It was 17 years ago in San Francisco that Shmaltz Brewery was conceived by Jeremy Cowan. At that time, the award-winning He’brew was being hand packaged and delivered in Jeremy’s grandmother’s Volvo. Since then, a lot has changed for the brewery and a lot has stayed constant, much like their beer.
Up until May, 2013, Shmaltz Brewing was operated as a contract brewery. Shmaltz harnessed the concept of contract brewing and was able to create a solid cult following with beers such as He’Brew Origin, Bittersweet Lenny’s R.I.P.A and Rejewvenator. However, it was one year ago that Shmaltz planted its feet and transitioned into their own permanent facility.
Shmaltz production brewery is located in Clifton Park, N.Y., and is comprised of a 50-barrel brew house with an annual capacity of 20,000 barrels. The bottling line and kegging equipment is much more efficient than their early days of hand packaging, and you can bet that their distribution to 37 different states isn’t done from an old station wagon.
To commemorate this transformation, Shmaltz brewed a beer to bring in the new era. Death of a Contract Brewer is a black IPA brewed with seven types of malt including Two Row, Munich, Wheat, Crystal Rye, Chocolate, Pale Chocolate and Kiln Coffee balanced with seven hop varieties which include Cascade, Citra®, Summit, Crystal, Amarillo, Ahtanum and Chinook. It is best described by Shmaltz Brew master, Paul McErlean:
“Savor this rich, jet black IPA—overflowing with characteristics of coffee, dark chocolate and fresh citrus with a mix of pine. Deep roasted malt flavors provide support for a bold mix of bright and bitter West Coast hops. We promise, this is one form of Death you’ll want to pour in a glass and shout L’Chaim! (to life!).”
To celebrate their first anniversary in their new brewery, Death of a Contract Brewer will be added to the year-round line-up. They also hosted Beer Gangs of New York on May 15, providing fans the perfect opportunity to taste some of Smaltz’s core beers, as well as some specialty barrel-aged projects they have been working on.
Grant Puza is the current Craft Beer Program Intern at the Brewers Association. A Certified Beer Server and homebrewer, Grant spends most of his time educating himself further in the world of craft beer. If not visiting a local brewery, you might also catch him somewhere in the woods backpacking, rock climbing or snowboarding.
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