Jabby Brau - Jack's Abby Brewing

inlimbo77

Delaware

3.9/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

16oz bottle. No bottle dates. Poured into a Deschutes tulip.

A: Nice golden color to the brew. About a finger of bright white head. Lots of carbonation. Bubbles streaming off the glass bottom.

S: Smells like a hoppy lager. I definitely pull some light fruity and grassy hop notes, along with the traditional lager/pilsner malt character.

T: Love this brewery's bottle beer descriptions. They really are good. Hit the nail on the head here. You do get a touch of hop bitterness in the tip of the tongue, but that quickly fades and is balanced nicely by those traditional malts. It really smooths the beer and makes it highly drinkable. And much like the bottle reads, there isn't any bitterness on the close. A good break from IPAs all the time!

M: Light bodied maybe leading into low medium.

O: it's a nice beer and a good break from other more popular craft styles.

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2012 15:40:39 | More by inlimbo77

VelvetExtract

Massachusetts

4.4/5  rDev +10%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A-Pours straw color. Completely transparent. Very light. Head is loose, relaxed foamy sauce. Head leaves consistent crowns along the glass.

S-Sure doesn't smell like a Session Lager. Very hoppy. Nose reminds me a lot of Prima Pils by Victory. (which is a big compliment). A mixture of Noble and American hops. Hop forward (especially for a lager). Lager yeast and Animal Cracker malt.

T-Very delicious. Malt is more stressed on the palate. The mixture of plentiful and unique hoppiness and lager characteristics make this a delicious sip. Grainy and crisp. Wow, this beer is really delicious. Every sip increases my attraction to this beer.

M-Super light. Crisp and plentiful carbonation. The perfect feel for a Session Lager.

O/D-I have been dying to try anything from Jack's Abby. This is an absolute steal for $2.50 per half liter. I absolutely love this beer and may have to go and by six more of these just to have lying around.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2012 00:12:26 | More by VelvetExtract

jbertsch

Massachusetts

3.73/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75

Gold in color with one finger of white head. Aroma gives off a touch of leafy citric hops and a very clean, dry malt. Faint corn. It's flavor is similar to the Aroma in that you notice notes of leafy hops up front which then gives way to sweeter malts that taste fairly short and dry. Smooth, especially as it warmed up. Typically one might think a session lager works cold, almost like lawn mower beer, but the malt profile brings macros to mind when cold. When at room temperature, it tasted much nicer, smoother, and more interesting. overall, the hop notes are a real nice touch for a session brew like this. Definitely worth picking up for the right occasion.

Serving type: bottle

04-20-2012 02:54:49 | More by jbertsch

pburland23

Pennsylvania

4.15/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

I got my first taste of Jack's Abby on draft over Easter weekend in Boston and I was able to pick up a couple of bottles to bring back to Pennsylvania with me.

Poured from a 500ml bottle into a Pilsner Urquell glass.

Appearance: Beer pours a hazy, unfiltered gold. Tight clusters of tiny bubbles cling to the sides of the glass. The head is a thin, bright white layer of much larger bubbles. The head recedes quickly leaving a little bit of lacing.

Smell: Nice dose of piney hops on the front of the nose followed by a faint scent of biscuity malts. Very enticing

Taste: The taste is not as bold and aggressive as the nose who indicate. The sip starts off with some nice hops bitterness. There's some citrus notes in the middle before finishing with some cereal grains.

Mouthfeel: Light bodied and crisp. At 4.5%, this one is very sessionable. It's refreshing as hell. I'm enjoying it very much.

Overall: I'm really digging everything I've had so far from Jack's Abby and this is no exception. I love having a beer with so much flavor and so little alcohol. A great session beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2012 22:00:41 | More by pburland23

mlazzaro

Massachusetts

4.55/5  rDev +13.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

500 ml bottle.

Thin white head, holding fairly well. Clear as can be yellow - orange hued body. Good carbonation. Smells incredibly clean - mild yeast and hops character. Zero off flavors detected in aroma.

Nice pilsner grain flavor. Crisp and refreshing. Thin body yet satisfying flavorful. Subtle fruity yeast, taste well lagered. Tame Floral hops (like Hallertau). Bitterness is perfectly suiting for the beer. Highly drinkable + solid flavor profile. @ $2.45 a 1/2 liter...
I have not one complaint.

Serving type: bottle

04-15-2012 22:21:45 | More by mlazzaro

Longstaff

Massachusetts

2.65/5  rDev -33.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

I was jazzed to try their straight up lager they offer alongside their beer geek offerings as it will show me their lager brewing chops without smoke or hops covering anything up. Almost $10 for a four pack of half liter bottles prices this one just out of range as daily drinking beer, but good enough for occasional purchase.

Pours a deep yellow body with bone white head that quickly settled back to a thin film. Up front spicy aroma followed by the same in flavor. A weird rubbery flavor appears in the middle which of somewhat off putting but is short lived. Grassy and spicy hop flavor take over and dominate the profile. Bitteness seems a bit much against the characterless malt profile which detracts from its drinkability.

This wasn't horrible but kind of clunky and disjointed for a drinkable lager.

Serving type: bottle

04-15-2012 14:50:32 | More by Longstaff

Hopdaemon39

Massachusetts

4.13/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a .5 liter bottle into a pilsner- pours a clear golden yellow, visibly effervescent, nice 1.5 finger head, good retention, nice lacing.

Smell is very enticing- nice spicy hop character (piney- reminds me of amarillo hops) and a hint of wheat and yeast.

Taste is not quite as bold as scent led me to believe- round wheat/barley flavor with a TINY amount of hops floating above. A little lemon in the middle, succeeded by a an earthy yeast flavor. Not particularly bold but nice.

Mouthfeel is of course incredibly light- extra light body with moderate to full carbonation. A little resin-y but pretty negligible. Good session beer and you can't beat the price.

Serving type: bottle

04-10-2012 01:12:43 | More by Hopdaemon39

rinhaak

Massachusetts

4.45/5  rDev +11.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This is an exceptional beer. Tremendously drinkable, it is an ideal summer session ale.

Pouring crystal clear, immaculately clean, with a fantastic foamy head that lingers throughout the glass, it has a wonderful aroma of hops. Not a complex smell, just plain hops, right up front, embracing your nose with a fresh ray of sunshine.

The mouth is quite amazing. A lot of tangerine citrus up front which yields to a dark malt backbone. A startling feature considering the tremendously light nature of the pour. Finishing dry, it leaves you immediately wanting another sip.

Low alcohol but plenty of flavor (and a very affordable price of $3/bottle), you can easily enjoy a few of these in one sitting and not feel it in the head or the wallet. It is definitely a beer worth drinking, and one I look forward to drinking again and again.

Serving type: bottle

04-08-2012 01:26:26 | More by rinhaak

Dope

Massachusetts

4.33/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A: A somewhat pale, clear golden pour. Huge fluffy white head atop it. Retention is excellent and leaves great streaks of lacing everywhere.

S: Surprisingly nice hoppy aroma. Mostly citrus with a touch of pine. A bit of grainy, bready malt too. Light and crisp.

T: Just a hint of citrus up front, then some nice sweet grainy bread. Finishes with the lightest hint of pine. Simple but super clean, crisp and refreshing. Reminds me of a lighter Gumballhead (which is my favorite sessionable beer of all time). I would swear there's a little wheat in this too.

M: Light as you would expect, crisp and smooth.

O: Amazing beer for the style. Simple and pretty light of course but wow, great balance with just a hint of hops, a touch of wheat and it's just perfectly smooth. Drinkability is off the scale. If Budweiser tasted like this, the craft beer movement never would have gotten off the ground. Another great beer from Jack's Abby.

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2012 04:10:00 | More by Dope

jneiswender

Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev +12.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a half liter bottle into a sample glass. Served cool.

Pours an absolute crystal clear gold body and a thin white head.

Smells minty, grassy and a faint scent of corn flakes.

Nice light balanced sweet and bitter beginning with a cereal middle and a nice bitter aftertaste that lingers.

Mouthfeel is light with medium carbonation.

Very sessionable. I have to say that I would not necessarily go for this as a first choice given other beers that Jack's Abby puts out. So I can't say I would buy a growler of it. However, amongst other beers in this category its amazing. This is what a pale session lager should be. Very refreshing and drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

04-04-2012 22:42:47 | More by jneiswender

PeterIngemi

Massachusetts

3.3/5  rDev -17.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from. .5 lt bottle into a tulip.

A: pours a very clean looking golden, when I pour the second half of the bottle in it added a little bit if haze.... Nice one finger white head dissapates nicley leaving little to no lacing.

S: like grains and bread. With a bit of floral/citrus hop in the background. Perhaps it is the wheat I smell and that's where I get the grainy breadiness from.

T: a bit of hops but I feel as though the grainy breadiness dominates the flavor much like it did the aroma.... Like the label says it starts with a light hippiness and then gets into the bready maltiness with a light bitter touch on the finish.

M: medium bodies with crisp carbonation... Well rounded, with a slight dry bitter finish. Very drinkable, as a session beer should be.

O: deffinatley not my favorite jacks Abby... I feel like this brew could use more hops and less malty breadiness... Really nothing spectacular.... It is flavorful for a session beer, I'm just not a huge fan of the flavor on display... Perhaps it's because I'm not that huge of a wheat beer fan... Or perhaps this is just not my thing. I am a little dissapointed.

Serving type: bottle

04-02-2012 23:49:52 | More by PeterIngemi

rudzud

Massachusetts

4.3/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Picked up a bottle of this at Julio's. So happy to have Jack's Abby distributing throughout Massachusetts.

A - Pours a crystal clear straw hue with a nice two finger rocky white head that left great side lacing and a nice cloud.

S - Smell...isnt quite like others were describing this. Perhaps because this is a bottle and not on tap things have changed, but, I dont get any tropical hop notes like others said. Instead, there is a nice light grassy hop with nice rich, cereal/bready grains.

T - More of those light grassy hops, but there is a faint flicker of bitter hops towards the end. A super faint hint of pineapple towards the end as well. The middle though is clearly Jack's Abby. Very nice lager qualities here, the bready grains (wheat), almost biscuity, with some light sweet malts. Nice slight bitter finish.

M - Mouthfeel is pretty solid. Yeah, definately sessionable. Rather crisp and clean, with an enjoyable finish.

O - Overall, this is a good beer from Jack's Abby. I prefer their big, juicy hop offerings though. While a good beer, its no Kiwi Rising.

Serving type: bottle

03-27-2012 00:40:41 | More by rudzud

MoreThanWine

Massachusetts

4.23/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured a 2.5" white head with decent lifespan. The body is a clear straw yellow but with more radiance than typical. It smells a little of malt and a lot of citrusy piney hops, already much more to this than your typical lager. The taste flips with a little citrusy piney hops followed by a lot of malt. Nice long nutty lager finish. Dare to say this brewery claims to specialize in lagers and it shows, and yes I'm proud this is a local brewer to my state.

Serving type: bottle

03-26-2012 08:30:36 | More by MoreThanWine

smcolw

Massachusetts

4.1/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This beer was offered as a style similar to a Saison. In reality, it is far closer to a Pale Ale than anything else. I am surprised that this is a lager.

Clingy ring lace from a good bar-poured head. It settles to a thin layer of minute bubbles. The liquid is quite clear with a golden color.

The aroma is citrusy hop, while the flavor is more blunt with some fruitiness up front and strong bitter finish. I also detected "bubblegum"--this was surprisingly attractive. The combination works. I describe the body as a cross between oily and creamy.

Serving type: bottle

03-04-2012 22:16:18 | More by smcolw

taez555

Massachusetts

4.33/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This beer pours a very clear yellow straw colored body and a white head.

Nose is extremely fresh with just waves of fresh cut grain and some floral hops.

Taste is light bodied but immediately hits you with this HUGE fresh grain taste packed with just enough hop taste and bitterness to a little more over the top than the malt, but since it's already such a light beer to begin with it's not overpowering at all. It's just, right. Hops have a leafy and citric flavor to them. It's really an interesting mix of like that german hop and american hop flavor. Ends with a surprisingly long hop bitterness.

I'll be honest, I'm not a pilsner/lager guy and even when it comes to JA's beer's prefer their big 7-10%ABV hop monster, but this may be one of the most perfect simple session lagers out there. This may be the first beer I've ever tasted that both a BMC drinker and beer snob could agree on as a great beer.

Serving type: growler

02-05-2012 23:13:39 | More by taez555

jlindros

Massachusetts

4.55/5  rDev +13.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

From their website:
"Deep golden in color, this low ABV lager balances Pilsner and Munich malt with an aromatic American hop aroma. This beer starts hoppy but finishes unexpectedly malty with very low bitterness. Impressively flavorful and drinkable for the lightest beer we brew. We dub this beer a "Session Lager," as we once again brew a lager in a beer style of its own. Uses local Soft Red Winter Wheat from Four Star Farms.
OG 11.5 Plato / IBU's 20 / ABV 4.5%"

Had on tap at Armsby Abbey.

Tap at abbey

Big creamy 1 finger head fades slowly with notches of lacing, brilliantly clear golden tan yellow color.

Nose is great, nice tropical fruit hops, light citrus, pineapple, light grapefruit, and hint of resin, then light fruity crisp lager, hint of soft pilsner malts.

Taste starts like a great pilsner, light toasty straw malts, soft and a light creamy malt, nice crisp lager, with light fruity flavors. Then perfectly balanced hops come through with a light but decent bitterness, light grassy and hint of citrus, and even a light hint of fresh hop resin. Finish is dry, clean bitterness, light crisp malt, maybe a bit too clean and quick if I had to nitpick.

Mouth is a bit lighter bodied, decent carb.

Overall delicious, maybe their best yet. Perfect balance of pilsner with noble hop taste and american hop aroma. Crisp, clean, super sessionable, I need to get me a growler of this. I really hope this is year round now.

Serving type: on-tap

01-15-2012 23:10:46 | More by jlindros