Jack's Abby (2021)

I picked up a four pack of Sunny Ridge yesterday, and it’s almost $9 including tax at my local packie, which has competitive prices.

 

Is it good?

 

Yes, sunny ridge is my favorite JA Pilsner!

 

Your profile says you are from Massachusetts. Is your local store outside the state or did you mean $9 including deposit?

 

Yes, sorry I meant deposit.

 

I just cracked Ray Catcher lemon grass lager and it's fantastic for this hot weather.

 

That wasn't meant as a "gotcha." I haven't bought from a package store in a while and just wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything on the sales tax front.

 

after a year where you pretty much couldn't return cans anywhere but the recycle bin, the line between deposit and tax got blurred.

 

Ray catcher is ok. we use a lot of lemongrass at home so I was probably expecting a bit more punch. It’s there alright, flowery, little muted.

Think the only other lemongrass beer I’ve had before was from Baxter. Called summer swelter or something like that. Lemongrass kaffir line leaves. Thst was a tasty one as I recall

 

Did you get lemongrass in Leisure Time?

 

Man, I haven’t had leisure time since everything was in 12oz bottles! I’m not a great wheat beer, coriander fan, and honestly can’t recall it.
Right now I’m literally rubbing a stalk of lemongrass in my fingers and then trying to pick up the taste in the beer. Tastes like house lager with a little floral citrus. It’s ok, but seeing as we live our lemongrass here, I probably expected more

 

This was my complaint with Ray Catcher as well. Had it in the beer hall in the before times and the description of lemongrass had me excited, only to find it was so subtle, if I wasn't looking for it, I don't know that I would have noticed. I honestly thought they had mis-poured me house lager at first.

 

How was the head and carbonation at beer hall? Having another while catching up with the football and there’s absolutely no head.

bit of a swing and a miss

 

It was a while ago, but I don't remember anything remarkable about the carbonation.

 

I mean, Leisure Time is discontinued, I was more asking from the stand point of Jack's using lemongrass in their lagers. I haven't had Ray Catcher, but the lemongrass was very subtle yet present in LT. I couldn't imagine them hitting you over the head with lemongrass, especially when you consider it's a summer seasonal.

 

FWIW the cans of Ray Catcher I had certainly had no issues with head or carbonation.

 

Leisure Time is available year-round now, in 12-pack cans. I get coriander, orange citrus, and lemongrass, with some honey sweetness and spice. It really is unique! Not sure if they use lemongrass, though.

 

Was unaware that it was back. I stand corrected. From Untappd:

Obviously, a lot more going on than just lemongrass, but I imagine the subtlety of the different flavors used would be informative to how they would use it in a beer like Ray Catcher. I could see an intense lemongrass addition being much more polarizing versus a subtle addition for the kind of consumer that Jack's seems to be targeting, at least from my stand point.

 

We brewed a batch of Leisure Time last June, and have not made it since. Are you still finding it somewhere?

 

Thought I saw it at Julio's in Westboro recently, although I go for the Shipping from Boston.