Arcadia Ales - Jaw-Jacker
Posted by
highbury
on Wednesday, October 17, 2018
Time for another seasonal pumpkin beer to face the dreaded Drunken Jackos rating scale! This time, it's Kalamazoo, Michigan's Arcadia Ales and their Jaw-Jacker Spiced Amber Ale.
I know in order for a beer to be reviewed here it has to be a pumpkin beer, but in the case of Jaw-Jacker, we'll make an exception. That's because Jaw-Jacker actually has NO pumpkin in it. Instead, it uses a mix of cinnamon, all-spice and nutmeg to simulate a pumpkin pie flavor. Pretty crafty. And it works well, too.
Jaw-Jacker is actually a tale of two beers. First, the light amber beer poured with a nice thick head and plenty of bubbly carbonation. It also emitted a nice, subtle pumpkin spice note.
The first taste had dry malt undertones with an equally dry, caramel finish. It almost reminded me of a nut brown ale. It was okay overall, and headed to a 3 out of 5 rating.
But then a lucky stroke of magic happened. After letting the beer sit for a few minutes, it transformed! That dryness went away and was replaced with a very clean and smooth ale. The cinnamon, which was absent upon first taste, suddenly showed up and took the overall flavor back toward a traditional, sweeter pumpkin ale. I couldn't believe how much smoother it tasted after letting the beer breathe. I was quite impressed.
So after letting this one sit and open up, I really enjoyed Jaw-Jacker. And with that simple act, the beer improved nicely overall and upgraded to a rating of 3.5 out of 5 Drunken Jackos. Another interesting beer that is recommended during the fall pumpkin season if you can find it.
at
11:34 PM
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Labels:
Arcadia Ales,
brown ale,
Drunken Jackos,
Jaw-Jacker,
Kalamazoo Michigan,
pumpkin beer,
rating scale


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