Isn't anything sacred anymore...

"The American beer market has long been devoted to the holy trinity: Anheuser Busch, Coors and Miller. But the popularity of craft beers, carefully developed brews prepared in microbreweries, is on the rise. The same sickly barley and hop blends are no longer coveted, and more and more American palates are seeking revelation. Consumers are looking for bottles that pack a little more chutzpa. And brewer Jeremy Cowan's Shmaltz Brewing Company, through its He'brew line of beers, is restoring the beer world's faith. He'brew is making believers out of beer aficionados and novices alike.

In the beginning (1996), Cowan created Genesis Ale. Shmaltz Brewing Company was formless and void (and actually didn't exist yet). Genesis was an experimental celebration ale for Hanukka, and to sell the 100 cases he brewed Cowan schlepped them around San Francisco in the trunk of his grandmother's Volvo. From these humble beginnings, He'brew's popularity has spread like a plague of locusts - but in a good way. Shmaltz boasts more than 550 percent growth in the past four years and projects over $1.5 million in sales for 2008.

Last month, Shmaltz released Rejewvenator, its first summer brew. He'brew is known for its unusual ingredients, thanks to Cowan's creativity and Mendocino Brewing Company's Paul McEalean's expertise, and this year's brew doesn't disappoint: It features fig juice. Cowan plans to change Rejewvenator each year by highlighting a different sacred ingredient from the Torah, like grapes or honey. Olives, Cowan muses, will be a challenge.

And there's more good news from on high. The faithful can look forward to Jewbelation 12, the fifth of Shmaltz's extreme Hanukka seasonals, which packs an awe-inspiring 12 malts, 12 hops and 12% alcohol, and will be available on October 1. And of course many suppliers stock old favorites Genesis Ale, Messiah Bold, Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. and Origin Pomegranate Ale. It goes without saying that all of He'brew's offerings are certified kosher.

Many He'brew fans are first tempted not by good reviews but simply by the shtick. The name He'brew started off as a gag, when Cowan was in high school and joked with his friends that the Jews should have their own beer. The spirit of humor remained when He'brew became a reality years later. Many of He'brew's bottles sport bold labels featuring a grinning, bottle-brandishing hassidic rabbi. Cowan pairs the images with wickedly witty names and slogans for each variety of brew - Genesis Ale: our first creation; Messiah Bold: the one you've been waiting for; Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. (a posthumous tribute to Jewish American comedian Lenny Bruce, who was arrested on charges of obscenity in 1961): brewed with an obscene amount of malts & hops.

And the shtick just keeps on coming. He'brew is, naturally, "the chosen beer," and Shmaltz reminds its customers that "exile never tasted so good," "thou shalt covet this" and "don't pass out, pass over."

Cowan's humor is more than just a marketing ploy. "When I started the company," he says, "my goal was to bring Jewish humor and irreverence together with Jewish content to create a contemporary product that would allow Jews of all types to access a high quality product and celebrate their culture."

The names and content of He'brew's beers are teeming with symbolism from Jewish scripture and tradition. And humor is an important part of that tradition. Religion and humor may seem just as mismatched as religion and beer, but He'brew links both with surprisingly good taste."

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Comment: And I thought Be'er Mayim Chaim sodas were pushing the envelope

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