesis and Messiah Bold are both fine ales. Genesis is a hybrid, a cross between an amber and pale ale; Messiah Bold is a nut brown ale.
But the one to go out of your way for is Monumental Jewbelation. It's a strong ale with a big kick, one of those dark and sweet beers that are ideal for sipping on a frosty winter night. (Or a humid, mild winter night if you happen to be in Tallahassee.) What I like best about it is the hoppy aftertaste that stays with you for hours after you've finished.
It was made to celebrate both Hanukkah and Cowan's 10th year in the beer business. He goes out of his - way out of his way - to stress how magical the number ten is: "10 generations span Adam to Noah and Noah to Abraham," the label reads. "10 years after his Major League debut, Sandy Koufax refused to pitch Game One of the 1965 World Series on Yom Kippur."
I spent a fun day with Cowan last year, sampling his beers at the brewery where they are made. He's a master at marketing his beers, but he also knows what it takes to make a world-class ale.
Let's bug the folks at Market Square Liquors and/or ABC Wine & Spirits. Tell them you want to buy a six pack of Monumental Jewbelation (it comes in 22-ounce bottles that sell for about $5 each). I'll do the same. Let's get them to part the seas, er, highways while the holidays are still with us.