Mac and Jack's African Amber Ale
The Northwest’s original, unfiltered and dry hopped amber ale. African Amber’s pioneering and innovative style is proof that drink-abilty does not have to be achieved by sacrificing flavor. This beer erupts with a floral, hoppy taste, followed by a well rounded malty middle, finishing with a nicely organic hop flavor. Locally sourced two row grain and a blend of specialty malts give our amber its rich taste. Further complexity is achieved by leaving the beer unfiltered, providing exceptional flavor, as well as giving our amber its unique "cloudy" look. Lastly, we actually place a bag of fresh, locally grown, Yakima valley hops in each keg creating what has become the original, cult classic, northwest amber ale.
3.7
354 reviews
Redmond, United States
Community reviews
I have nothing bad to say about this beer. Great taste, smooth, after taste is great. I'm a fan.
Caramel malt and fruity aroma and flavor. Pours a beautiful copper color with a moderate haze and soft white head. Excellent for the style.
Notes: on tap at the SeaTac Delta Lounge, May ’17
My go to Amber ale. One of my first and favorite beers. toast, resin, amber, clear, medium sweetness, medium bitterness, lightly sour, medium body, average carbonation,
Cloudy dark amber colour, medium beige head. Aroma of grain, malt, biscuit, honey, hops. Dry sweet taste with mildly bitter finish and bready aftertaste. Medium body and soft carbonation. Very nice amber ale.
Growler from Total wine to wine glass
Sight: light amber, hazy, big off white foam
Smell: Fragrant aroma, malty
Taste: Medium bitterness, some sweetness
Mouthfeel: Creamy, very good long finish, bittersweet aftertaste Overall: Very good beer, good value for the price
drank: Sunday, March 19, 2017 7:30 PM
Swietne piwo. Bardzo pijalne, dobrze zbalansowane. Przyjemne w smaku, nie gorzkie.
In the glass the beer pours a honey amber color with a nice head. Aroma has malts, honey and some resin. The taste is smooth with more malts, honey and some hops. The beer has a long finish with a smooth texture.
Draft. Pours clear copper with a lasting white head. Aroma is very biscuity, nutty, earthy. Flavor is balanced, quite bready, lots of biscuit and toast, earthy hop finish. Medium body, well rounded feel, well carbonated. Like a better version of Fat Tire.
Draught at the African Lounge, 8/19/16.
It’s cool to see this still in existence! I’d always wanted to try this back in the day, but somehow never did. This was quite a iconic beer and I can see why. It’s hazy, with a soft, malty-sweet yet well-attenuated texture that a lot of American beers back then didn’t have. In addition, it’s got tons of fruity, lightly juicy hops that place more emphasis on the aromatic and flavor compounds than they do the bitterness. As well, though it’s amber in color, it’s very different from the grainy, iced tea-flavored, monotonous malt creations that dominate the amber ale style. Almost like an unintentional precursor to the New Enlgand IPA and sure enough, though it’s got nowhere near the hop character, it’s not THAT far off from something like Bissell Bucolia, which is quite high praise, at least in my opinion.
Anyways, fun beer, good piece of history and glad to have finally tried it.
Rating #1937 - 2015.09.25 - #CraftTakesSeattle Day 2, Beer 37, Clear amber pour with a creamy white foam. Aroma is toffee, orange peel, wildflowers. Delicate sweetness, smooth creamy mouthfeel, low-medium carbonation, light bitterness. Balance is lovely.
Location: On tap at Hyatt House in Redmond, WA
Aroma: Earth, leaves, grainy / dusty malts
Taste: Dirty / earthy malts with a great grain build and the right amount of vegetal bitterness
Palate: Murky but crisp
Overall: A great balance of earthy, malty, bitter...one of the more unique / stylized but palatable Amber Ales
This was smooth and had a mahogany flavor. It was smooth and finished so well, did I say it was smooth? This was a very good beer.
12oz from tap at a lake-side bar. Flavorful and well balanced. An easy beer to drink a few of without getting tired lf the taste.
On tap. Pours a cloudy amber with a thin tan head, good lacing. Smells and tastes of nutty malt that’s a bit sweet with a superb mildly bitter finish. Lasting aftertaste.
Dark copper pour. Smells of caramel and bready malt. Taste follows the nose with just a hint of hops. A solid amber.
Pretty good Amber, especially since I’m not a big fan of the style. On the sweet side, pours...well...amber, and has a strangely acidic finish. Creamy mouthfeel.
Balance of aroma not pleasant; quite a lot of fizz. But too sour to work with the sweetness.
A good friend of mine introduced me to this nectar more than a decade ago in Seattle, Washington. It defined for me what craft beer could be, and got me to realize that the watery lagers were just flavored water. Every time I transit in Seattle airport, I will make sure to meet with a friend to drive me to a nearby diner for this tap.
Easy drinking and very subtle and well defined. Hazy amber pour with great head and lacing. Some rusty malt and light citrus. Good balance. Light tangy finish. Tap at Africa Lounge.
Cloudy orange amber with a creamy off-white head and moderate lace. Light aromas of cereal and grass. Taste is similar, mostly grassy hop with bitterness coming late. Medium body and carbonation, blah mouthfeel and a slightly grainy finish.
Tap.
A: Cloudy amber with a foamy white head.
N: Peppercorn, cracker, earth, damp leaves, some toffee.
T: Big maltiness with a muddy leafy bitterness.
M: Medium - light body, touch of alcohol in the afterwash, crisp carbonation.
O: I can see why this is a big seller. Drinkable with a good melding of flavor. I would like it a bit less leafy and more hoppy but that seems like personal preference.
Draught@Four Points by Sheraton, Seattle. Opaque amber color, off-white head. Full, very nutty flavor with some metallic hops. Medium-light body, medium carbonation. Not bad.
Draft - Dirt brown color, even cloudy like dirty water would be. Has a weird sweet smoke smell to it. In the palate very sweet and certainly has a distinct taste to it that is hard to describe.
On tap at SEATAC. Pours with a hazed orange-copper hued body and a large lasting off-white head. Aromas are malt forward, toasty, nutty, mild esters, and a light hop fruitiness. Flavors are malt forward (toasted and light kilned rather than dextrinous). Nutty, cereal, some melanoidins. Medium bitterness drives the mid palate balance. Hop flavor is minimal and slightly citric and floral. Fermentation is pretty clean with mild esters. Medium bodied, medium high carbonation for the style. Solid; very glad this is not laden with crystal.
This is truly one of the best beers in the United States. It is a full-flavored beer, with excellent maltiness. The dry-hop aroma is outstanding! When I am in a Washington pub, I will check out all the beers on tap, but invariably I go back to Mac & Jacks African Amber. It is the benchmark beer.
On tap at razzles. Nice malty aroma, burnt orange color, cloudy. Nicely balance finishes hoppy and malty. Good solid amber. Would like a litter more bitterness.
Tap at Henry’s PDX venue. Pours very hazy Amber with a beige head. Fruity hop aroma. Med + body. Flavor is lots of floral and citrus hop, and almost enough malt to balance, It is very fresh and delicious.
Rich amber with a beautiful tan head nose of fresh bread and not to storing on the hops. Great malt flavour.
Hands down the best beer I have ever had! It’s smooth, it’s rich, and it tastes good with anything
On tap at The Loft. Pours a deep amber orange with a white head that dissipates to the edges. Aroma has bread and grain with a nice growing citrus note. Flavor has notes of bread and grain with a growing sweet citrus and a hint of straw.