Black Jack Porter - Left Hand Brewing Company

TTAmod

Michigan

3.53/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12 oz. bottle into pint glass

A: This beer pours a nice coca-cola color that develops a pretty good khaki head, which fades into spotty bits of head about the top.

S: Smells primarily of coffee and roasted malts. I also pick up hints of licorice and wood.

T: Chocolate and licorice notes make up most of the drink. Develops into a nice coffee and cream taste that finishes with just a bit of hops and alcohol. Ends with a slight bitter black coffee note.

M: Appropriately creamy. A little bit of carbonation is noticeable at the end.

O: Overall, a very nice and easy drinking porter. Nothing too crazy, but it doesn't really have any off-notes. Good beer to have around when it's winter.

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2012 04:11:29 | More by TTAmod

Clowerweb

Ohio

4.58/5  rDev +23.5%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from 12oz. bottle into a pint glass. Couldn't find any dates on the bottle.

A: Nearly black, very dark brown with dark amber/crimson highlights around the bottom. Not quite opaque if you hold it up to the light, but pretty close. 2 fingers of tan head dissipated quickly and left no lacing, costing a point on the appearance of this otherwise gorgeous porter.

S: Smells delectable. Has a nice amount of nose to it, not overly pungent, but not weak. Smells like dark roasted malts, notes of coffee, nutty, maybe a hint of chocolate. Can't wait to taste this!

T: Wow, I'm very surprised this porter doesn't get more love on here. Starts earthy with heavy malts, dark roast coffee, light hint of bitter hops and/or raw cocoa on the mid palate, sweetens up on the finish with a sweet roasty nutty flavor, then dries up slightly. This is a great tasting beer with plenty of depth.

M: Nice full body, mild carbonation, feels creamy and smooth, slightly chewy, sticks around in the walls of the mouth

O: This is solid 4.5/5 for me. As stated, I'm struggling to figure out why this isn't rated higher on here. I'd consider it to be up there with some of the best porters and stouts I've had. This is a fantastic beer and I'd definitely pick it up again.

Serving type: bottle

01-24-2012 02:26:04 | More by Clowerweb

tbern007

Colorado

3.4/5  rDev -8.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours dark brown but not solid. Tan head is gone kind of quickly and the lacing is just so-so.
Scent is lighter than I want- coffee, roasty, a little chocolate. Mild all around.
Taste follows what has occured thus far- milder than expected. Medium coffee, roasted malt, a little semi-sweet chocolate. Taste is good but does not remain.
Medium all around and a tad watery.
overall decent and drinkable but kind of weak.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2012 05:10:09 | More by tbern007

WoodBrew

Illinois

4.47/5  rDev +20.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I tried the Black Jack Porter at The Bank in Wheaton, IL. The beer came in a standard pint glass and was opaque in color with 1/2 finger thick tan head...that didnt lace all that well. The smell was a nice roast earth/peat with hints of sweetness and coffee. The taste followed the scent and made for a very nice porter. The mouthfeel was medium body with good carbonation. Overall this was a pretty good porter and would recommend to anyone.

Serving type: on-tap

12-31-2011 03:25:06 | More by WoodBrew

WJVII

Wisconsin

3.35/5  rDev -9.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured into a pint glass this brew has a thin black look, dark amber when held to the light, with a 1/2 finger tan head. The aroma was full of burnt malts, coffee, and chocolate. The taste is upfront and full of burnt malts. There is a thin finish of coffee and some slight toffee and caramel sweetness. This is such a thin beer with minimal carbonation which is fine for the style. A little more substance would be nice. All in all nothing more than an average porter.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2011 03:09:56 | More by WJVII

JayS2629

Alabama

4.18/5  rDev +12.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a clean, thin black with murky elements, a medium head with ok retention and lacing.

The aroma is of chocolate, caramel, and dark bread.

The flavor is of dark breads, pumperknickle, dark chocolate, cocoa, caramel, roasted touches and a faint note of coffee.

Simple, clean, medium body. a little thin for style.

Overall, very drinkable, enjoyable dark beer.

Serving type: bottle

12-27-2011 00:58:45 | More by JayS2629

ThePorterSorter

New York

3.28/5  rDev -11.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Got this in a trade

Appearance:
Pretty watery, dark looking porter with a faint tan head. I'm not too impressed.

Smell:
Caramel sweetness, a little spice (maybe a little anise?). There's nothing too bold or aromatic about this beer.

Taste:
This beer's taste is on par with its appearance and nose, rather average. However, it remains clean with a clear focus on traditional english porter interpretation.

Mouthfeel:
Quite clean and refreshing, but nothing special. There is a slightly malty aftertaste that sits on the palate for a few seconds and then fades.
It's a thin bodied beer with quickly dissipating carbonation and well-masked ethanol.

Overall:
I'm overall not too impressed with this beer, but it's not too bad a porter. I would probably pass on trying this a second time.

Serving type: bottle

12-11-2011 04:14:51 | More by ThePorterSorter

rarbring

Sweden

3.7/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

The beer is clear ruby black, has a tan head with large bubbles that leaves good lacing. Some curtains.

The smell starts with Marzipan, sweet dark fruits, roasted bread.

Tasting mostly sweet, fig and boysenberry marmalade, sweet dark bread crust.

Little carbonation, smooth, oily and sticky, a medium body with a slightly dry finish.

A very candy porter, but at this time I wanted a dessert so it was very good!

Serving type: bottle

12-07-2011 20:53:40 | More by rarbring

SpoonMeForkMe

Illinois

3.98/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Deep brown to garnett with not a lot of head.

S: Bacon, ham, Milk Chocolate, cherry.

T: Smoked meat and lots of it! Chocolate all over the place as well. I am having a hard time getting anything else.

M: Kind of dry…medium bodied

O: Good beer and I would certainly enjoy 3 or 3 of them. I’m also not giving it a fair chance to stand out on it’s own as that I’ve had a Gumball Head and a Surly Coffee Bender prior.

Serving type: bottle

12-07-2011 03:07:33 | More by SpoonMeForkMe

damndirtyape

Ohio

3.85/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

12oz bottle (bottled on 08/04/11) poured into a Shaker pint glass.

Appearance: Clear dark ruby red to brown beer. Light tan head was about 1/4" thick on pouring, but died down to a ring at the edge and very little across the top - barest skin of foam. Some strands of persistent lacing noted.

Smell: Molasses mostly - maybe a little bit bready on a swirl.

Taste: Molasses again. Malt-heavy beer. Molasses at the front, some roasted and caramel flavor malt in the middle, and a quite mild bitter finish, mildly metallic and part black coffee. Is indeed a pretty tasty porter.

Mouthfeel: Decent carbonation, just a hair thicker than water.

Overall / Drinkability: A decent English Porter. Quite drinkable, went well with food (Welsh Rabbit) and I could see myself having another. Simplistic flavor profile, but that's not a bad thing really.

Serving type: bottle

11-19-2011 23:00:41 | More by damndirtyape

Absumaster

Netherlands

3.18/5  rDev -14.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

A dark brown beer with a very small head that leaves only a small off-white ring around the glass.

Smell is roasted with a nice malty base. There are traces of husk, but this adds to the complexity. Dark crystal malts add the midpiece of the breadcrust smell.

Taste is lightly roasted around a light sweet caramellic center. The beer has notes of chocolate, tabacco and an earthy taste. Bitterness is quite low, but seems to be into balance with the mouthfeel. The body of the beer is quite thin. Sometimes this fades when the glass is empty, but the last sip is also thin. I am not too sure about this beer. It all lacked a bit.

Serving type: bottle

11-05-2011 21:29:10 | More by Absumaster

BB1313

Ohio

3.48/5  rDev -6.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottled on date noticeable. 12oz bottle poured into a snifter. Pours a dark brown, with light getting through giving it some transparent brown ruby hues. Not much head lacing to speak of, but it's there. The aromas are nice with lots of milk chocolates and roasted malts. The flavors really do match the nose. More milk chocolate with a touch of vanilla and coffee. Mouthfeel is nice, light, smooth, nice carbonation. Pretty bold. The bitterness isn't over the top, making this easy to drink. It reminded me alot of an American porter, more than an English porter. Either way, nice.

Overall, this is a good porter.. definitely worth a shot, but it's just short of being something really special.

Serving type: bottle

11-05-2011 16:36:47 | More by BB1313

drpimento

Wisconsin

4.28/5  rDev +15.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Excellent brew! I let it warm a bit from the cooler and with slightly aggressive pour I got a medium sized, foamy tan head that soon settled down to a light cover. Color is a clear, deep smokey garnet with cherry highlights and a couple of nice bubble trails. Aroma is malt, cocoa, roast, toffee, caramel, hint of fruit. Flavor is like nose, plus a bit of salt, some good carbonic tang and a nice, mild, pleasing balance of bitter and sweet. Good body and carbonation. Finish is like flavor and of average length. This is a very good, traditional English style Porter, I'd like more.

Serving type: bottle

10-30-2011 23:26:54 | More by drpimento

ArrogantB

Colorado

3.68/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Dark black color, thin head. Smells like chocolate, dark chocolate. Flavor is more dark chocolate, cocoa, bakers chocolate, tootsie roll. The flavor reminded me of the old barrel-aged imperial stout a bit. Overall, very easy to drink but not sure I'd want more than one of these since the chocolate flavor was so overwhelming.

Serving type: bottle

10-27-2011 02:40:44 | More by ArrogantB

BeerLover99

New Jersey

3.73/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: dark brown body. tan head, random lacing

S: mild dark chocolate, ripe fruit, malt.

T: light dark chocolate, mild malt, hint of rip fruit/nuts,
light crisp bitter finish

S - unsweetened cocoa and roasted coffee. Hints of toffee and a little caramel provide for some sweetness.

M: light/med body, more on semi-dry mouth

D: Not bad, dark fruit/nutty porter.
I would try again, but maybe try again.

SOLID, WORTH TRYING!

Serving type: bottle

10-26-2011 18:11:54 | More by BeerLover99

Zimbo

United Kingdom (Scotland)

3.5/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Somewhere between a rebooted H P Lovecraft Cthulhu and a damp squid, the illustration on the label gives a pretty bad first impression.
But once popped there is a nice medium richish smell of mocha and coffee. Dark cola body. Fleshy one inch magnolia head. Taste is similar being earthy, somewhat dry, and with a degree of (metallic?) chocolate. Somewhat limited in development and complexity it lacks that delicious morish quality you find in the better porters.

In the end the damp squid wins out.

Serving type: bottle

10-24-2011 23:52:33 | More by Zimbo

JuicesFlowing

Kansas

3.75/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured into a standard pint glass. Pours a fluffy, creamy pillow of a head, but dissipates to a wisp with a cream ring of bubbles around the edge. The beer is rich coffee color, held up to the light the coffee brown shows through. Pretty decent sticky lacing. Slightly alcoholic smell to this, with a hint of bitter chocolate. This beer tastes of bitter chocolate and deep roasted malts. It doesn't have that burnt charcoal profile, and that's a good thing in my eyes. Mouthfeel is a bit watered down. This is a nice porter, pretty drinkable, but I gotta admit it's a bit strong for my liking. At 6.4%, the alcohol really comes through, but overall this isn't a bad effort from Left Hand, but there are better porters out there.

Serving type: bottle

10-23-2011 13:13:00 | More by JuicesFlowing

FreshHawk

Illinois

3.53/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - Very dark brown with a large, foamy, light, bubbly, light tan head. Pretty good retention leaving very speckled lace.

S - Mix between unsweetened coffee and chocolate and dark fruit aromas. Hints of caramel and toffee as well.

T - More dark fruit compared to the coffee/cocoa. Plum and slight vinous flavors are strongest among those flavors. Some unsweetened cocoa and roasted coffee. Hints of toffee and a little caramel provide for some sweetness.

M - Lighter body with average carbonation. A touch on the thin/watery side.

D - A little too much dark fruit to make me want to drink a lot of this, but it is fairly well balanced.

Notes: Definitely an English porter with a good amount of dark fruit and toffee/caramel. Some roasted malt and coffee/cocoa as well. Not a bad porter but not my favorite.

Serving type: bottle

10-20-2011 23:52:19 | More by FreshHawk

StoutHunter

Michigan

3.75/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

I picked up a bottle of Left Hand's Black Jack Porter last week from The Lager Mill for $1.79. I have tried Left Hands Milk Stout a couples years ago and thought it was pretty good so when I saw that their brews were now available in Michigan I decided to give their porter a try and see how it is. There was a bottling date but it was smudged and unreadable. Poured from a brown 12oz bottle into an imperial pint glass.

A- The label on this beer is pretty weird, I don't know what the drawing on the bottle is, but it doesn't look bad, just weird. It poured a deep dark brown color that was bordering on being black with lots of ruby highlights when held to the light. It had a fingers worth of tan head that quickly died down to a thin ring with a thin lump in the middle that stayed till the end.

S- The aroma is pretty much all roasted malts. They impart some nice bitter and milk chocolate aromas along with a slight bit of coffee and a good amount of roasted grain aroma. The aroma is pretty on par from an English Porter.

T- The taste starts off with all those roasted malts that I picked up in the aroma that imparted some nice bitter and milk chocolate along with a very slight coffee flavor. The finish has medium amount of bitterness to it that gives it a bitter chocolate aftertaste.

M- Smooth, creamy, on the light side of being medium bodied, and it had a light amount of carbonation that could have been kicked up a couple notches.

Overall I thought this was a good English Porter. I don't have a lot of experience with this style but I am starting to like the lightness and complexity of this style as apposed to some of the more robust American Porters that border on being a stout. This beer was pretty damn drinkable, it went down pretty fast and if I had another one I would drink it, I could see drinking 3 or 4 of these on a cool fall night. What I liked most about this beer was the flavor, it wasn't overly robust and it turned out to be pretty complex. What I liked least about this beer was the mouthfeel, the carbonation needed to be bumped up a couple notches and it wouldn't hurt to make it a little thicker for a medium body. I could see myself buying this again when looking for a nice and easy drinking English Porter. I would recommend giving this beer a try it has just the right amount of balance and complexity to do this style justice. I still think Arcadia's London Porter is my favorite English Porter, but this beer comes pretty close to it although still being pretty different, but I have yet to have a traditional English Porter from England so I really can''t tell which one is more tradition, but I am willing to bet that Black Jack is closer to a traditional English Porter. I am glad that Left Hand is now available in Michigan, so far I have only tried their darker beers so I am interested to see what they can do with some of the lighter styles, guess I am going to have to track some down next time I am at the store.

Serving type: bottle

10-19-2011 03:37:41 | More by StoutHunter

FosterJM

California

3.95/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

846th Review on BA
Bottle to Pint
12 oz

2011

Thanks to @Beertographer (via twitter) for this extra.

App- A dark deep brown, almost a black stout like color. A quick receding creamy looking head with good lines of cling and stick.

Smell- A roasty porter with a nice malt backbone and fresh ground coffee. A little bitter wisps.

Taste- A nice medium density porter. Not the thickest flavors and not overly watery as some porters I have had are. A roasted note opens up and then a little background noise coffee. A bit bigger flavors follow through from nose to drink.

Mouth- A light medium body with a medium carbonation feel to it. A little coffee and some dark chocolate.

Drink- This was pretty good. A little bit of roast and some chocolate and some coffee. Was nice to see a medium body. Right in line with what I was hoping for. I'd have this one again.

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2011 17:18:50 | More by FosterJM

tjsdomer2

Illinois

3.93/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Appearance: Nice black/brown color with good thickness. A bit flat though.

Smell: Very earthy, literally, this is like dirt. It's not bad though. Molasses and raisins as well.

Taste/Mouthfeel: Subdued taste. Some roasted malt with hints of dark fruit and licorice in the background. Mouthfeel is not the cleanest in the world, but there's a nice coffee in the finish.

Drinkability: This grew on me a bit.

Overall: A pretty good porter. Wish it were a bit toastier/roastier.

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2011 04:00:13 | More by tjsdomer2

Lolli1315

Illinois

3.98/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A- A very dark brown color with ruby highlights when held up to the light. Small tan head that becomes patchy leaving only a ring around the glass.

S- Roasted malt with both milk and bitter chocolate intertwining beneath. Low levels of burnt coffee pair with the roasted malt well.

T- The roasted malt comes smoothly unto the tongue with a creamy chocolate following. The roasted coffee intermingles with the chocolate towards the middle. Going into the finish the chocolate turns slightly bitter with a more pronounced burnt character.

M- Medium full with moderate-low carbonation. Dry in the finish.

O- Good porter overall. Although not my favorite porter, certainly something I would revisit. Another solid offering from Left Hand.

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2011 02:44:30 | More by Lolli1315

jsprain1

Minnesota

3.33/5  rDev -10.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A- Pours on the dark side of cola brown. Head is one finger slightly tan. It does not last very long however.
S- The smell is primarily dark chocolate with a slight coffee and vanilla presence.
T- A bit sweeter than the nose indicated. Picking up some dark caramel, molasses, and a bit of espresso. The chocolate aroma doesn't manifest itself too much here.
M- Smooth, but it's too light of body for the style. At times it comes across as watery.
O- A middle of the road porter for me. I'm glad they included it in their mixed pack, but I wouldn't seek it out on it's own merits.

Serving type: bottle

10-03-2011 01:48:31 | More by jsprain1

stickynotes

Massachusetts

3.03/5  rDev -18.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

A - Dark, amber on the edges and when held to light. A light brown head that laces gently.

S - Roasty malts, nothing too strong.

T - Reflects the smell, roasty malts but weak, seems kind of empty; lacking.

M - Smooth, not much carbonation recognizable.

O - An ok brew. Flavor doesn't seem full but what is there is good.

Serving type: bottle

09-23-2011 01:38:53 | More by stickynotes

BlackBearForge

Florida

3.9/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottled on August 5, 2011

Black Jack Porter pours a deep ruby tinted brown, very clear with a nice off white head that is relatively slow to fall leaving thick slippery lacing as you drink.

The aroma has a light coffee scent backed by dark roasted malt.

The flavor is very nice with coffee and the somewhat chocolatey roasted malts taking center stage though there is a nice but appropriately light background of earthy, slightly spicey hops (this is an English Porter after all). The dark roasted malts are mild in their bitterness and while the overall character is on the sweet side it is not cloying.

The mouthfeel is on the light side medium, very smooth and silky with a bit of creaminess with moderate carbonation.

Overall this is a very nicely balanced English style porter, perhaps just a tad sweeter than I like but that is no real detraction.While I feel it could use a touch more complexity I would gladly drink this porter when offered and if I can find it as fresh as I got this six pack I will gladly buy it again as well.

Serving type: bottle

08-30-2011 23:40:12 | More by BlackBearForge