Jack’s Abby

1 Reviews on “Jack’s Abby”

• Steven Barry

  I’ve been here several times over the last year or so.The whole beer hall situation can be a point of frustration. Honestly, after coming here for a year I’m still not sure how the thing works. Jack’s Abby specializes in lager. The House Lager or House Bier is a great choice, light and mellow. It doesn’t have the bitter or stale finish that most commercial/utility lagers have. You know the ones. House Bier is my go to on a summer day. Excess is another popular core beer. It is like a light IPA. Hoppy, grapefruit and floral notes stick to your tongue. Not as heavy or dank as a true IPA let alone a DIPA. I like it. Now there are several beers you can only get on tap at the brewery. Blood Orange Wheat Lager also called Orange Leisure Time, is my go-to. Light, slight crisp finish, carbonated. Not much else going on, but has basic, refreshing mellow lager taste. I will say this beer has declined since I started coming here some time ago. I remember Orange Leisure have a slight citrus undertone and deeper orange color. On my last visit, these qualities were not noticeable. Sad.Mole BA Framinghammer is a seasonal beer. Although Jabby specializes in lagers their stout is excellent. Notes of coffee and chocolate. Creamy mouthfeel. Sweet smooth finish. Love it. With the addition of the Springdale Barrel Room, there are additional beers on tap.As a lover of Belgian witbier, I had to try to Pearly Wit. It tastes like a witbier, coriander notes, but not much else here. Lacks the crisp finish I love about witbiers, the taste was muddled. I’ll take an Allagash over the Pearly Wit.The other Springdale I’ve sampled is the Brigadeiro. Notes of coffee. Not much else to say. I’d go with the Mole BA Framminghammer over this. As for food—On this particular night, I ordered a Margherita Pizza. Immediately, the pizza had an odd look. The crust has a dull color and the sauce looked like it was dried up. While the dough has some good texture, crunchy bottom and some chewiness, the dough does not have a yeasty tang. The cheese had no life, was not fully melted so and would come off with one bite, giving you a big mouthful of mozzarella. The sauce itself is sweet with some depth. But sauce distribution was uneven across the pie. The crust, sauce and cheese were not coalescing. I have a suspicion that the pizza was sitting around and then re-heated before brought to me.Although I’ve sampled several menu items in the past, I cannot give an in-depth analysis of each item as I did not take notes. Generally, I’ve found the food here to be mediocre. I recommend you eat before visiting and come here for beer only. The beer gets 4 stars and the food gets 2.

  January 31, 2020, 6:01 am

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