Jack’s Abby (2020)

I was surprised to see twelvers of this too. I figured I was up for a game of twelve-pack roulette and I'm glad I picked it up; I like it more each time I have one. It's a very nicely balanced, extremely drinkable brew that's somewhat reminiscent of their seasonal Red Tape dunkel, a favorite of mine.

 

Picked up some dry-hopped Post Shift over the weekend. One of my favorite beers ever from Jacks Abby, they really nailed this one. Getting a case next time I see it.

 

Really hoping I find it at my Wegmans during my next grocery trip. I had it once at the beer hall a year ago and loved it.

 

Just had it and loved it as well.

I thought it seemed different than regular Post Shift in more ways than just being dry hopped - much more of a substantial, grainy malt presence and it felt heavier in the mouth.

Did you feel similarly or am I smoking crack again?

 

Oh yeah - a completely different beer. I like regular Post Shift but this was a completely different level. Love the biting Hallertau hops in the nose & on the back end.

Had flashbacks to the old Prima Pils recipe as if it was totally fresh.

 

Is crack a part of Phase 2 or 3?

 

This is a mixed 12 pack I’ll be picking up!

 

Wow! Just Wow. What I wouldn’t give to be able to cruise to the store and pick one of those bad boys up.

 

I would love to see a mixed Keller Series pack.

 

Absolutely salivating at the idea of that pack.

 

Great beer, great price, great format, consistent, and easy to get. However no one talks about them when they talk about the best breweries in New England. They belong in the conversation.

Some breweries have inconsistent beers, overly expensive beers, carbonation and infection issues, but some how they’re considered world-class breweries.

People can keep traveling for hours to pay $20 a four pack of poorly made beer and I’ll be happy walking into my local store and grab a couple six packs of Jack Abbys 16 ouncers for 9.99. Just bought two the other day. Straight Outta Boston and sunny ridge. Both extremely well-made beers. There was never a doubt in my mind when I bought them that there would be anything wrong with them. I knew there would be no carbonation issues, no sediment issues, etc. I’ve never felt like I’ve been let down by any of their beers. Same can be said for breweries like Sierra Nevada, Von trap, hills farmstead, and Allagash. I pretty much always have a jack Abby’s, sierra Nevada, von trap, and Allagash in my fridge. I would always have hills farmstead to if I did not have to drive there to get it.

 

Haven't seen anyone mention it here but JA released the first beer from their 2% line last week. It's a 2% abv pilsner. Sounds like they plan to release 0-2% abv beers under that brand.

I haven't tried it but will report back once I pick some up.

 

I’ll never understand why people are accepting of statements like, “The 5/2 batch of X was off, but this 6/1 batch is amazing.” No, folks, consistency is pretty damn important. No one has ever complained about batch variation on House Lager or Copper Legend or any other JA beer. Why’s that? Because they know what the fuck they’re doing.

 

As someone who’s been home brewing for about 10 years and probably produced about 1000 gallons of beer I can say that brewing consistent beer is harder than brewing good beer at least as far as a homebrewer goes. Obviously it’s a different game with the commercial brewery...

 

Oh right isn't this the same beer that they experimented with doing 100% decoction? Need to try this.

 

They're my favorite brewery in MA. Notch might have a higher ceiling, but there are some JA beers I'll take over some Notch beers, and I can get them at any store around me for a better price. And my favorite JA beers are mostly year round.

JA also has one of the best taprooms in the state.

I largely agree with this, but to be fair, I think these super hopped ales are a different breed than lagers. Like are Springdale IPAs as consistent as JA lagers? And the one JA beer I have seen consistency issues with is Kiwi Rising, and my guess is that is due to the Nelson hop quality from a particular harvest.

For a while this is partly what made TH really standout: Julius, Green, and Haze were always Julius, Green, and Haze, and always phenomenal. Not quite the case anymore.

Def want to try a 2% pils.

 

I've stated it before and I'll echo those posts above: the combo of quality, price, availability, and taproom atmosphere leaves JA peerless in MA and perhaps New England, honestly. You can argue that a given brewery might top them in 1, maybe 2 of those categories, but when considered all together, they're just the fucking best.

 

Enjoying a Nelson Brau right now. Crisp, citrusy, clean, and quenching. Thumbs up!

Maybe it's just me but I pretty much NEVER buy variety packs of hoppy beers because I assume they can’t all be fresh and that some of the cans could be much older than others, or even wreak of brewers unloading old stock (hey, we’re conditioned to think this way in the dusty beer shelf land of MA) but all the beers in this pack are fresh. The oldest is hoponius at 2.5 weeks. The rest from June, the freshest from 6/6. Bravo. I guess these guys have earned my trust at this point

 

2.5 weeks?

Drain pour.

 

Just came here to say that the German Style Porter is fantastic. Keep up the awesome work
Jack's Abby.