Jack’s Abby Brewing Smoke & Dagger

Smoke can be a polarizing flavor in beer. Similar to fruit, it can be outstanding when done well, but even the smallest misstep cannot be saved.

The first smoked beer I ever tasted went this way:

Sip one: interesting!
Sip two: ok, that’s enough.

I don’t recall which beer it was, but it was enough to turn me off to these beers for a long time.

Recently, however, I came across the one that would bring me back from the abyss: Jack’s Abby Smoke & Dagger.

This beer has a few things going for it:

1) It is a black lager, my personal favorite beer style, and a woefully underappreciated one in the American craft brew scene.

2) Its name, plus the fact that I saw the Dabney Coleman classic in the theater in elementary school and have secretly considered Jack Flack a hero ever since.

3) Balance. Well made lagers exude balance anyway, and this one manages to use the smoke flavor subtly, allowing it to intermingle with the chocolate, caramel and coffee flavors in a way that adds complexity without overwhelming the taster. Instead, it merely becomes another wave of intrigue that passes across the palate before the crisp, refreshing finish.

Pair with barbecue or lamb/beef curry.