Last week I finally made a trip to the Jack's Abby brewery in Framingham, MA. It did not disappoint!
This will be a longer post than normal (haven't posted in 2 weeks so I have to make up for it!) First, I will take you on a tour of the brewery. Following that will be reviews of several Jack's Abby beers that have not been featured on this blog.
My readers know that I am a huge fan of Jack's Abby beers. I first tried them only about a year and a half ago, and since then I have tried everything I can get my hands on. My very first review for this site was the Barrel Aged Framinghammer, and I have reviewed countless others. Jack's Abby is well known for using the lagering style of beer making. In this country, the craft beer revolution has spawned the launch of thousands of new breweries, almost all of which make ales. Jack's Abby sought to do something different, and channel the traditional German style of beer making and combine it with American craft beer making creativity and ingenuity. As a result, they have created a well respecting brewery and highly regarded American craft brewery in only a few short years.
If you make a trip up to the New England area, be sure to be on the lookout for anything Jack's Abby. In the coming months, they will be moving into a new facility in Framingham, MA, which will allow them to drastically increase output. Look for an expansion of the distribution footprint to areas like NYC and throughout the rest of New England.
This will be a longer post than normal (haven't posted in 2 weeks so I have to make up for it!) First, I will take you on a tour of the brewery. Following that will be reviews of several Jack's Abby beers that have not been featured on this blog.
My readers know that I am a huge fan of Jack's Abby beers. I first tried them only about a year and a half ago, and since then I have tried everything I can get my hands on. My very first review for this site was the Barrel Aged Framinghammer, and I have reviewed countless others. Jack's Abby is well known for using the lagering style of beer making. In this country, the craft beer revolution has spawned the launch of thousands of new breweries, almost all of which make ales. Jack's Abby sought to do something different, and channel the traditional German style of beer making and combine it with American craft beer making creativity and ingenuity. As a result, they have created a well respecting brewery and highly regarded American craft brewery in only a few short years.
If you make a trip up to the New England area, be sure to be on the lookout for anything Jack's Abby. In the coming months, they will be moving into a new facility in Framingham, MA, which will allow them to drastically increase output. Look for an expansion of the distribution footprint to areas like NYC and throughout the rest of New England.
Here are the fermentation tanks. Additionally, their tap room is right through that glass window under the logo
These three tanks are for bottling and kegging. The beer is fed from the fermentation tanks through pipes into these bottling tanks.
Under the plastic wrap is the machine used for bottling and capping
This is how the brewery bottles their sour beers. They have to use different lines due to the wild yeast strains
This is their barrel aged section. On the left are bourbon barrels from Kentucky, and on the right are wine barrels.
At the taproom, I was able to try the Sour Barrel Project #6. This beer is a sour made with blackberries and aged in red wine barrels. The result was a purple beer that was extremely tart. I thought the beer was well balanced, and the dark fruit flavors were not overpowered by the wine.
A big thank you to Colin for the Fire in the Ham!
Fire in the Ham | Jack's Abby Brewing | Rauchbier/Smoked Lager | 5.4% ABV
Served chilled from a 16.9 oz bottled and poured into a pint glass. Pours a straw golden color with a one finger white foam head. Smell is very smoky, with hints of wood chips and a slight amount of bacon. Carbonation is moderate with a medium-light body. Taste is extremely smoky. There is a huge hit of bacon/smoked ham. Additionally, there is a saltiness in the beer, but not like a Gose. It definitely belongs, and balances out the smokiness. I have never had a rauchbier so smoky before, yet the beer finishes so crisp and clean.
Bravo on this beer. I must say I wish I had bought a few bottles more at the taproom!
93/100
Fire in the Ham | Jack's Abby Brewing | Rauchbier/Smoked Lager | 5.4% ABV
Served chilled from a 16.9 oz bottled and poured into a pint glass. Pours a straw golden color with a one finger white foam head. Smell is very smoky, with hints of wood chips and a slight amount of bacon. Carbonation is moderate with a medium-light body. Taste is extremely smoky. There is a huge hit of bacon/smoked ham. Additionally, there is a saltiness in the beer, but not like a Gose. It definitely belongs, and balances out the smokiness. I have never had a rauchbier so smoky before, yet the beer finishes so crisp and clean.
Bravo on this beer. I must say I wish I had bought a few bottles more at the taproom!
93/100
I have always been a big fan of the Framinghammer series. At the taproom, they explained that they had created a Double Framinghammer. The result was the Lager Ness Monster, a 15% ABV behemoth. It drank like a 10% beer more than a 15%, which is a real testament to the great work the team at JA is doing. There were strong hints of coffee, chocolate, bourbon and roasted malt. It was extremely full bodied, and I am sure would be perfect for aging 5-1o years.
I was incredibly intrigued by the idea of a Lager Wine. I am a big fan of Barleywines, but had never tried a lagered version. The result was a very alcoholic tasting brew, with big caramel malt and dark fruit flavors. I put one bottle in the cellar for extended aging. Great job on Bride Maker!
I would highly recommend a trip to all my Massachusetts readers. The tour was fabulous and the taproom had many great options. So cool to see a local MA brewery on the cutting edge of the craft beer movement.
Cheers!
Scott
I would highly recommend a trip to all my Massachusetts readers. The tour was fabulous and the taproom had many great options. So cool to see a local MA brewery on the cutting edge of the craft beer movement.
Cheers!
Scott
Bonus picture of me with my brother-thanks for finally bringing me here, Kevin!
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