Mac and Jacks African Amber Ale

Brewed by Mac and Jacks Brewing Company
Style: Amber Ale
Redmond, Washington USA

On tap at so many places in Seattle, I couldn’t count. An instant favorite, so much so that once a bartender or server says it’s on tap, there has to be something special to knock it from the top of the list. Some people seem to scoff at the cloudiness, I think it’s part of the package. Hazy, floral, but still balanced and sweet. An amber to measure other ambers by, and one of the few beers I really miss now that I’m in Boulder.

on tap at Downriggers restaurant in Port Angeles. Pours light amber with a thick creamy white head and a lot of chill haze. Has a mild citrus aroma. The flavor consists of a medium sweetness and a subtle mild hopped bitterness.

Draught at FCO - I drink this all the time, I figure I would have rated it by now...Pours a hazy orange amber with a frothy beige head...aroma is gritty cereal grain and considerable malt, light citric hops in the nose as well...flavour is wonderfully balanced, slightly sweet and nutty, more of that unfiltered grit, very light bitterness...hop, malt and grain all working syncharmoniously to prove the sum greater than it’s parts...just a fantastic rendition of a ho-hum sytle...and the brewery tour rocks! "We don’t do dishes..."

Draught @ Pacific Inn Pub:   Deep dark amber, very dull, quite thick and hazy, moderate frothy off-white head, few rings of lacing. Malt forward nose, very minor bisquit and wheaty aspects.   Heavy malt ladden beer on the tongue.   Very smooth and very meaty.   One of the heavier and more enjoyable Ambers I have had in a long time.   Almost has a wheaty aspect about it.   Also very clean.   Probably one of the most well balanced Ambers I have had, period!   Subtle hop presense that is just enough to balance it out.   Yeah, this IS how an Amber Ale should be.   Does get a little mealy on the backside, but how could you not with this monster.   Full bodied, thick mouthfeel.   I haven’t said that in a long time.   Great stuff.   I just wished they could figure out how to bottle this stuff so I could send it across America.

I freaking love this beer... I obsessed trying to find it my entire time in Seattle and finally had it in the airport after I missed my flight home... Sooo worth it... Cloudy red orange, like honey... Aroma is pure liquid amber malt, the type you put in homebrew....Flavor is honey, malts, with a gentle hoppiness that stays on the palate... The definition of a west coast amber.... Delicious

Growler courtesy of scrizzz. Thanks! Pours a hazy tangerine color with a medium persistent head. Nice lacing. Faint nutty aroma with a bit of caramel, berries, citrus and stone fruits. Taste is leafy hops along with caramel, faint nuts and a woody, spicy hoppiness that re-emerges in the finish. Peach and other dry stone fruit notes as well. Slightly watery, though very well balanced. Creamy texture. Good beer.

Mac and Jack’s has an almost cult-like following here in the Seattle area and for good reason. Their flagship African Amber is pretty darn tasty albeit incredibly inconsistent when served on tap. Pours a dark almost muddy amber in color with thick opaque clouds of suspended yeast. Although the yeast adds tenfold to the flavor and mouthfeel of this amber, it completely kills it’s appearance...likening it to a glass of muddy red-hued water, maybe like the sahara desert? Great citrus hops (evidently each keg has a sack of hops inside) and a nutty malt-impression combine to make a very quaffable session ale. Incredibly inconsistent when purchased on tap, I’ve had it direct from the brewery (best) and all around the Puget Sound area and on several occasions wondered if it was even the same beer.

Draught at Doc’s on Bainbridge Island. This was a great beer. Exceptional amber but a fantastic beer no matter what category. Ambers sometimes get boring and staid but this was TASTY! I would gladly order this again.