[7] The initial He'Brew Beer began as a Hanukkah experiment when Cowan and friends squeezed pomegranates to produce juice for a brew inspired by ingredients mentioned in the Old Testament.

[18] In addition to a book tour, Cowan made many other appearances during this period, including as a panelist and keynote speaker at the Craft Brewers Conference[19] and presentations at the Great American Beer Festival.

[22] Rejewvenator is a half-doppelbock, half-Belgian-style Dubbel that was awarded gold medals at the Beverage Testing Institute's 2010 and 2011 World Beer Championships.

The brewery opened in May 2013,[25] marked in the company's typical humorous style by the release of Death of a Contract Brewer Black IPA.

In 2015, Shmaltz and Cathedral Square again collaborated to launch Saint Jewbelation Belgian Style Imperial Sour Rye.

The brewing effort was coordinated by the Pink Boots Society to empower female brewers and help women further their careers in the craft beer industry through scholarships and educational programs.

Proceeds from beer sales are donated to the Pink Boots Society and the charity Girls Inc. of the Greater Capital Region (Albany, NY).

Over the 2015–2016 holiday season Shmaltz released a variety pack called "Shtick in a Box"[32] to mark the company's 20th anniversary.

[35] And in the autumn of that year, Shmaltz collaborated with Vermont alternative rock radio station 102.7 WEQX on a brew called Independent Ale.

[36] In 2018, Shmaltz began to offer Hop Momma IPA – brewed with peach, apricot, and habanero pepper – in cans.

Beginning at 4,000 barrels and increasing to 30,000 in its fifth year, its contract brewing operations served clients including Alchemy and Science (a subsidiary of Boston Beer Company) after it bought the Coney Island line from Shmaltz;[37] Bronx Brewery, its largest customer in 2017;[38] San Francisco's Speakeasy Ales & Lagers;[39] Heartland Brewery, and Foreign Objects Beer.

In 2018–2019, the company sold its Clifton Park production facility to SingleCut Beersmiths[41] and returned to its roots as a contract brewer.

In July of the same year, Shmaltz opened a new home in Troy, New York for its Upstate New York-focused 518/838 brands and portfolio of craft beers, 518 Craft, operating under a New York State Farm Brewery License[42] that permits brewers to serve beer by the glass without an additional permit.

In its 2017–2018 season Shmaltz donated a portion of the proceeds from its She'Brew Double IPA to Planned Parenthood and the Pink Boots Society scholarship fund.

The company also announced a nationwide "Farewell to Shmaltz Tour" which began with ProBrewer's "Class of '96" event during the Craft Brewers Conference in Denver, Colorado on September 10, 2021, coordinated by Cowan.