Framinghammer
Jack's Abby Brewing

 

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!!!

 

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.

 

 

 

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.

 

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.

 

Black as midnight oil with a coffee colored head that has good retention.

Smells of dark malty bread, coffee, nuts, plumb, raisen, earthy wood.

Taste is roasted malt, toasted nutty bread, currant, and herbal wood dry finnish.

draught
The beer I tried, was named French Toast Framing Hammer and had an ABV of 12%, not the 10% listed here. This beer here , may be a variation. A lasting, tan head. Nearly all the way, darkened auburn, with no light transmission. Syrupy, sweet smelling, caramel, toffee, vanilla with the slightest toasted coconut aroma. A non-sweet, nor even off-dry, caramel and toffee, with a touch of lightly toasted wood and a whiff of cocoa, to the taste.

From the can, it pours a very dark brown/black color with a small head, soon diminishing to nothing. The nose gets roasted malts and some sweetish malt undertones. The taste follows the nose, roasted malt flavor, a bit sweet.

Color has tinges of red as it pours before settling into a much darker brown / black once in the glass. Surprising amount of medium density, mocha colored head. Overall, it's attractive without being a head turner. Aroma is rich, chocolatey and rich (yes, I said rich twice). I can't pick up any alcohol on the nose, and while it's not the most complex aroma, it still smells great.

Taste largely follows the nose. It's sweet, but not cloyingly so. There's just enough bitterness to balance it out. The can doesn't lie about the silky mouth feel. This is a very enjoyable beer, even on a summer day.

Pours clear, dark brown in color with one inch head. Taste is peat and Tootsie Roll. Medium heavy body, sweet with moderate carbonation. Nice to try the base beer. Solid porter that hits all of the expected notes.

eyes...
a dark black sea, cocoa foam tide rises but slides back into the abyss rather quickly leaving only a scant o-ring that only hints of previous glory, this is more lacing than legs which makes sense for the ABV skulking in the depths here, I might imagine dinosaurs sinking into this and not being found for generations, that or jackie boy's head (see what I did there?)...

nose...
that musty malty sweet - almost a smell that reminds you of old wooden ships (if you have been on one) or something less elegant like the beer and piss (and god knows what else) stained floor of an old dive bar when some fresh air and sunlight wafts in during the daylight hours stirring it all up in suspended dust, aside from that... a faint smoke, some subtle chocolate, molasses arm wrestling with caramel, damn this is nice.

taste etc...
the first thing to catch my eye, er, mouth, is the smooth factor here, damn smooth, like a honda manual transmission compared to VW back in the day... you could miss gears practically and the thing was still butter, maybe not a perfect analogy but since this looks like I am quaffing oil this is where my mind went, as per the style this almost feels flat but that is the crux of the matter - it is supposed to feel like this, if you really let the brew sit and stir for a moment you get the subtle kiss of carbonation here, it is more of a vehicle than a participant, all the notes in the nose speak here, in pretty much the same fashion, except there is just a hint of licorice, you have some smoke, malty sweetness (not too much thankfully), mild molasses, slight cocoa bitters

verdict?
lacking a little depth but a super solid representative of the style, easy to drink, smooth and balanced, good stuff.

Canned 11.25.19, opened 3.31.21

Poured into a snifter, dark brown cola liquid, capped by a two finger bubbly taupe foam cap, some lacings

Aroma is malts, hint of coffee

Taste is roast malts, coffee,

Mouthfeel is sudsy, malty taste, not bitter

Good porter

Thanks to WunderLlama for this one, from a recent ninja box. 12oz can (dated 11/25/19. I wonder if that's right or if the date coder was set wrong? Also, the label says it's a 16oz can, which it clearly is not.) poured into 14oz teku. Poured a solid black color with a half-inch of tan head that very good retention and no lacing.

Rich malts were the dominant feature of the aroma, with some light roast and sweetness behind.

Very similar on the tongue, with the roast being a touch stronger.

The body was smooth and even, and had a medium finish.

Drinkability was very good, would be in my regular rotation if local to me.

Overall, a very nice brew. Most certainly worth your time if you see it.

This was one of a bunch of beers that I picked up recently at the Bottle King in Livingston, as they've upped their craft beer game - especially in cans! Haven't had a Jack's Abby beer in a few years but I enjoy Baltic Porters when they're done right and that was the case with this as it looked and felt like a Stout in every sense. This was a beast of a beer that went down easily and was a perfect fit for a cold winter's night such as this!

This poured like coffee as it had a thick, tan head that was full of variously-sized bubbles along the top as it looked more like a web than actual foam. Surprisingly, there was only one thin ring left along the top of my pint glass with a thin ring not too far below that, as the lacing was quite sparse the rest of the way down. Lots of oats, brown sugar, molasses, burnt malt, and a hint of bitter chocolate in the nose as the taste followed suit. Coffee bean, dark fruit, and roasted malt entered the mix as this was full-flavored, full-bodied, and the perfect balance between slick and parched on the palate. The fruit flavors emerged more in the aftertaste once the heavier notes went down as there were hints of stone fruit that easily left me wanting more.

The booze was potent and present but on-par with everything else that was going on here, as the carbonation was lively and enough to keep this from feeling too heavy-handed. Canned on 11/23 of last year, this was nearly an "Imperial" Baltic Porter, should one exist, but given how enjoyable this was, I'd have no problem with this being in a category of the sort. If you like your Stouts heavy, full, and flavorful, reach for this. There's a lot of reasons why it's rated so highly on here!

Adding a review in 2/23.

Format and age: 16oz can purchased from the brewery in Dec 2022 (11/22 canning).

Cold chain: excellent. Stored cold at the brewery, transported home in the trunk in winter, bottom of the fridge at home.

Impressions: completely black, opaque pour, no hint of brown around the edges. Tan head that dissipates somewhat quickly. Aromas of bitter chocolate, roast malt, bit of alcohol, and some sweetness that I can't place. Taste is well balanced between bitter roast, chocolate, and hops, and sweet malt with maybe a hint of vanilla. A bit sticky and boozy on the finish, but not in a syrupy or cloying way. Medium bodied with a delicate carbonation that lends some froth to the chew. As expected, everything opens up as it warms.

Overall: this is my favorite beer from JA. Wonderful flavors with a nice booze punch, but without coming anywhere near medicinal. Everything that there is to love about an imperial stout but lighter bodied. A quintessential winter drink for me.

 

Pours pitch black with a large frothy tan head.

Smells and tastes of roasted malt, coffee and some chocolate with a mildly bitter finish. The high alcohol hides well.

Medium body with light carbonation. This lager rendition of a porter feels lighter and crisper in comparison to similar ale based beers.

Recommended!

 

appearance is solid black
Body is light carbonation, just above average body with a bit of a slick almost oily feel.
Aroma is sweet bourbon malt, molasses, brown sugar,
Taste is very mild sweetness, malt, bitter earthiness. Mild dark fruit and a little bourbon.
Really nice beer, very strong pleasing aroma and very flavorful. A beer I would try again

 

 

Deep brown pour with a mocha head. The mouthfeel is ample and decidedly silky. Smooth-tasting with a well-concealed big time ABV. I wasn't crazy about how sweet-forward this beer tasted, though, at times bordering on cloying. Felt the brown sugar should have been in the back seat rather than riding shotgun.

My next brewery horizontal will CANsist of a curious admixture of bottles & CANs, the latter in support of The CANQuest (tm) while it all serves to reduce the ever-shrinking backlog here at Chez Woody. 3/7.

From the CAN: "Big, Bold, & Black"; "Framinghammer Baltic Porterr"; "OG 23.5 Plato//IBUs 45"; "Unfiltered// Unpasteurized"; "Independently Owned & Operated"; "Big, bold, and black - a lengthy conditioning period creates a silky smooth mouth feel. At 10% alcohol by volume, this beer is sure to keep you warm on a cold winter night."; "#DrinkLager 12 fl. oz. of Lager".

This last is interesting since a Porter is usually/generally an Ale, vice a Lager. That said, I am all for Lagering! The best type of Hefeweizen, IMHO, is one that has been fermented under Lager, vice Ale, conditions. Doing so causes my beloved clove esters to become forward, surpassing my less-appreciated banana esters. Let us hope that Lagering brings that level of success to this beer!

I beCAN by Crack!ing open the vent, followed by a slow, gentle C-Line Glug into the awaiting glass. This initially resulted in a pseudo-cascade, followed by the formation of two-plus fingers of fizzy, foamy, soapy, deep-brown head with limited retention that quickly fell to wisps. Color was Very Dark Brown to Black/Opaque (SRM = > 34, < 44) with cola highlights at the edges. Nose was very roasty with notes of Baker's chocolate, anise & treacle. Mouthfeel was big, full & dense, like a dollop had been scooped into my mouth & onto my tongue. The taste was anise; treacle; Baker's chocolate; light charcoal smoke, brown sugar & dried, dark fruits, like prunes & raisins. Mmm. The alcohol was well-hidden & when CANpled with its smooth mouthfeel, it was dangerously drinkable! Finish was dry, but not gaspingly so. The Lagering process had definitely used up the fermentable sugars. Next, some of its variants!

 

Absolutely gorgeous color out of the can. Deep deep brown, with a beautiful rich dark head. Love the visible bubbles in the beer itself.

Taste is very good - exactly what you would expect from a Baltic porter. Extremely satisfying taste as you drink, high abv, that is not noticeable - exactly the way it should be!

Excellent beer - well worth it.

 

 

 

Poured an intense, thick, frothy, tan head - amazing. Nose was full, deep burnt malt, and incredible. Taste is sublime with deep malts and silky smooth. A bit of bittering hops in the finish. Great beer.

An active beautiful pour yields a fingers worth of creamy khaki colored froth... Good retention... Pleasant nose highlighted by cocoa nibs and roasted malt... The flavor profile is consistent with the nose, but on steroids... Mouthfeel is full and start creamy before drying out a bit... Rock solid and highly enjoyable...