12x12 Review: Jack’s Abby Winter Fest Variety Pack

12x12 is a new series dedicated to reviewing 12-packs of 12 ounce cans or bottles. Inspired by my guide to garage beer, 12-packs are often the workhorse of the beer fridge. The beer you bring to a cookout or grab on the way to a party. This series honors craft flagships, seasonal classics, and imported examples of classic styles.  

Beers included: House Lager, Post Shift Pils, Extra Layer, Dark As Hell

Purchased: 16 December 2024

Purchase Price: I forget 

Initial impression: Looking forward to circling back to two of Jack’s Abby’s core beers, two classic lager styles, and trying two new winter lagers  

How to properly stock garage beer

A recent social media trend or meme depending on your point-of-view, especially among elder millennial dads is the garage beer. Garage beers are often accompanied by the musical stylings of Creed. The Kelce Brothers have even launched their own Garage Beer brand. A critical element of the garage beer is the garage fridge.

As a homebrewer with a four tap keezer, I still buy a fair amount of commercial beer. I don’t have a garage, but I do have a mini-fridge for beer in my basement. That was a Covid purchase. Initially our basement fridge was filled with Trillium when they were doing deliveries during the pandemic. In the time since, I have honed in on the ideal way to stock your beer fridge.

Ales over ALS 2024

After a successful showing that did not result in any awards in 2023, the 2024 Ales over ALS competition snuck up on me. By snuck up I mean I thought I was judging instead of brewing this year until I saw an email with my name listed as a brewer. I had to fire up my kettle for the first time in a couple of months and brew something. 

I had no idea what I wanted to brew. The easy thing would’ve been a re-brew of Broken Fist which went over so well last year. I felt like I needed to bring something different. That, and I didn’t want to spend a ton of money on hops. Instead I chose to brew a beer I already purchased the hops for. 

Color and clarity on point.

The idea for this beer came to me several years ago when I was in Portland, Maine. I was visiting the Shipyard Brewery and browsing their excellent gift shop when a particular item caught my eye. They were selling tap handles of one of their legacy beers for only $10.

Brew Day and Tasting Notes:North Shore Brewers Q2 2024 Double IPA

As part of North Shore Brewers Quarterly in-club competition, the style chosen for Q2 was Double IPA. I haven't brewed a Double IPA in a long time, which is part of the fun of pulling a style out of a jar.

My first thought was to re-brew my last Double IPA, The Anti-Chris. That was a beer I brewed before I was kegging, so it was bottle conditioned which meant the beer sat at room temperature for three weeks to carbonate which isn't exactly ideal for maintaining hop aroma and flavor. Plus I didn't have temperature control back then either and couldn't cold crash.

These homegrown hops aren't getting any better sitting in a freezer

In the end I made a new recipe designed to use up hops I had on hand. Money was a little tight at the time, and I didn't want to spend a ton of money on hops for a double IPA.