Mac and Jacks African Amber Ale

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

Dark cloudy amber orange in appearance. Aroma is a basic sweet malt and hoppy aroma. Basic malt flavor with some toffee sweetness that lingers along with a hoppy bitterness. Overall, it was a solid effort...

On tap at Rose City Cafe and Wine Bar, Portland Airport. This is an attractive beer...a copper hazy glow with a dark brown inner core of malted softness. Slight smell of muted cinnamon and clove. Taste starts off with a robust malty wave followed by a balanced copper taste and finishes with a subtle, but memorable smooth bitterness. Somehow, this brew manages to avoid the "ropey" taste that hinders me from drinking more ambers. Undoubtedly the best amber ale I have ever had...it will probably be a long time until I get to drink more of this; but this is a beer that I will remember. Excellent stuff!

Cloudy amber with nice lacing. No noticable aroma. Mild hop and caramel malt flavor. Bitterness is low.

The ubiquitous Washington beer, not available in bottles. Could my love for it come from nostalgia? Perhaps, but it is still my favorite amber by far. Aroma of sweet caramel and a hint of peppery spice. Tastes first of caramel and nuts, and then adds in a bit of a peppery bite at the end.

On tap at a local Red Robin (yeah a burger and brew is okay now and then!). Was very supprised by this one. It’s off in it’s own direction. Found it really hard to catagerize. Nutty, earthy, anything but light or simple. This is one I’ll have to go back to a few times to truely understand. But I think I know from my first try, I liked it!

On tap at Piecora’s pizzeria. Pours a cloudy orange amber with minimal head. Not getting a lot from the nose- what is there is fruity hops. Tastes pretty good though. Very malty and nutty at first with some raisin-like fruit in there. Hops come through eventually and the finish is surprisingly long.

On tap at the Owl & Thistle. Gorgeous butterscotch and hop nose, spicy and sweet. Palate is more butterscotch, mouthcoating, hoppy and delicious. So incredibly pleasant, really surprised for an amber ale.

I was very much looking forward to trying this beer after moving back to the Pacific Northwest, but feal a little let down. I asked the bartender twice to make sure he had poured me the right thing. Very orange, nicely hazey. Slight floral aroma, not much bitterness. Nice and malty, slightly fruity. I found this to be an average amber, I would pick Alaskan over it any day. I hope my first impressions are mistaken and hope to rerate soon.