For today’s craft beer review I’m going to be drinking the Left Hand Black Jack Porter from the Left Hand Brewing Company located in Longmont, Colorado.

I have never had this Porter before and I have always appreciated the Left Hand products, so I figured why not give it a go.

The website, lefthandbrewing.com, entices the drinker with a nice, little description. 

Black Jack Porter delves deeply beneath the surface to embrace your Ace.  Espresso and dark chocolate flavors envelop your senses, with herbaceous hop flavors pulling you from the light.  You never know what treasures may be lurking in the darkness.  Will you play the game?

I think I’ll play!!!!

The Black Jack Porter has an ABV of 6.4% and comes in a 12 oz. bottle. 

With the pour, the beer appeared a dark brown to an almost very dark amber color.  It developed a semi-creamy, off white head that had adequate size, solid retention and very nice lacing.  Some light, burnt orange highlights shown through at the very bottom of the glass.  It’s not as dark as some of the other Porters out there, but it still presented itself well I thought.

The aroma seemed to have a nice, smooth, milk chocolate fragrance.  Mild hints of roastiness and “smoke” along with a timid coffee nose.  Deep within the aroma I started to pick up a pleasant oatmeal raisin cookie type of note.  Very nice.  The bouquet seemed to be balanced very well, however the chocolate was still the primary factor.

The taste brought out nice touches of bittersweet chocolate with restrained, toasted, coffee notes.  A recollection of the “smoke” was found, however it seemed to be more relaxed in the taste than in the aroma.  Some dark fruit with a slight grain bill helped to add a bit more complexity to the profile.  The dark fruit is not provocative, yet it added a little bit more sweetness to the savor.  It was balanced evenly and completely.

The mouthfeel was medium and slick.  It went down smooth and easy with suitable carbonation.  It wasn’t quite as dry as I was hoping it might be, however it was still ok.  The palate, to me, was covered fairly well to average.

This was, for the most part, a pretty good Porter I thought.  It wasn’t “world class” or anything, but it was nothing to scoff at either.  It’s super easy to drink and it supports all the proper “goodies” of a Porter styled beer.  Solid characteristics of chocolate and roasted malt along with a better than average appearance make this beer worth a try in my opinion.  I think I could make a night of the Black Jack Porter without any problem.

Once again, I appreciate all the positive feedback and comments.  Thanks for reading also.  Stay tuned because I have many more reviews to come!!!

Score:  3.75 out 5
Grade:  B