Shmaltz Brewing Releases Vertical Jewbelation, Limited Edition Seasonal

February 2011 America’s smallest, biggest and most award-winning Jewish (and now Sideshow Freak) Beer Company, Shmaltz Brewing kicks off 2011 with the special release of the barrel-aged Vertical Jewbelation® (10.5% alc). Vertical Jewbelation® is a very rare brew as it is a blend of all seven recipes of every past anniversary offering of Jewbelation® (8 – 14) barrel-aged in Sazerac 6-year rye whiskey barrels throughout 2010. Vertical Jewbelation® is nationally available in 22 oz. bottles and a very limited amount of draft for select bars.

Vertical Jewbelation® is the latest release is Shmaltz’s barrel aged series, and recently took home a Gold Medal at the World Beer Championships 2011. Beverage Tasting Institute, the host of the World Beer Championships, states, “Vertical Jewbelation® is a delicious beer to savor.” RateBeer.com currently lists a 99-rating overall.

HE’BREW’s R.I.P.A. on Rye®, the first in Shmaltz’s barrel aged series, won a Silver Medal in the Wood and Barrel Aged Strong Beer category at this year’s Great American Beer Festival (Denver, CO), and also received a Silver Medal at the Festival of Wood and Barrel Aged Beer 2010 (Chicago, IL).

Brewed with the same number of malts, hops and alcohol percent matching its anniversary year, since its inception in 2004, Shmaltz’s Jewbelation® series has been touted by critics receiving top accolades including “5 Stars” from Celebrator Beer News, “Best Holiday Beer” by Pacific Brew News, and Playboy Magazine pegging Jewbelation Twelve® as one of the “Best Winter Brews.” Imbibe Magazine named Jewbelation 14® one of the Top 50 Beers in the world. Jewbelation 14® (2010-11) even won “Best Christmas Beer” in a blind holiday tasting from Northern California’s, SF Weekly. A recent issue of Beer Advocate (Volume II, Issue VIII) commented, “Today, Jeremy Cowan of Shmaltz Brewing Company is arguably making some of the best contract-brewed beers in America.” Shmaltz Brewing broke into the Top 100 Breweries in the World rankings (top 1%) this year in RateBeer’s annual survey.

About Shmaltz Brewing Company
Shmaltz Brewing Company was recently named “Best American Craft Brewer” and won the “Best In Show 2010” title by Beverage World Magazine, after being named “Breakout Brand” for 2009. Shmaltz was also included in the “Top 20 Fastest Growing Bay Area Companies” by San Francisco Business Times, and is a recipient of the “Distinguished Business Award” by the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce.

Established in San Francisco in 1996 with the first batch of 100 cases of HE’BREW Beer® bottled, labeled, and delivered by hand, Shmaltz has sold over 8 million bottles of beer to date. Along with their acclaimed line of HE’BREW Beers®, Shmaltz introduced its new line of sideshow-inspired Coney Island Craft Lagers® with seven featured attractions including Coney Island Lager®, Albino Python®, Sword Swallower®, Human Blockhead®, Mermaid Pilsner®, Freaktoberfest®, and Luna Lager(TM). Proceeds help Coney Island USA, a 501(c)(3) Arts Non-Profit fulfill its mission to defend the honor of lost forms of American popular culture in Brooklyn’s historic Coney Island neighborhood.

Shmaltz offerings are available in over 25 states through over 30 wholesalers at more than 1500 retail specialty shops across the U.S. including Beverages & More, Whole Foods, Total Wine, select Krogers, and Cost Plus.

Shmaltz Brewing beers have appeared in such distinguished media outlets as The New York Times, CNN Headline News, The Onion, Beer Advocate Magazine, Celebrator Beer News, Ale Street News, The Today Show, Bravo, NPR’s “Weekend Edition,” New York Magazine, Newsweek, Elle, SELF, Men’s Health, BUST, Playboy, Associated Press, Reuters, MSNBC, San Francisco Magazine, The Jerusalem Report, New York Jewish Week, Washington Post, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, MAXIM.com, Forbes.com, Smartmoney.com, Entrepreneur.com, and Epicurious.com.

For more information, please visit www.shmaltzbrewing.com.