Hey Diddle Diddle
Jack's Abby Brewing

 

 

 

 

 

Growler shared by Thorpe429. Thanks Mike.

The beer appears clear and copper hued with a small head. The aroma brings hops, pine, and a touch of grapefruit. Some biscuity malt charcter in the flavor. The finish brings some alcohol and bitterness. I don't see this as a Munich Dunkel Lager, as it is too hoppy for that style. Still, a decent beer regardless of what category into which it falls. Light to medium in body. This was pretty good.

 

 

Tap at Armsby Abbey

Big fluffy head faced slowly like Belgian beer 3 fingers, lots of lacing, hazy copper nectar color.

Nose light sweet malts, toasty, but syrupy, plenty of dark wheat like malts and bock, hints if dark fruit, touch of grassy hops.

Taste semi sweet toasty malts, reddish wheat like bock, lots of grassy light earthy hops, with a decent bitterness and slight salty, creamy biscuit malt, smooth with a touch of booze. Finish of earthy spicy hops, little salty, more fluffy biscuit and wheat malts, almost astringent.

Mouth is med bodied, fluffy, small bubble carb, and slightly oily and weird sticky like feel.

Overall not bad but not great, probably on the lower end of what they make.

Thanks, Alex. Poured into tulip.

A - Pours a reddish/brown color, cream-colored head, thin ring.

S - Pretty huge hop aroma with little to no malty notes. Not sure why this is even called a Munich Dunkel Lager, as it's basically a hugely hopped up DIPA. Pretty one-dimensional.

T - Similar to the nose, and pretty boring. Huge hops, pretty dank, big alcohol notes, and no real malts. I guess the malts could be there, but basically, this is bruises the palate so much I can't taste much else. Finish is huge dank hops with a sharp bitter/boozy bite.

M - Medium body, good carbonation, oily finish.

O - This beer was pretty straight-forward and boring. It's not anything near a Munich Dunkel Lager and should be just be a DIPA. This is a palate-bruiser, to say the least. I didn't enjoy this one very much, and quickly moved into something else.

 

 

Growler thanks to Reagan1984. This one was a bit of a head scratcher - a Double India Dunkel Lager. Served in a Hill Farmstead glass.

A - Quick-dissolving off-white foam settles to some wisps, a thin collar, and tiny spots of lace. Chestnut-amber-brown body.

S - Seriously hoppy - I'm not sure Dunkel Lager is the best categorization for this beer. Plenty of orange rind, grapefruit, and piney notes, and only a mild nutty malt presence. As it warms a bit of sugar cookie comes out - this actually improved significantly the warmer it got.

T - Taste was a bit less exciting. Mostly citrus and floral hops, following by palate-bruising bitterness and a touch of herbal astringency. Low malt presence here.

M - Medium body, with lower carbonation, and a highly resinous and oily finish. Very DIPA-esque in texture, although this could use a bit more dryness to it.

D - Very odd beer, and not too drinkable in large quantities due to the alcohol and palate-numbing hop bill. I actually could have gone for a tad more Munich malt for the purpose of balance. More of a slightly dark Imperial Pilsner?

 

Growler shared by Thorpe.

Pours a clouded dark amber brown with a thin off white head, settling to a ring of bubbles. Caramel and hoppy aroma, floral and piney. Slightly too boozy, but a pleasant balance of malt and hops. Slightly syrupy, medium body with light carbonation. Flavor is initially sweet, caramel, ripe fruit and biscuit malt. Finish is piney and dry hops. Not nearly as good as the Hoponius Union, but an interesting experiment.

 

On tap at Cambridge Common. A double India dark lager? didl didl of course! Got to love the sense of humor these guys bring to what they are doing. But seriously, at first I didn't know what to do with this - obviously it doesn't fit any prescribed style. So I will try to review it on its own merits.

The first impression is the aroma. I swear I could smell this beer as it approached our table on the waitress's tray. A big citrusy hop aroma mixed with a rich maltiness. This beer took over the atmosphere of our lunch - and a welcome addition it was! One of the most aromatic beers I have encountered.

Bright red amber with a creamy cream-colored head that leaves a thin but solid wall of suds on the glass.

Bright floral and lemon aromas - not at all subtle, but very inviting. Flavor attempts to balance a big hop presence with a lot of malt. Citrus, especially lemon rise over a caramel candied apple backbone.

Very big body with a sweet syrup feel. Could be buoyed up by the carbonation a bit more. But a very crisp bitterness in the aftertaste keeps me coming back for more.

This is a unique beer that has to be the most extreme lager I have ever encountered. I am not sure I was prepared for it, or how it would best be paired. But I will look for it again and recommend you do the same.

 

Thanks Thorpe, served in a snifter. Beer is amber / brownish with a white thin head, tiny bubbles, some lacing, low carbonation.

Aroma is a little hoppy, bready, mild yeast.

Beer is medium to light in body, bready, definitely some munich malt in this thing. It is a decent beer but not as good as Dortmunder from the same brewery. I'd have it again on draft. Decent hoppy lager.