Hebrew - Messiah Bold

Last weekend while watching the Notre Dame football team lose to Michigan, I cracked open a He'Brew Messiah Bold, perhaps subconsciously looking for some fermented divine intervention. It is after all, as noted on the upper label, "The beer you've been waiting for."

This is labeled as a Dark Brown Ale from San Francisco, but both of those claims are a little misleading. It is a dark beer for sure, with a good weight to it, but it has a sweeter, more subtle taste than I was expecting for a dark brown ale. Also, He'Brew is a line of beers conceived by Smaltz Brewing Company, which is based in San Francisco. However, Messiah Bold is actually brewed at the Mendocino Brewing Company (based in CA) facility (which is actually the Olde Saratoga Brewery) in Saratoga Springs, NY. It has 5.6% ABV and is the first certified Kosher beer that I can remember trying.

Looking back, it is interesting to me how much the beer mirrored the game. ND started off with a first drive touchdown and looked great in the process. I was getting my hopes up for a romp. The beer had a dark brown color, with only a slight head, a strong malty aroma and a sweet but malt forward first taste. I could also smell some hints of chocolate or coffee as well as a little bit of nuttiness. So, my first impression was very optimistic.

Then, the starting quarterback got hurt and the performances of the back-ups were entirely forgettable. Messiah Bold had a slightly bitter hop finish to it, but the aftertaste went away very quickly, leaving me reaching for another drink because I felt like I was missing something. The starting quarterback came back in the game (another sip), he started the scoring again (that malty, quality brown ale taste), I got my hopes up with a go-ahead 4th quarter TD (the slight hoppy finish), but in the end Michigan scored a TD with less than a minute to go and I will be waiting for another year for a shot at those smug Michiganders (the nonexistent aftertaste.)

So overall, I enjoyed the flavors while they lasted, but the football game and the beer left me feeling bittersweet about what could have been. The only difference between the beer and the ND game is that I will be back watching the Irish week in and week out, knowing that most likely I will be perpetually disappointed. The Bold is a serviceable brown ale that has great initial flavors, but I won't be waiting for it to show up again in my fridge anytime soon.

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Staying with the post-related music recommendations, check out Matisyahu. A lot of people have probably already heard his music, but it's worth a re-listen if you have. If you haven't, he has a unique reggae style that seems to crossover to people who generally don't like reggae. His lyrics have meaning and his beats catch you and keep you interested in what he has to say.