Mac and Jacks African Amber Ale

Brewed by Mac and Jacks Brewing Company
Style: Amber Ale
Redmond, Washington USA

(Draft: C.J. Borg’s Microbrews in SeaTac Airport) Kind of an odd beer; It’s lightly malty, fruity, a little peachy, with a sweet honey flavor, but mostly dominated by a prominent tartness and a mild bitterness; The nose is orange citrus, tart, maybe a little apricot; Medium bodied; The tart, lightly bitter finish doesn’t hang on the palate; The visually unpleasant color is somewhere in the dark amber / dark golden / light brown area and is very murky with lots of small to medium sized sediment floating around the beer; Bubbly, tan head has average retention and lots of patchy lacing; Overall, the tart, fruity flavor doesn’t appeal to me

Sampled @ Rose & Raindrop in Portland, and @ Sea-Tac Airport. Murky yellow and orange appearance. Cantaloupe with some wood barrel notes, really mild but unique. Mellow orange, peaches, tangerines and melons, very sweet like pulp-filled orange juice. A good musty sweet hopped brew.

On draft at the Virgina Inn in Seattle. An "energy" beer if there ever was one. One sip of this, and I felt like I was getting my spinach, special K, and protein drink all in one. Yeastier than a hefeweizen (my, i love unfiltered beers), with a big licorice and caramel middle that finishes with delightful hop bite. Bring this beer back East!

On tap at the Portland Brewing Co.’s Portland airport pizza pub, sampled 7 August 2004. I vaguely remembered this beer’s name, so I figured my recollection must have been purposeful. I was right- this was a great amber ale. Hazy orange body, thin off-white (light cream) head. Citrus, brown sugar, toasty, caramely aroma. Flavor was quite unusual for an amber ale, with rather intense citrus (lemon, orange) dominating the profile with little associated bitterness. Caramels rounded out the body. Had a nice carbonation "bite" that enhanced the body’s sweetness. One of the best amber ales I’ve tried...is it coincidence it doesn’t taste like any of the others?

Brewed in Redmond, WA (home of Microsoft), this fine amber ale is a consistently excellent quaf. Mac & Jack don’t have a trendy brewpub, they don’t bottle their beers, nor do they advertise. They just focus on filling kegs with consistently great beer that can be found in Pacific Northwest restaurants and taverns. You won’t be dissapointed.

Medium amber color. Small head. Aroma is nutty and fruity, with hints of apricot and melon. A medium bodied amber. Malts are fruity and sweet. Hops are grapefruity and citrusy. Caramel. Melons and earthy. A very nice amber. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly sweet.

This beer is quite simply excellent. Brewed and sold only in the Northwest, it’s exemplifying a level of quality and taste that all microbreweries should strive to meet instead of just churning out random recipies with unusual labels.

(RBSG04) Opaque amber body with beige head. Aroma is sweet, caramel, herb, melon. Taste is medium sweet, caramel, fruity (melon). Medium body.