Origin Pomegranate Ale (Schmaltz Brewing Co.)

Pomegranate appears to be everywhere these days, its uber-trendy. Its not all that much of a surprise that its found its way into several beers recently. However, Origin from Schmaltz is not like those other pomegranate ales that are following the anti-oxidant trend. In fact, this beer was first brewed 10 years ago.

The label reads:

Creation, 1996, C.E.: On the floor of a San Francisco Mission District loft, intimate friends squeeze luscious pomegranates by hand to brew the first 100 cases of the original HE’BREW Beer.

Evolution, 2006, C.E.: The culmination of the first decade of Shmaltz Brewing and a core offering for our second, ORIGIN renews this sacred covenant, sacrificing over 10,000 pomegranates for each precious hand-crafted batch.

So there is some history behind this beer and quite a bit of history and lore behind the lowly pomegranate. Check out the Schmaltz site for more. Who knew that the grenade got its name from the pomegranate due to its shape? Not me...

Pours a hazy, cloudy peachy color. Slight hints of ruby redness mix with the amber. The head is nice and rich. Its a good looking beer. Unfiltered and wholesome.

Smell is slight malt sweetness, some sour and some grassiness. If you read the specs on this one, its pretty amazing how many different types of both malt and hops are used to make this beer. They obviously lend a hand in the complexity of this unique creation.

Taste is interesting. Not sure why, but I was thinking it would be sweet. After taking my first sip, I wracked my brain to remember what pomegranate tastes like and remembered that its not a sweet fruit. Its rather tart and dry and that is the aftertaste I get from this beer. There is a lot going into the boil when this beer is being brewed. Its not a bad thing but to tell you the truth, I can't pick out all the different hops nor can I sort out all the different malts. An amber ale, even if its 8%, doesn't need to be quite so complicated. Nonetheless, its a decent beer. I like the tartness the pomegranate adds to it, it reminds me of a sour ale a bit.

Origin is worth a shot, even if its just to say you drank a strong ale brewed with hand squeezed pomegranate juice!

L'Chaim!

Beer Facts:

Name: Origin Pomegranate Ale

Style: Fruit Ale (Strong)

Brewery: Schmaltz Brewing Company

Location: San Francisco, California, USA

Container: 22 oz. bottle

Malts: 2-row, Caramel 30-40, Dark Crystal, Munich, Dark Munich, Wheat

Hops: Warrior, Centennial, Cascade, Willamette, Crystal, Mt. Hood

ABV: 8%

IBUs: ?