SCHNEIPA - Yellow Snowcone IPA from Schmulz: A classy New England IPA

In spite of the old blogger's best efforts to
hold him back, Shmuel ("Schmulz") Naky
is leaving Birateinu.
(Photo: Mike Horton)

Shmuel ("Schmulz") Naky will soon be leaving Birateinu, The Jerusalem Beer Center, following a seven year run as a partner and brewer extraordinaire.  In that time, he's brewed umpteen "Baroque" beers under the Birateinu label, and a few even more extreme bearing his own "Brewed by the Beard" label.  

Schmulz's latest beer is called SCHNEIPA - Yellow Snowcone IPA, made at the Hatch Brewery in Jerusalem.  The first three letters are probably for SCHmulz, while the last five stand for New England IPA, a beer style known for its fruit juicy flavors, low bitterness, hazy color, and smooth, full body.  There have been other Israeli NEIPA's which don't exactly match these criteria.

SCHNEIPA - Yellow Snowcone IPA:
A thoroughly enjoyable New England IPA
(in spite of what you may think of
the pissing angels).  

Schmulz says that this beer represents his "vision and technique on steroids."  In addition to pale malt, he used unmalted oats and flaked wheat in the mash bill.  This was to give the beer both its haziness and creamy consistency.  He then dry-hopped the beer with plentiful amounts of Centennial, Citra, Mosaic and Taiheke -- to give intense flavor without much bitterness.

Let's see how this played out.

SCHNEIPA pours out promisingly: A murky, yellow-orange color with a small head.  There are pleasant aromas of grapefruit, peach and mango, with some background pine.  The taste is also on-style. The bitterness is mild enough to let the flavors shine through.  We're talking about more citrus, tropical fruit and fresh grass.  Throughout the drink, you get a light crispness and a medium body.  Alcohol by volume is 6.5%.

SCHNEIPA is as close to an NEIPA as I have ever had.  (About the Yellow Snowcone part, that's just Schmulz's very strained sense of humor!  The intriguing label by Nir Kleinman gives you two pudgy angels pissing on the snow.  What else?)