Jack's Abby (2023)

Bohemian Dusk hit the shelves by me. Damn good Dark Czech Lager at only 4.5%.

 

Indeed the Bohemian Dusk is good stuff.

But Red Tape remains my favorite JA brew (which I suppose makes me a bit of an outlier) and so far I haven't seen any of this year's batch; according to the Lager Locater, most of it is in New Hampshire right now. Alas. So thirsty.

 

Not to thread jack, but if you like that style you owe it to yourself to find a can of Midnight Moonlight by Bent Water, or just go get a pint at the brewery. Absolutely stellar beer.

I’ll def grab Bohemian Dusk if I see it. Like most things by JA so I’m sure I will like this, especially as I love the style in general.

 

Hmm. I’ve just had the one can. But Tmavy is the one I’ve had recently from Notch. I felt the mouthfeel was comparable, but Tmavy was hoppier and maybe more complex.

Bohemian Dusk is so smooth and drinkable, but honestly leans more Dunkel to me. Actually kind of reminds me of Georg from Schilling.

 

Jack’s Abby implements spunding but this is not a recent thing. From a blog from 2015:

“Spunding is a process often used by lager brewers to naturally carbonate their beer. A device called a spunding valve is attached to our tanks late in fermentation, when most of the sugars in the wort have been processed by our yeast. The spunding valve carefully controls the release of CO2 keeping the tank, keeping the tank pressurized and producing a desired effervescence and mouthfeel. The spunding method’s advantages are considerable. Naturally carbonated beers often have brighter flavors and a more consistent mouthfeel.”

https://jacksabby.com/blog/2015/07/about-the-beer-spunding-and-slurming-updates/

Cheers!

 

Had Bohemian Dusk and Red Tape tonight. Was interesting to have them back to back. Canned the same date, 10/12.

Dusk is slightly darker but the colors are close, which is odd. Czech Dark’s are usually quite black.

I would say the Dunkel is maltier, but Dark is maybe slightly hoppier and smoother. They’re both decocted but I think the former is single and the latter double.

The malt profile in Dusk being smoother and perhaps breadier could be due to double decoction. I prefer this beer, plus it’s 4.5% compared to 5% for Red Tape, so it’s more impressive and sessionable.

I like both, and it’s not fair to compare two different styles. But it was a fun comparison with two dark lagers, one Czech and one German styled, canned on the same date from the same brewery.

 

I discussed Bohemian Dusk earlier today in the NBW thread:

Czech it out: Jack’s Abby Bohemian Dusk Czech Dark Lager

I am a fan of many dark lager beer styles but my favorite is the Czech Dark Lager style. For those who are unfamiliar with the Czech Dark Lager style they come in varying levels of strength (i.e., ABV) which are distinguished by numbers (i.e., degrees Plato of the original gravity) or words:

“Basically, the Czechs describe their beers by color and strength. First, let’s learn our colors:

• Pale = Světlé
• Semi-dark (Amber) = Polotmavý
• Dark = Tmavý (or Tmavé)
• Black = Černý

When it comes to beer strength, what we would typically associate with alcohol (ABV) strength, the Czechs instead describe the original gravity of the wort used to brew the beer. They have words for this but more commonly I have seen numbers in degrees Plato to describe the beers strength. In order of lower to higher strength:

• 10° or Výčepní
• 12° or Ležák
• 14° or Speciál (or Speziál)”

If you want to try out your Czech lessons, a mid-strength Czech Dark Lager would be Tmavý Ležák.

https://www.morebeer.com/articles/Czech_Beers

There are some craft breweries near me which brew Czech Dark Lagers but it is an infrequent brand and sometimes only available on tap. I was happy to spot a stack of Jack’s Abbey Bohemian Dust at my local Wegman’s supermarket and I immediately put a four-pack into my shopping cart. Below is how this beer is detailed on the Jack’s Abby website:

“Dark Czech Style Lager

October Release

Light and dark are often used as contrasts, but something special can be found where light and dark meet. That’s what inspired this beer. Traditional Bohemian floor malts, Saaz hops, and open-fermentation create a light and easy-drinking beer that is dark in appearance with a hint of sweet roast.

ABV 4.5%”

Also, on the can’s label it states:

· Double Decoction Mashed

· Naturally Carbonated

It has been a while since I have conducted a side-by-side discussion in NBW, and since I have some homebrewed Tmavý Ležák (Czech Dark Lager) I figured I would discuss Bohemian Dusk as a side-by-side tasting.

You will see in the photo below that there is a label for the Tmavý Ležák bottle, the story behind this label:

My wife and I stayed in the Anděl neighborhood during our 2019 visit to Prague; Anděl is Czech for Angel.

My wife went online somewhere and created a label for this beer ‘branding’ this beer as Dark Angel.

Served in my Polish Pilsner glasses:

Appearance:

Dark Angle: A dark chestnut brown color with a reddish hue. A tan head with excellent head retention as the beer is consumed.

Bohemian Dusk: A deep amber color with a one finger light tan head.

Aroma:

Dark Angel: A subtle but quite noticeable aroma of toasted dark bread and a hint of cocoa.

Bohemian Dusk: Similar to the above but of a lower intensity.

Taste:

Dark Angel: The flavor follows the nose with a pleasing combination of subtle chocolate and toasted dark bread. There is also a subtle but noticeable flavor of Coca-Cola in the background. A low/moderate bitterness.

Bohemian Dusk: Also has some subtle chocolate and toasted dark bread flavors. A low/moderate bitterness.

Mouthfeel:

Dark Angel: There is a luscious soft/creamy mouthfeel with an off-dry finish.

Bohemian Dusk: In comparison the body is lighter with a thin(er) mouthfeel.

Overall:

Dark Angel: This beer is very good – excellent.

Bohemian Dusk: This beer is very good.

The two beers have a somewhat similar flavor profile but the Dark Angel had more complexity. The most notable difference between the two beers was the difference in mouthfeel.

As I was about halfway through the tasting my wife walked in the room and asked: whatcha doing? I offered to her to try the two beers which she did in blind fashion (i.e., she did not know the brands since at this point I had disposed of the can/bottle). After a few sips of each she raised the glass in her left hand and stated “This one is better”. She preferred Dark Angel.

Cheers!

@JacksAbbyBrewing

 

I love the choice to put the base BB framinghammer in 12oz cans this year - I was already such a fan of the non-barreled version as the best snowshoveling beer on the scene. The base this year is hot and boozy, and has a rich molasses finish - I'm excited to get into a vertical of these soon.

I'm also stoked to get into some of the variants, especially the german chocolate cake. Smaller selection this year, but it feels more focused.

 

Thought the German Chocolate Cake variant was quite good. Reminded me of Cocoa-Nut.

 

Ears perked. I told myself I wouldn't bother trying the variants anymore but I miss Cocoa Nut, so I'll give this one a shot.

 

Got this in the newsletter. Not surprising based on the recent changes, but no more Sunny Ridge, Red Tape, and Smoke & Dagger. Bummer.

On another note, finally got a new Bohemian Diusk. If anything, it looks lighter and tastes more like Red Tape now but costs more. Here it is against the one from about a year ago, which was closer to what Czech dark Lagers are.

 

Those mix packs are pretty unexciting. Do we need House and Post Shift in each one. Would love a mix pack featuring like 6 of previous lagers of world brews or a bunch of the fun tap room stuff only.

looking forward to a few of the new brews as well as the taproom program pushing out new stuff and hopefully I make it there more often in 24

 

Perhaps Bohemian Dawn is Sunny Ridge’s replacement?

 

Maybe? I'm not too hopeful about local versions of Czech-style beers anyway, so not a big loss for me, unlike S&D.

 

One of the beers in the Winter Fest Variety Pack is a Black Lager: Dark as Hell Black Lager. I wonder what beer style that will be, Schwarzbier?

Cheers!