Ginger & Juice - Jack's Abby Brewing

starrdogg

District of Columbia

4.08/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Big thanks to Rob1110 for sending this my way.

Pours a slightly hazy golden-orange with a fluffy white head. Smells of ginger (shocking!) as well as some other spices and citrus as well as a bit of sweetness. The first flavor I notice is ginger, but isn't nearly as much ginger as I thought it might be after the smell. It's also got a nice hoppy bitterness to it, and some orange peel as well. Finish is clean and slightly grainy (yay lagers!). Mouthfeel is light-to-medium-bodied and very refreshing with nice carbonation. Overall, this is a really different blend of flavors that works quite well. It's not something I'd want to drink every day, but it's a interesting, unique experiment and another hit from Jack's Abby.

Serving type: bottle

08-05-2012 00:42:24 | More by starrdogg

mdaschaf

Washington

4.03/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to jassen64 for this one!

A: Pours a hazy golden color with a two finger white head on top, very thick and foamy. Very nice retention with thick lacing all around the glass.

S: Lots of citrus and grassy hops, there is certainly a bit of ginger as well. Nice grapefruit aroma going in with some faint malt, but really nice and hoppy.

T: Not as floral/citrusy as the aroma. It is still very good, just not in your face. The grapefruit is apparent with some lemon zest and grass. The ginger doesn't really show itself though.

M: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Smooth and easy drinking.

O: Another solid beer from Jacks, loving their hoppy lagers.

Serving type: bottle

08-30-2012 01:36:10 | More by mdaschaf

PeterIngemi

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a .5 liter bottle into a duvel glass.

A: pours a very nice hazy golden orange with a finger and a Hal of white head, that dissapates nicley and leavs some nice lacing... Looks juicy.

S: right off the bat I get citrus hops and grapefruit, then as I delve a bit deeper and the brew warms the ginger starts to step up, along with a citrus peel aroma, I assume from the grapefruit peels.

T: citrus hops front blendin into the grapefruit juice and skins, with the ginger stepping up in the end. I feel like the buckwheat deffinatly makes it self know in the mid palate adding a spicy graininess, this brew is deffinatly spiced, as it says, in fact I wish it was a little less spices, although it is very well done and well rounded, spice just isn't really my thing.

M: medium bodied with medium sharp carbonation and a spicy bitter finish.

O: an interesting beer, and again, very well done, I don't like ginger or grapefruit but instill enjoyed this beer, it may have not been my personal fav, but if you like spiced beers, ginger, grapefruit and hops.... You'd probably love this.

Serving type: bottle

07-26-2012 00:14:28 | More by PeterIngemi

ceolach

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I generally like IPA's and Stouts but these guys are kicking ass. Pureed Ginger & Grapefruit juice. WTF. Everything kind of just hangs out together in harmony. Hops, Ginger and Grapefruit juice. On top of making great beer they provide some of the best bang for the buck in New England. $3.99 for what Maine Beer Co. is charging $6.99. Had MBC's Zoe last night and its a lovely beer but so is this at half the price. Thanks boys.

Serving type: bottle

07-28-2012 03:58:08 | More by ceolach

OtherShoe2

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours medium gold with a decent white head and a 1/4 inch retention. No lace.

Ginger notes and grapefruit rind in the nose.

What a surprisingly refreshing beer. Ginger and grapefruit/citric rind notes up front, with strong bitterness following the malt. The grain works well for this one, and all of the variables are balanced and of the right strength.

Medium body, good carbonation.

A surprise winner. I thought the ginger would kill this, but instead it adds a great element. worth trying for sure.

Serving type: bottle

08-04-2012 22:01:07 | More by OtherShoe2

mdfb79

New York

4/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Picked this up on Saturday 08/18/12 at the brewery;bottled in late July 2012. 16.9 oz. bottle bottled into my Bell's tulip.

a - Pours a somewhat hazy yellow-gold color with one and a half fingers of fluffy bright white head and moderate carbonation evident. Head lasts for several minutes and leaves a ton of lacing on the glass.

s - Smells of citrus hops, grapefruit, fruity malts, floral hops, bready malts, and pine hops. Tons of grapefruit and citrus, and a ton of hops. Very nice nose.

t - Tastes of citrus hops, grapefruit, lemongrass, earthy notes, ginger, spices, herbal notes, bready malts, grains, wheat, and some light pine. Some light bitterness but not too much. A slight step down from the nose.

m - Medium body and moderate carbonation evident. Light bitterness but not a ton; pretty nice mouthfeel.

o - Overall another pretty good IPA-like lager. The nose is very nice, and the taste is good too. Light bitterness and tons of citrus and grapefruits. Not my favorite from them but definitely worth checking out and I'd like to have it again.

Serving type: bottle

08-22-2012 00:37:25 | More by mdfb79

brewandbbq

New Hampshire

4/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

500ml bottle from July bottling.

Pours light gold with a mild haze. A few whisps on the surface and some stringy lacing for the duration.

Aromatics are an interesting blend of ginger, grapefruit, and tropical fruit. Hints of juniper and pine follow through.

Light bodied with a crisp, refreshing mouthfeel.

Ginger, pine, grapefruit, and spicy hops start the palate. The ginger tastes fresh and is not overdone. A nice dose of grapefruit and hops adds more punch. Bitterness is firm but not overpowering.

Finishes crisp and light with zingy ginger, zesty hops and grapefruit.

One of the best ginger beers I've had. Very refreshing and would be a terrific match for Thai food.

Serving type: bottle

09-13-2012 01:27:22 | More by brewandbbq

WanderingFool

Massachusetts

3.98/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Ginger & Juice pours a slightly cloudy honey yellow with a massive, fizzy head on top. As the foam dissolves it leaves behind a coating of lace on the glass.

The aroma has notes of ginger, grapefruit, lemon zest and bread.

Each sip of this medium bodied beer is creamy with mild carbonation. The flavor is sweet with spices and some bitterness. The ginger flavor is found throughout each sip. Grapefruit citrus and lemon rind are balanced by light fruit and sweet malt. It finishes mildly bitter with some grassy hop notes. Once gone the ginger and sweet malt lingers on the palate.

This is a tasty beer where the ginger doesn't over power the flavor. Very well balanced.

Serving type: bottle

11-19-2012 00:18:48 | More by WanderingFool

jlindros

Massachusetts

3.95/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pours a fluffy creamy looking 2 finger head that fades semi slowly with nice lacing, over mostly clear golden tan color.

NOse brings some ginger, a mix of candied ginger and gingerbread cookie like aroma, with a hint of a lemongrass aroma, light herbal spices, hint of light malt and fruity lager aroma, fairly light overall aroma.

Taste starts with a bitter but strong ginger flavor, again a cross between candied ginger and gingerbread, with light herbal spices flavors mostly I think that's just my mind associating the ginger with the spices. A light malt flavor with a hint of toastiness and straw, lemongrass hop flavor, light floral hops as well, grassy and fairly bitter. Hint of fruity lager flavors. Finish is drier and quite bitter, a big bitter kick on the finish, with a long fairly ginger flavor lingering, some earthy lemony grassy hops lingering as well.

mouth is med to lighter bodied, great carbonation.

Overall not bad, pretty much what I expected, ginger is fairly strong but not nearly overpowering, keeping it fairly drinkable. The hops are a bit muted until the finish, but decent. Malts keep in the background but let their presence be known.

Serving type: bottle

07-28-2012 22:21:29 | More by jlindros

BostonHops

Massachusetts

3.9/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

pint bottle served in a snifter.

pours a golden-yellow tone with a touch of haze while yielding a 1"+ foamy white head; decent retention and lacing. nose is headlined by a prevailing ginger presence while flanked by notes of citric hoppiness and a touch of malt.

flavor follows the aroma with ginger leading the way followed by that citrus hoppiness and secondary notes of malt and some herbal hops. medium-light bodied mouthfeel with average carbonation.

overall, not an uber-flavorful world-beater, but relatively tasty and refreshing; very solid beer just nothing that will blow you away. slightly better on paper (what i anticipated) than in practice, but definitely worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

08-14-2012 21:02:54 | More by BostonHops

inlimbo77

Delaware

3.9/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

16oz bottle
Unmarked tulip

A: Somewhat hazy golden, yellow orange color. Tons of fluffy bright head. Lots of carbonation.

S: Grassy malt grain aromas. Some grapefruit hops, but not on an IPA level. You do pull some of that grapefruit note too.

T: Some fruity hop bitterness up front, muted with the sushi I and eating. You do get some of that grapefruit forwardness they mention. Dry finish. Tasty.

M: Light leading to medium bodied.

Serving type: bottle

10-01-2012 18:28:37 | More by inlimbo77

LeRose

Massachusetts

3.9/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottled, no date. Poured into a lager glass a hazy golden color with a humongous frothy head the subsided and laced very well. Aroma was a whiff of gingers and not too much else, maybe a bit of breadiness. The taste was therefore a surprise. Just a touch of ginger, but holy grapefruit, Batman! The bitterness from the rind and albedo, yet a fresh grapefruit juice note works underneath and brings some tartness and highlights the sweetness. The ginger comes back on the end with a bit of tingle and dryness. The body is medium, kind of smooth. Overall. It isn’t strong enough with the ginger for me to call it a ginger beer, but reminds me more of a grapefruit shandy if I mixed a medium body lager with fresh grapefruit juice. I like this, wish I had paired it with maybe Mexican or BBQ vittles.

The grapefruit and ginger really linger...in a pleasant palate cleansing sort of way. Quite a while after drinking it and still have a faint citrus and ginger taste going on.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2013 01:42:36 | More by LeRose

AndyAvalanche

Massachusetts

3.88/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A little suprised at myself that this is my first Jack's Abby review. I've been enjoying their beer quite a bit over the last few months, but I guess this is the first one I've taken the time to review I guess.

Got a growler and spit it with my wife over the afternoon and into the evening on a night off from work. Poured it into 22 oz. Sam Adams perfect pint glass. Comes out golden in color with a nice yellow glow when held up to the light. Looks hazy, not as filtered as many of their other offerings. Nice white colored head that comes up after a reasonably aggressive pour and provides decent lacing. Pretty good looking beer.

I really have a tough time with these beers aromas, this isn't really an exception either. It smells better than I would expect based on the fact that it's a strong wheat aroma (which really isn't my style) but it's not bad, better than the average I would say. Citrus (mostly grapefruit) zest, and hints of ginger and melon as well. Again a strong amount of wheat, a little less and I'd like it more. All the "herbs and spices" kind of overpower everything else.

Taste is better than the smell. Strong amounts of Ginger and hints of grapefruit zest. The grapefruit kind of makes it seem like an overhopped wheat beer, but it's really more than that. There's a generous amounts of fruit in general. The combination of grapefruit and ripe melon really mesh well with the ginger. Again there is a large wheat backbone on it kind of holding it together, I think I'd like it a little better if they went a different route with that, but it's not bad.

Mouthfeel is good, I generally don't like this part in these styles but this one isn't bad. Cleaner and smoother than I would expect. Good carbonation level, and well balanced. The Ginger and grapefruit give this a cleaner than you'd expect finish. Overall a good beer, not one I'd get regularly, but a nice summer dinker.

Serving type: growler

08-14-2012 01:47:31 | More by AndyAvalanche

womencantsail

California

3.78/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A fairly clear orange color with a white head. A very nice hop aroma with lots of floral and citrus notes to it. Plenty of fresh ginger, light pine, and some bread and biscuit malts. The flavor has a light bitterness to it, as well as a touch of malt sweetness. Very good ginger flavor, rather plentiful citrus and floral hops, and just a hint of pine.

Serving type: bottle

08-07-2012 20:49:04 | More by womencantsail

Jwale73

Rhode Island

3.7/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

500ml bottle served in a nonic. July 2012 indicated on the back label. Pours a light, golden-orange with a four inch, cascading, fluffy, rocky, cream-colored head. Head exhibits excellent retention and thick, textured sheets of lacing are revealed during the tasting. Nose suggests citrus rind, grapefruit, floral aromatics and an earthy/spicy character. Taste is somewhat consistent with the nose - grapefruit rind makes an appearance; however, there's also a suggestion of chamomile, citric acid and a lingering, earthy bitterness at the finish. Ginger is present, but very much subdued (a little bit goes a long way). Mouthfeel is light-medium, but closer to light, with a pleasant, lively carbonation that cleanses the palate and gives a little more depth to the body. Overall, a refreshing and nuanced hoppy lager with a tea-like character. Not bold, but the flavors muddle together nicely with a hops presence falling somewhere between an APA and an IPA.

Serving type: bottle

09-04-2012 21:54:20 | More by Jwale73

jbertsch

Massachusetts

3.6/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Appears gold in color. Slight haze to it. Its white head is one-finger in size.

I smell ginger, cracker malt, earthy hops and faint citrus once it warms up.

I taste the cracker-like malt up front with ginger spiciness sitting on top. There's just a kiss of grapefruit on the finish along with a slight bitterness.

Mouthfeel is appropriate.

This is enjoyable, but maybe I've come to expect too much from JA as they usually impress me a ton. I wish the hop profile was more pronounced, especially since the label says "highly hopped!" and I know what they're capable of with H.U.

It's a nice drinker, I just wish the hops came as advertised and the volume was turned up a little. Boy I sound American don't I?

Serving type: bottle

08-09-2012 17:00:06 | More by jbertsch

NEhophead

Massachusetts

3.4/5  rDev -11.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

16.9 fl oz brown bottle served in a tumbler.

Pale straw in color with shades of dull copper. Dense, thick foam of a head with very stable retention that leaves an intact, half wall of condensed lacing. Active carbonation, noticeable sediment.

Slightly tart grapefruit, green apple, and orange aroma. Notes of ginger, pepper or clove, over a pretty bland, slightly astringent must.

The ginger and grapefruit qualities come through initially, but quickly fade to a wall of stiff, somewhat clean grains. The grains are joined by some very spicy floral hops and a touch of must prior to a dry finish. Mild lemon and grapefruit return in the aftertaste.

Light bodied; active on the palate. For the most part, a pretty clean texture; however, once the dry finish hits, so does some film on the palate.

Some pretty intense flavors going on for a spiced lager. Unfortunately, the flavors are pretty conflicting and out of balance which make for a few flavor flaws. Not a boring offering in the least, but I would much rather try one of Jack's Abby's other offerings.

Serving type: bottle

09-09-2012 01:24:11 | More by NEhophead

rudzud

Massachusetts

3.03/5  rDev -21.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

So my quest to find a decent ginger beer continues. I figured Jacks Abby could surely make it happy...I figured wrong.

A - Pours a crystal clear golden hue with a light, fizzy one finger head that faded very quickly resulting in just a thin, faint halo.

S - Smell is just, well, unappealing. Smells like faint ginger and stale beer. Gah, I heard so many people say this just smelled of big, potent ginger...where is it?!

T - The same goes for the taste. So many people said "Oh, its too gingery" yet here I am, looking for it. Sweet malts along with some very faint hops. Theres a light ginger root taste, faintly spicy. Where. Is. The. Ginger.

M - Mouthfeel is nice carbonation as usual for Jack's Abby.

O - Overall this was another mediocre ginger beer for me. I guess my quest continues.

Serving type: bottle

08-08-2012 19:23:50 | More by rudzud