Ginger & Juice - Jack's Abby Brewing

jaasen64

Massachusetts

4.15/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

500ml bottle poured into pint glass. This is pretty much their 1 year anniversary beer which was last week, just hit stores this week. Bottle says July 2012. (Review #200!)

A- Pours a translucent light orange gold with a 2-3 finger very thick bubbly head that has excellent retention. Lots of small rising carbonation bubbles rising from the bottom of the glass, definitely more then your average beer. Thick layered lacing.

S- Grapefruits, ginger, hops, melons, cantaloupe, slightly wheaty and grassy in the background. Slightly above average aroma strength. I definitely enjoyed the smell on this one, it has a nice juicy grapefruit smell without being overly hoppy balanced nicely with the ginger.

T- Grapefruit, light melon, some wheat and light hops, with a bitter gingery finish and a lingering aftertaste of grapefruit juice, spices, hops, and a little bit of ginger. A tiny bit too much ginger on the finish, but other then that everything was nicely balanced.

M- Light, crisp, refreshing, very easy to drink, almost goes down like juice. Slightly above average carbonation, but fits well with bringing out the ginger and other flavors of the beer.

O- I thought this was a very nice offering from Jack's Abby. It was full of nicely balanced flavor and was a pretty unique beer that was definitely easy to drink. At $3/.5 liter I will definitely be buying this again. I think it's definitely right up there with Hoponius Union.

Serving type: bottle

07-27-2012 21:53:18 | More by jaasen64

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

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

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

Hopdaemon39

Massachusetts

4.33/5  rDev +12.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

This shouldn't be classified as a dortmunder...

Poured from a .5 liter bottle into a pilsener- pours a beautifully clear golden color, visibly effervescent, lots of fluffy white head, greatt retention, great lacing.

Smell is very interesting but the ginger and pineapple are somewhat subdued. Along with those undertones, there are earthy, piney hops and a tiny trace of pale malt.

Taste was overwhelming at first but after a few sips it cleared up- a nice blend of ginger, pineapple and pine hops up front, that gives way to a good dose of bitterness for a very long dry finish.

Mouthfeel is good- medium light body with moderate prickly carbonation. A good dose of resin maybe is slightly a put off but what the hell I love hops and it's IPA day. Give it a try it's great!

Serving type: bottle

08-03-2012 01:45:47 | More by Hopdaemon39

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

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

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