Black Jack Porter - Left Hand Brewing Company

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

3.4/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Russet with pumpkin orange edges. Porters that are this clear and this, uh... non-brown... always make me wonder about their seriousness as porters. Give me opaque walnut any day. The head is also disappointing. Toasted bread ecru in color, it's about as far from thick and creamy as possible. It's also a pathetic lace generator. I'm not feeling good about this.

The nose is actually pretty good. It smells like cocoa powder with the merest whiff of coffee with cream. Although deeper and richer would be better, what has been provided is more than adequate.

Black Jack is definitely a graduate of the 'lighter porters are better porters' school of brewing. Given the body, it's amazing that there's as much flavor as there is. Unsweetened chocolate with a splash of coffee and a minimal light fruitiness make up the flavor profile. A little stray hoppiness struggles to be heard on the finish. Bitter and sweet are roughly equal and both are at a low ebb.

A more substantial body would help this beer a great deal since the basic flavors are good ones. They're in dire need of a more sturdy vehicle, something to transport them with style and allow them to remain on the taste buds for longer than an instant. While not quite a dark mild, Black Jack is on the wimpy end of the porter scale... as if that point wasn't painfully obvious by now.

Left Hand is capable of brewing outstanding dark beer (Imperial Stout) and lousy dark beer (Milk Stout). Black Jack Porter falls somewhere in the cavernous middle. It's okay, I suppose, and should be acceptable to a wide range of beer drinkers, but I'm trying my damnedest to suppress a yawn.

Serving type: bottle

01-10-2006 16:02:55 | More by BuckeyeNation

mikesgroove

South Carolina

4.58/5  rDev +23.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

So another in the line of regulars from Left Hand graces my glass. This one I was looking forward to as the Porters have always been a favorite of mine. This one poured a nice thick dark brown with a large creamy tan colored head on the top. Great retention let it hang around for what seemed like forever before finally being nestled down into just a thin layer across the top. The aroma was very full and sweet. Lots of chocolate roaming through it along with a touch of coffee and lots of sugar. A slight smoked presentation as well. The flavor was also very full for a porter. This almost had a stout like feel to it as it was very thick and full with a great robust profile. Lots of chocolate and coffee notes dominated it. Overall it was hard to believe this was actually not a stout. It was so full bodied, a really great porter. This would make an excellent addition to a winter lineup. A great beer and something that I will defiantly be looking forward to trying again.

Serving type: bottle

11-20-2007 11:21:30 | More by mikesgroove

womencantsail

California

3.58/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Thanks, Lee.

A: The beer pours a very dark brown color with a small off-white head.

S: Pretty typical porter aromas on this one. Starts off with a lot of roasted malt as well as some coffee. There is a mild licorice note, a touch of molasses and some earthy hops. Not a very intense nose.

T: A sort of surprising dark fruit flavor to it. Sweetness in the form of toffee which is counteracted by the mild coffee flavor and the roasted malts. Just a very light flavor of licorice and molasses.

M: The body is sort of light for a porter with a medium carbonation.

O: This wasn't too bad. I don't know if I'd seek it out again, but it was respectable.

Serving type: bottle

08-09-2011 18:32:22 | More by womencantsail

Thorpe429

Illinois

3.65/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at Left Hand in August 2009.

Pours a dark brown with a nice tan head. The smell is of roasted malt with a little bit of chocolate. Some fruits and breadiness as well. The taste is similar--nice and simple to drink without too much complexity. The body is full and is fairly drinkable for a porter--not too dry.

Serving type: on-tap

10-04-2009 18:04:00 | More by Thorpe429

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

3.68/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Pours a clear, dark brown body with a medium-sized, khaki-colored head.

Smell: Somewhat mild aroma, with notes of dark malts, earthy chocolate, and one single coffee bean.

Taste: Dark malts with a small handful of roasted grains. Semi-sweet chocolate flavor along with a decent amount of sweetness. Very light bitterness, just enough to help balance things out. Hint of coffee with two teaspoons of sugar added on the finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Just a touch watery.

Drinkability: A solid porter that's certain to make for easy drinking.

Serving type: bottle

04-18-2008 19:29:08 | More by ChainGangGuy

brentk56

North Carolina

3.6/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Pours a chocolate brown with more than its fair share of ruby highlights; the modest cap leavessome strands and dots behind

Smell: Brown bread and chocolate, with a hint of caramel

Taste: Rather chocolatey, up front, with a growing grainy /hoppy flavor that cuts into the sweetness by mid-palate; after the swallow, an acidic coffee dimension joins the profile, but the underlying chocolate sweetness drives home in the finish

Mouthfeel: Light to medium body with moderate carbonation; a bit aqueous

Overall: Easy to drink and has a nice chocolate flavor, though it is lacking in complexity

Serving type: bottle

06-23-2011 03:21:04 | More by brentk56

BEERchitect

Kentucky

3.9/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A much better beer than what I was anticipating. A rich black malt, chocolate, and milk sweetness to the nose. Thick and dark, almost black with a soft creamy, lightly tan head. Tastes creamy and bold without heavy sweetness or body. Chocolatey, robust, toffee, and espresso flavored. A nice lactose sweetness softens the beer considerably, offering a fermented sourness. Creamy and smooth texture. Finishes lightly chocolatey, modestly sweet, and clean for a porter. Hinges on a milk stout, otherwise, a terriffic porter.

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2006 00:23:58 | More by BEERchitect

oberon

North Carolina

3.75/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a deep amber with a thin head that leaves a trace of lacing,aroma of coffee and fruit with some bitter chocolate as well but it is subdued.Taste has a fruity edge to it with some milk chocolate and earth it mingles pretty well together.A pretty solid porter what have liked a little more muscle to it but good none the less.

Serving type: bottle

05-16-2004 02:06:58 | More by oberon

TMoney2591

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Served in a shaker pint glass at Durty Nellie's.

They're givin' this out cheap now, so I decided to give it a go before my world is rocked by '80s music. It pours a dark ruby-tinged black-brown topped by a half-finger of light ecru foam. The nose comprises light roasted malts, light coffee, dark chocolate, and a decidedly light twinge of pine. The taste holds notes of mild roasted malts, milder coffee, cocoa, and some light spruce bits. The body is a straight medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a dry-ish finish. Overall, a pretty standard, nice, unoffensive porter. Straightforward all the way.

Serving type: on-tap

01-26-2011 04:23:55 | More by TMoney2591

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

3.53/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Dark brown color, with ruby tinges, and a firm, fine, crackly cream-colored head. There's something sadly amiss in the aroma department, though: I expect bigger, bolder flavor in a robust porter, but the espresso, cocoa elements I so enjoy are being a bit shy. They're there, but they're awfully soft.
Mouthfeel is decent, balance is right on target for a porter, nice bitterness on the palate. Hops fade some in the finish, I could have used a bit more. Some chocolatey flavor lingers on the palate, but, again, not enough.
This one landed at #39 in Stuart A. Kallen's 1997 book "The 50 Greatest Beers In the World" with Samuel Smith's at 7 and Geary's at 34. I'd have to disagree. It's good, don't get me wrong, but I've been drinking a lot of Anchor Porter lately.

Serving type: bottle

03-23-2003 20:49:17 | More by feloniousmonk

WesWes

New York

2.95/5  rDev -20.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

The beer pours a dark brown color with a thick frothy tan head that quickly fades to lacing. The aroma is decent. It has a dark roasted malt scent with little hops and a dry yeast aroma. The taste is average. It has a grainy dark malt flavor with a dry finish. It is watery and weak tasting. The mouthfeel is horrible. It is a medium/full bodied beer with little carbonation. This beer drinks average. It has little aroma and flavor along with almost no carbonation. This is a average porter at best.

Serving type: bottle

06-12-2004 01:11:43 | More by WesWes

Mora2000

Texas

3.9/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a pint glass, the beer poured a dark brown with rust colored highlights when held up to a light. The head was thick, khaki colored and creamy.

The beer smells of roasted malts and coffee, which is also how the beer tasted. The taste also featured some chocolate notes.

This is my first beer from Left Hand and I have was very impressed. I would definitely order this again.

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2008 04:13:08 | More by Mora2000

zeff80

Missouri

3.98/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Poured out an opaque, jet-black color with a one-finger, soapy, bubbly, cream colored head. There was minimal lacing.

S - It smelled roasty with sweet notes of chocolate, toffee and caramel.

T - It tasted of dark chocolate with a bittersweet kick. It had a mild herbal hop presence.

M - It was crisp, sharp and smooth. A medium-bodied porter with a dry finish.

D - This is a pretty nice porter. I like the fact that is English-styled.

Serving type: bottle

04-26-2010 21:43:06 | More by zeff80

Gueuzedude

Arizona

3.68/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

When held up to the light this dark amber, almost black beer shows a brilliantly clear deep ruby red color. It is topped by a frothy light brown head that disappears after a minute or so. The aroma is quite fruity with notes of figs and raisins as well as notes of alcohol and a finish of astringent roasted barley. The aroma is quite rich and enticing, the type of aroma I would expect to find on an imperial stout not a porter.

The taste is light up front, but followed by a rich roasted caramel not and a bit of chalkiness up front. I get sweet fruity notes of burnt raisins as well as some nice rich chocolate notes. This is a really nice malty porter, there is not much in the way of hop notes, just a mix of sweet and dark malt notes. While I really like the malt character this beer is a bit too thin to solely rest on it, there needs to be a bit more hops, or a thicker body to support and compliment the lush maltiness of this Porter.

Serving type: bottle

07-24-2005 03:51:05 | More by Gueuzedude

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

3.35/5  rDev -9.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured from a 12oz bottle into a US tumbler pint glass.

A: The beer is a deep dark brown color, with a large off-white head that fades slowly and leaves a spotty lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is of coffee, dark chocolate, roasted malts, some fruit and a touch of hops.

T: The smoky and malty taste hits with a strong flavor of black coffee up front along with back ground flavors of dark fruit & dark chocolate. There's a mild hops presence that is about right for the style and provides some balance. The after-taste is slightly bitter.

M: Crisp and a little smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is a little sticky.

D: A little tasty, goes down ok, not too filling, decent kick, good representation of style, this isn't a bad beer but there are definitely several other porters that I would pick first.

Serving type: bottle

07-03-2008 04:53:58 | More by TheManiacalOne

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

3.98/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This beer poured out as a deep brown color, the head was thin with a creamy tan color. The smell of the beer had some nice roasted notes without much of any hop aroma. The taste of the beer was probably the best part, it's was sort of creamy and lightly roasted. The mouthfeel was soft, gently carbonated and smooth. Overall this is a good brew in my opinion. I could see myself Drinking this one again.

Serving type: bottle

08-17-2012 18:15:21 | More by Knapp85

russpowell

Oklahoma

4.38/5  rDev +18.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Bottled on 07 011 07, fresh beer yeah!

Pours mahogany with 3 fingers of puffed up tan colored head. Above average lacing & good head retention

S: Roasted malt & a slight alder or beechwood smokeyness.

T: Chocolate, roasted grains & smokeyness up front. As this warms, I get dryness, a little molasses, some oaky notes & baker's chocolate. Finishes with espresso, charred (not burnt) grain

MF: Medium-bodied with moderate carbonation & a nice chewyness, plus some good oilyness

Drinks too easy for the abv, this & , Odells Cutthroat, New World (Avery) porter are two of the better porters on offer from the centennial state IMO. Would pair great with dessert or game (might marinade some elk steaks I have in this)

Serving type: bottle

08-17-2007 07:43:36 | More by russpowell

Halcyondays

California

2.48/5  rDev -33%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 4 | overall: 1.5

12 oz. bottle,

A: Pours a very dark brown with a small white head. Good retention, some lace.

S: Milk chocolate, some roast, nice.

T: Too much residual sugar and the green hop notes clash with the malt, reminds me of Deschutes Hop in the Dark having the same problem. There is some solid dark chocolate flavours, but it doesn't solve the problem that it just doesn't taste very good.

M: Smooth, creamy, light carbonation. Fairly good chocolately finish.

D: Well made, but just not my kind of flavour profile. Too hoppy for the style, not satisfying.

Serving type: bottle

08-09-2010 02:53:08 | More by Halcyondays

Gavage

New Jersey

4.08/5  rDev +10.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Deep dark bronze to almost brown in color with a short 1/2" head that disappeared rather quickly. No lacing forms either. The aroma is pleasant as roasted malt and chocolate are easily detectable. The flavor follows suit, as roasted malt and soft chocolate are joined by some distant coffee and caramel.

Medium bodied. Smooth at the start and finish, witht he roasted malts lasting briefly on the tongue after swallowing. Very drinakble as this follows the porter style well, a session beer with just enough flavor to enjoy all day.

Serving type: bottle

10-30-2004 21:53:34 | More by Gavage

jwc215

New Jersey

3.9/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours dark brown with a one-finger tan head that descends to a lasting thin cover. Some lacing sticks.

The smell is of medium-to-dark malt with a hint of licorice and subtle dark fruitiness.

The taste is of lighted roasted dark malt - sweet with an earthy bitterness. Malty character gives it suggestions of cocoa, light coffee and licorice/anise. Sweet, but finishes with a woody dryness.

Fairly creamy in a medium body. Nice texture and carbonation level. Slight astringency doesn't interfere much in smooth character.

A tasty porter - Malty but with some balance. A nice example of the style.

Serving type: bottle

08-16-2007 18:13:22 | More by jwc215

tempest

Pennsylvania

3.7/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Out of a variety case from Shangy's. Pours an opaque black with a short tan head, a little lacing.

The aroma is a rich blend of semi-sweet chocolate, light java, and cream. The flavor follows up with a hint of spicy hops at the end in addition to the chocolate grains. MY only complaint is that it could be more complex. The mouthfeel is pretty balanced, and while this is a bigger beer, it's still fairly drinkable. Worth a try for a big, chocolatey porter.

Serving type: bottle

10-07-2008 21:59:52 | More by tempest

WVbeergeek

Ohio

3.23/5  rDev -12.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Appears a dark mahogany with ruby highlights it's hard to call this porter black especially when held toward the light. It forms a creamy light khaki colored head that dwindles typically with non descript even fine lacing. Aromatics offer up a touch of black licorice aka anise, with a roasted malt character bringing out some dark chocolate and mild coffee accent notes. Herbal hops in the back ground, a bit of caramel complements the party as well. Flavor brings out the dominant caramel presence with a touch of roasted malt characteristics including the mild coffee and dark chocolate, again a mild herbal hop bitterness in the finish for some balance. Mouthfeel is medium bodied evenly carbonated, there is a harsh bitterness that is left on the palate giving me an aftertaste that I don't truly care for between sips. Drinkability overall is decent not my favorite dark that's would have to be their milk stout, but this will do for now average dark brown/porter style ale.

Serving type: bottle

12-21-2009 11:52:56 | More by WVbeergeek

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

4.38/5  rDev +18.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours an extremely dark brown. Tan-nish head that actually sticks around for a while, even as it falls. Nose is like mildly scented dark chocolate bits that my mother used to cook with. Flavor is surprising. Smooth and even with a more robust chocolate and roasted bean flavor than I had expected. There is almost a sweet fruit edge to it. I want to say there are very slight cherry hints, but that still might be over-exaggerating. Feel is very smooth. Goes right down. On the end of the liquid feel it seems to get a slight bit watery. I still say it is good though. Very drinkable. A pretty robust porter and one that definitely has enough character to justify trying.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2007 10:07:25 | More by RblWthACoz

barleywinefiend

Washington

3.38/5  rDev -8.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured deep brown to black with a thin tan colored head. The nose is dominated by milk chocolate. There is a touch of roast malt, and just a little citrus in the end. The flavor has the milk chocolate, followed by roast malt (it's almost a burnt malt character). A bit of sweetness accompanies a mild citrus finish that gives it just a hint of bitterness, and offsets the chocolate well. The mouth feel is a little thin, a bit slick. Drinkability is OK.

Serving type: bottle

03-01-2008 02:18:51 | More by barleywinefiend

Wasatch

Utah

3.9/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks Csims

Pours a nice dark brown/black color, nice carbonation, nice small foamy tan head which lasts awhile, nice sticky lacing afterwards. The nose is of nice roasted sweet malts, toffee/caramel. The taste is very nice sweet/roasted malts, and toffee/caramel. Medium body. Very drinkable, this is an awesome little porter, highly recommended.

Serving type: bottle

02-27-2007 01:31:11 | More by Wasatch