Mac and Jacks African Amber Ale

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

Had in Safeco Field. Pours reddish brown with a bit of hazy tan head. Aroma caramel malts. Slight hop flavor. Very drinkable.

On tap Portland airport: Poured with almost no head and a token amber color. Light hops in the aroma and some grainy malts. Lightly fruity, some peach, moderately sweet malts. Finish is light and crisp. Very over rated in my opinion.

Enjoyed many a pint of this one at a number of places in Seattle, and particularly enjoy this one on draught at the African Lounge, which is an outlet for Mac and Jack beers at SETAC. This beer is a fantastic example of amber ale, with lots of great hop aromas, flavor, and bitterness, paired with really great sweet and caramel malt flavor. This beer pour to a hazy, deep amber color, with a creamy white head, and a good bit of carbonation. The nose is outstanding, with lots of big, fragrant, lemon/grapefruit hop aromas. The palate is firm, with some really good pale, sweet, and caramel malt flavors, paired with a nice fruity back drop of tangy, citrus hop flavor. This beer finishes with more really good sweet and caramel malt up front, then ends with a very pleasing, lemon/grapefruit hop bitterness that lingers. An excellent pint of beer, one that must be tried when ever you visit the Seattle, WA area.

On Tap at Asiago’s. This is one of my favorites. Nice head with a fairly sticky lacing. Just the perfect amount of hops (spruce & grass perhaps) to leave a slight bitterness in the aftertaste. Of course, not overpowering the rich malty flavors. Tap at Kahootz - Re-Rate: Orignally I rated this beer a 4.4 and I think it was my 2nd rating or something. It is a good amber, but not a 4.4! It is a cloudy amber color. It has a pretty mild aroma of deodorant and citrus. The taste is more malts than hops - celery and a cardboard aftertaste. Very easy to drink and quite enjoyable.

Tap @ Henry’s in Portland. Fat disappointment. I am a big red ale type of guy and this was un-dynamic, grainy and - while sweet - pretty unbalanced and flat. Hops were DOA. Must have been a pretty old keg.

Draft. Pours amber. slight white head. Malty nose. Strong muscat grape flavors some lemon peel too. Some good hop flavors too. Medium bodied. Very smooth and easy to go down.

Hazy gold with a white head. Faint hoppy aroma, possibly served too cold. Fine flavour, midway between an India and an English. This is another ale that Hennie would term a Cape ale. Finish a little bland, becoming fuller as the ale warmed.

like the scales of justice perfectly balanced, big malt with subtle hops always present, a tad watery and the finish comes out a bit flat but overall incredie and what a score to find at PDX!