Framinghammer
Jack's Abby Brewing

FraminghammerFraminghammer
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From:
Jack's Abby Brewing
 
Massachusetts, United States
Style:
Baltic Porter
Ranked #26
ABV:
10%
Score:
92
Ranked #4,354
Avg:
4.15 | pDev: 7.23%
Reviews:
148
Ratings:
850
Status:
Active
Rated:
Mar 11, 2024
Added:
Jan 17, 2012
Wants:
  86
Gots:
  157
This unusual lager style has many similarities to Imperial Stouts. A lengthy conditioning period creates a silky smooth chocolatey mouth feel enhanced by the use of oats and brown sugar. Noticeable sweetness gets balanced by roasted malt and hop bitterness. At 10% alcohol by volume, this beer is sure to keep you warm on a cold winter night.

45 IBU
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by intobenme:
Photo of intobenme
Rated by intobenme from New York

4.28/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Mar 02, 2015
More User Ratings:
Photo of taxandbeerguy
Reviewed by taxandbeerguy from Canada (ON)

4.3/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
16oz can served cool into a pint glass. Finally crossing this one off my list of beers to try. Canned on Halloween 2023.

Appearance - Dark cola brown with two plus fingers of foamy tan head on top. Very good head retention and a few little spidery lacing details left behind.

Smell - Roasted malt, dark bread, a bit of chocolate with some fruits and earthiness. A touch of anise.

Taste - Lots of breadiness, with molasses, dark chocolate, more roasted malts some earthiness, toffee and a kiss of dark fruits. There is some sharpness from the booze quotient here, but not unexpected.

Mouthfeel - Full bodied, low carbonation, not terribly hot going down. Easy sipper.

Overall - The one striking characteristic of this Baltic Porter to me was it's breadiness, giving it a German character. I don't really know why I say that, but it just a a great depth of the bread with everything else filling in around it, the way many of the greatest German lagers are made. Everything is spot on and Framinghammer should be the gold standard for Baltic Porters due to its general availability, very high quality and the fact that it seems to have elements of all of the very best Baltic Porters. Awesome beer and so glad I finally crossed this one off my list.
Mar 11, 2024
Photo of colts9016
Reviewed by colts9016 from Idaho

4.59/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
2019
Name: Framinghammer
Brewery: Jack's Abby
Location: Framinghammer, Ma
Style: Imperial Baltic Porter
ABV: 10%
Date: 10/31/2023
I am drinking Framinghammer using a tulip glass. I served it at 52 degrees. The pour created an airy, two-fingered, dark tan head with above-average retention. The color is dark brown, nearly black, charting around 34. The beer is opaque. Lacing was left on the sides of the glass as it dissipated. The appearance is slightly average for this style.
The first whiff is big, roasty, malty aromas of bread, chocolate, and coffee. Nosing the glass, I smell toffee, caramel, light molasses, anise, and earthiness. Light floral esters, hints of cereal grains, and a nutty undertone hide in the background. The Roasty malts do not infringe on burnt notes. A delightful aroma is nearly perfect for this style.
The flavor has this big earthy, malty, dark chocolate, dark roasted malt akin to a Swartzbier, but no char notes. Light, sweet notes of toffee, caramel, molasses, and anise give the beer a sugary complex. Other flavors I taste are light nuttiness, floral esters, an undertone of herbal, and coffee.
The mouthfeel is creamy and chewy, finishing slightly dry. The body is medium-plus, and the carbonation is low.
An excellent Baltic Porter. My first foray into Framinghammer was the French Toast variant. That was an outstanding beer. I understand now the base beer is phenomenal. Delicious stuff.
Feb 28, 2024
Photo of argock
Reviewed by argock from Virginia

4.43/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Poured into a small snifter glass.

A: Soft, inviting dark brown with 1/2-finger beige head with good retention and scrappy lacing.

S: Aroma is an amazing combo of caramel sweetness, milk chocolate, and light roastiness

T: Flavor is even a notch better than the aroma with milk chocolate, light roast coffee, light caramel sweetness with no cloyingness, and a light roasted malt in the background. Bitterness is well-attuned to the overall flavor, providing contrast without interrupting the maltiness.

M: Exceptionally smooth and subsequently dangerous medium body with light carbonation and satisfying full but not sticky finish.

O: Framinghammer is an spectacular achievement in lager craft -- find it and enjoy (with care!) with friends. Delicious and exquisitely balanced -- a top example for the baltic porter style.
Feb 04, 2024
Photo of HattedClassic
Reviewed by HattedClassic from Virginia

4/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
The beer pours a nice creamy light brown head that looks pretty nice. The beer itself is a dark chocolate brown that strongly resembles black.

The smell is pretty nice. It has nice mix of bittersweet cocoa and a bitter coffee with sugar.

The taste is pretty good. It has a bittersweet cocoa note alongside a bitter hop note with a light bitter coffee with sugar in the finish.

The feel is good. It has a medium body with a silky texture and tingling carbonation with a dry finish.

Overall, this a pretty good beer to finish off a meal on a cold day with its chocolate notes.
Jan 27, 2024
 
Rated: 4.25 by McBraniel from Virginia

Jan 21, 2024
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

3.75/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Bottle at RBSG, courtesy of Steve. Dark brown pour, small sustained ring of head. Mildly sweet aroma, cola, coffee, taste adds a bit of heat, more sweetness, chocolate.
Jan 15, 2024
Photo of thebeers
Reviewed by thebeers from Pennsylvania

3.97/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Near black with two fingers of mocha-colored head. There’s an audible fizz to the beer, but the head still has decent retention and a creamy look to it. It leaves thick rings of lacing.

Chocolate, sugared coffee and deep roasty qualities show in the nose. It approaches umami without actually hitting it.

Almost bracing roastiness and fairly aggressive bitterness in the taste counteract the sweeter brown sugar and milk chocolate elements, with the bitterness lingering into the aftertaste.

Creamy, full bodied feel with zippy carbonation.

This tastes almost inky. The bitterness is also quite strong for a dark beer (or really any beer) these days. The carbonation is a bit heavy handed to my taste, but otherwise excellent.
Jan 12, 2024
 
Rated: 4.01 by beerrat from Virginia

Jan 12, 2024
 
Rated: 3.97 by heerboth from Pennsylvania

Feb 21, 2023
Photo of JayQue
Reviewed by JayQue from Virginia

4/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
I bought this one in a 16 oz. can, not the12 oz'er pictured here. Poured into a pint glass, I noticed a big dark tan head and a dense black body. On subsequent pours the head seemed lighter in color more an off-white or cream color. In any case, head size and retention were pretty good for a 10% .abv beer. There were several bands of foamy lacing on the glass. Aroma was like a strong RIS. Lots of somewhat sweet maltiness and a vinuous (port wine) aspect. Taste was more of the same but there was some mild hops bitterness and vanilla and coffee here too. I did not notice the chocolate that so many reviewers mentioned. Mouthfeel was rich but lighter and crisper than most strong stouts and porters. The bit of bitterness was a nice counterpoint to the somewhat sweet malty presence. The can said "silky smooth" but this was no milk stout!!! Between the hops and the mild alcohol presence, this was not a beer that you could just "belt down" Not harsh, but it got your attention!!! I enjoyed this one very much and would drink one again. I've had a few beers from this brewery and they have all been good!!!
Feb 12, 2023
 
Rated: 4.17 by Budlum from Maryland

Jan 16, 2023
Photo of teromous
Reviewed by teromous from Virginia

3.64/5  rDev -12.3%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
This is from a 16oz can.
It is very difficult to read the date code on the bottom of the can because of the sparsely placed dots, but it appears to read: "271 CANNED 12:48 11/09/22"

Appearance: The beer has a black body that is opaque. It has a medium-large sized light colored khaki head which is mostly creamy textured with a few dimples across the surface. It has excellent head retention and nice wisps of lacing.

Aroma: It has a faint but pleasant aroma of baker's chocolate cocoa powder with a bit of a chocolate brownie mix scent. There is also a light but obvious pine aroma with a bit of char. The aroma is very nice but also very mellow.

Taste: Charred carbon notes up front. Towards the middle of the mouth there are bits of coffee grounds and a light hint of smokey wood and ash. These simple flavors persist to the back of the mouth and into the aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: The beer has a burnt bitterness with a bit of a coffee-like and earthy bitterness. It mostly feels full-bodied but it can dip into medium-full from time to time. It mostly leans to the heavier and fuller body though.

Overall: The flavors are good but they seem a bit dulled on the palate, the same way that the aroma is nice but also seems faint. As a whole it was an enjoyable beer and I could drink it again from time to time. There are other Baltic Porters I would recommend over this but I wouldn't shy a person away from buying this either. It is worth at least trying a single of, or putting into a mix-a-six.
Jan 15, 2023
 
Rated: 4.11 by Manfrombelmonty from Massachusetts

Dec 30, 2022
 
Rated: 4.17 by tpauer from New Hampshire

Dec 25, 2022
 
Rated: 4.18 by SpaethJam from New York

Dec 23, 2022
Photo of Gajo74
Reviewed by Gajo74 from New York

4.09/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Pours an opaque dark brown color, nearly black. A fingernail length mocha head retains momentarily and settles into a thin layer of film.
The nose is nutty and roasty with some boozy sweetness and copious notes of dark chocolate. Aromas of biscuit, dark toast, coffee, dark fruit, citrus, vanilla, earth and wood.
Opens sweet with the fullness and richness of a stout, yet, with the clean and crisp qualities of a lager. Flavors of dark and milk chocolate, espresso, biscuit, toast and creamy malts. Balanced by a gentle roasty bitterness and nicely spiced with floral, fruity, vanilla citrus and earthy and woodsy notes. Notes of vanilla, brown sugar and sweet alcohol spice.
Full bodied with a smooth mouthfeel. The palate is sweet and mouth coating. The finish is long with some roasty notes and some alcohol spice. The carbonation is moderate to gentle.
A good example of a Baltic Porter, full bodied, slightly boozy but easy to drink for its strength. I would have again.
Mar 01, 2022
 
Rated: 3.75 by Beerbom from California

Jan 16, 2022
Photo of hman43
Reviewed by hman43 from North Carolina

4.38/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Look: It pours very dark brown with a brown head. Head retention is excellent.

Smell: The aroma is sweet with caramel, and chocolate. There are supporting cherries and raisins with licorice and very low nuts. There are hints of port as well.

Taste: It has strong chocolate flavors up front with a bit of smoke. There are also some roasted flavors with dark cherry and very low nut. There are also hints of raisins and licorice.

Feel: It has full body that has a smooth texture. It has pleasant alcohol warming.

Overall, a wonderful blend of flavors with a smooth finish.
Jan 07, 2022
 
Rated: 3.87 by lakewy17 from New Hampshire

Jan 06, 2022
Framinghammer from Jack's Abby Brewing
Beer rating: 92 out of 100 with 850 ratings