Mac and Jacks Blackcat Porter

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

Tap... Poured deep, dark brown with a light, brown head. Malt aroma, no roastiness to the brew. Subtle, soft palate. Malty and chocolaty with a low bitterness. Easy drinking but nothing much going for it.

A very difficult drinking porter. What do I mean? Exactly how it sounds...for a robust porter there’s a definite absence of roast or bittersweet flavors. Instead I get an almost rotten and spoiled vegetable aroma and aftertaste, a thin mouthfeel almost acidic in its over-carbonated and thin-bodied state. How unfortunate because I must visit this porter again at a different location to see if it’s the beer or the lines.

An absolutely terrible soapy brettanomyces type aroma. Awful sour milk too. The flavor, however, is much better than the aroma, but still only okay. A little weight, but relatively balanced, just a ho-hum porter in flavor.

On tap at Taphouse. M&J is known primarily for their African Amber, which is the beer that people in the Seattle area mean when they say "Mac and Jack’s." Although Black Cat was a decent porter, it doesn’t hold the same wow factor. It pours a black black with no head to speak of . Aromas are standard for a porter, caramel and some chocolate with a bit of roasted malt. Flavors of toasted malt, oak, pepper, and a faint hint of chocolate.

Draught @ EcoBrew Fest - Pours dk brown with a medium tan head...aroma is roast and dk malt, some burnt wood....flavour is similar, char, a bit of cocoa...not too sweet with a lingering bitterness, maybe a bit thin...overall pretty good...

On tap at the Tap House Grill in Seattle. Dark brown to black in color. Aroma of roasted malt, caramel and buttery bread. Flavor was also a bit buttery, which was not appreciated. Not much roasted malt either. Really, not much going on at all. Disappointing beer.

This one hits the mouth very bland and without structure...but opens up to some hearty and robust malt. It ends with a semi-sweet kick and a lingering aftertaste. Kinda chuncky mouth feel however....