American Amber Ale Zach & Jack's African Amber

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For me its the best beer you can get on tap. I am 1 week into a clone of it from my LHBS. I cannot wait. It gets pretty old having to pay a premium for it.
Their other beers are good as well. SeaTac Airport has a couple Mac & Jack "Restaurants" that I go to everytime I fly.

+1 on the best beer available on tap... I LOVE this beer.. Had a couple pitchers with some friends last night at the bowling alley... I didnt even care that I bowled at 54 in the first game :cross:
 
I brewed it and hit the posted 1.055 OG exactly. I followed the OP recipe, with one exception. The hop schedule posted says:

1.00 oz Centennial (60 min)
1.00 oz Cascade (5 min)
1.50 oz Cascade (0 min)

Instead, I did:

1.00 oz Centennial (60 min)
1.00 oz Cascade (15 min)
1.00 oz Cascade (5 min)

I changed the last two hop additions to 15 and 5 minutes, because I use a hop strainer bag and 0 minutes is always when I pull all the hops out and drain them into the kettle for a minute before I start the chiller.

Also, I decided to dial down the last hop addition a bit, partly because I only wanted to buy one $8 two-ounce bag of Cascades for this brew (must start buying in bulk), and partly because I read some comments in this thread about this recipe turning out a bit hoppier than the real Mac and Jack's.

I may dry hop with 1 oz of amarillo instead of cascade, as well, since I have some fairly fresh amarillo in the fridge that's begging to be used, and I understand they are quite similar.
 
Thanks for posting! Mac and Jacks is a memorably good beer. I was thinking the last time that i had it that there might be some sorgum in the mash...
 
I brewed it and hit the posted 1.055 OG exactly. I followed the OP recipe, with one exception. The hop schedule posted says:

1.00 oz Centennial (60 min)
1.00 oz Cascade (5 min)
1.50 oz Cascade (0 min)

Instead, I did:

1.00 oz Centennial (60 min)
1.00 oz Cascade (15 min)
1.00 oz Cascade (5 min)

I changed the last two hop additions to 15 and 5 minutes, because I use a hop strainer bag and 0 minutes is always when I pull all the hops out and drain them into the kettle for a minute before I start the chiller.

Also, I decided to dial down the last hop addition a bit, partly because I only wanted to buy one $8 two-ounce bag of Cascades for this brew (must start buying in bulk), and partly because I read some comments in this thread about this recipe turning out a bit hoppier than the real Mac and Jack's.

I may dry hop with 1 oz of amarillo instead of cascade, as well, since I have some fairly fresh amarillo in the fridge that's begging to be used, and I understand they are quite similar.

Sounds like it will be great! Be sure to post your tasting notes! Curious if the amarillos will be discernible from the cascades.. Nice job on the OG!! Wish I could hit my OG more regularly..:(
 
I dry-hopped my batch today with 1 oz of cascades after 12 days of fermentation. I plan to bottle at the three week mark, SG readings permitting.
 
Brewing this recip right now I made a few minor changes. 2 lbs Munich and 3/4 pils. I am also going to use two packets of s-04. Only using 3 oz hops maybe dry hop in secondary, not sure I'll give it a taste test to decide. I also did a three step mash like I do for my other brown ales. 130-150-155. I'll post more later
 
I just harvested yeast from a growler of Mac and Jacks and manny's pale ale, I am planing on trying this recipe with both yeast in 2 separate 5 gallon batches. Curious to see the differences.
 
I just brewed the second batch of the Mac and Jack and it turned out great! I switched up a few things this time and I think it turned out a little better. First I changed to Cailiforina Ale Yeast because i thought the Safale gave a little to dry taste at the end and the Cali gave more mouthful at the end. I also changed the Hop at the end of the boil. I went Cent. in a Hopburst of .5oz at 25,20,15,10,5 and no dry hop and it turned out great! This is a great beer that I will keep on tap alot.
 
So, I am still in the middle of fermentation with the Mac and Jacks yeast. My basement was a little cooler than I thought at around 59 degrees, and after two and a half weeks my SG was still at 1.031, so I moved it to a warmer place and have had fermentation significantly pick up. The manny yeast has gone bezerk in the warmer temperatures. I have a second krausen, and expect it to be done in the next day or so. I'll let you now how it works out.
 
So I have finally Kegged and finished my experiment with Mac and Jacks yeast. In the experiment I harvested both Mac and Jacks and manny's yeast.

Let me tell you the Mac and Jacks yeast is clearly one of the defining factors with this beer. I had fairly low fermentation temperatures, and it stalled around 1.030, so I hit it with some more yeast which brought it down to 1.019. And as my wife pointed out, in comparison to other beers, it is clearly Mac and Jacks. The yeast is the defining character here. I was able to fairly mimic Mac and Jacks and in a test it was clear they were almost exactly the same.

Since the initial brew, someone who claims they know so Mac and Jacks has some wheat in it, so I have redone the experiment using the same grain bill with a pound of flaked wheat to see what will happen. I'm curious to see if it changes, but I expect the character to be very similar. The yeast is the key to this one.
 
So I have finally Kegged and finished my experiment with Mac and Jacks yeast. In the experiment I harvested both Mac and Jacks and manny's yeast.

Let me tell you the Mac and Jacks yeast is clearly one of the defining factors with this beer. I had fairly low fermentation temperatures, and it stalled around 1.030, so I hit it with some more yeast which brought it down to 1.019. And as my wife pointed out, in comparison to other beers, it is clearly Mac and Jacks. The yeast is the defining character here. I was able to fairly mimic Mac and Jacks and in a test it was clear they were almost exactly the same.

Since the initial brew, someone who claims they know so Mac and Jacks has some wheat in it, so I have redone the experiment using the same grain bill with a pound of flaked wheat to see what will happen. I'm curious to see if it changes, but I expect the character to be very similar. The yeast is the key to this one.

thats great news! congrats on a brew well done! Guess I will have to learn some yeast harvesting techniques for my next batch of this one!
 
does anybody know the strain of yeast that they use in the brewery? It's not too possible for me to go grab a growler to harvest yeast from, but I CAN go to my LHBS to get yeast!
 
does anybody know the strain of yeast that they use in the brewery? It's not too possible for me to go grab a growler to harvest yeast from, but I CAN go to my LHBS to get yeast!

I don't know what they use at the brewery (I wish I did) for sure.. It's probably some proprietary strain.. The BYO magazine clone for this brew calls for White Labs or Wyeast British Ale yeast..
 
From what I have heard it is a mutated version of american ale, but I have also heard thames valley, so who knows. It is a proprietary strain, and with my limited experience I haven't found any that replicate the flavor well.
 
brewed this today... time will tell. This is my first brew crushing my own grain... my eff. went up. Way up!

been at 68% with the brew store crush... ended up about 77% with my mill.


I will report back in a month...
 
brewed this today... time will tell. This is my first brew crushing my own grain... my eff. went up. Way up!

been at 68% with the brew store crush... ended up about 77% with my mill.


I will report back in a month...

A little late in coming, but congrats with the increased efficiency! I know what an awesome feeling that is to all the sudden start hitting your targets, after missing them over and over. How did this beer turn out?
 
Hi, I tried to make a partial mash based off of this receipe, with the following modifications:

2.5 lbs Gold LME

Partial Mash @148-160 degrees for 1 hr:
5 lbs Pale 2-row
1 lb Crystal 80L
0.5 lb CaraPils
1 lb Munich 10L

1 oz Chinook @ 45 min
0.5 oz Cascade @ 15 min
0.5 oz Cascade @ 5 min

Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale


Followed all the typical process I have been doing for partial mashing before, but after a long wait time (over a month since brew day) the beer just isn't tasting "good". Seems "cloying", or a "bad bitter" not the hop-bitterness type of flavour. Could the type of yeast I used make this strange taste?

Only other thing I'm guessing is the Chinook Hop package was opened (in the freezer with a paperclip) for about 8 months, but I doubt that was really the factor. All grain was freshly ground before mashing.

Suggestions on where my receipe may have gone wrong?

Thanks...

PS - posted in main forum at:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/help-recipe-200402/#post2334990
 
Hey Mac and Jacks fans-

I have a 5 gallon batch of this beer bottled right now.. It;s been 5 days and tonight I am gonna pop one and give it a try.. Cant wait! (Though I have a bad cold and I am afraid I wont be able to taste or smell anything).. I'll let ya know how it is..

Here is the recipe in my Beersmith
BeerSmith Recipe Printout - BeerSmith Brewing Software, Recipes, Blog, Wiki and Discussion Forum
Recipe: Mac and Jacks Clone
Brewer: Chris Hiles
Asst Brewer:
Style: American Amber Ale
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 6.41 gal
Estimated OG: 1.064 SG (I undershot, as usual 1.055)
Estimated FG: 1.106 (I hit 1.016)
Estimated Color: 12.9 SRM
Estimated IBU: 32.8 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
7 lbs 0.2 oz Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 60.87 %
2 lbs 0.1 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 17.39 %
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 8.70 %
1 lbs Munich Malt (10.0 SRM) Grain 8.70 %
8.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 4.35 %
1.00 oz Cascade [7.20 %] (Dry Hop 14 days) Hops -
1.00 oz Centennial [8.00 %] (60 min) Hops 26.4 IBU
0.23 oz Centennial [9.40 %] (60 min) Hops 6.4 IBU
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (5 min) (Aroma Hop-SteepHops -
1.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (0 min) (Aroma Hop-SteepHops -
1 Pkgs British Ale (Wyeast Labs #1098) Yeast-Ale


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 11.53 lb
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 3.60 gal of water at 165.9 F 154.0 F



I have a few variations from Ohio Dad's Recipe, but it's pretty close (I used two different pale malts because I had a few pounds of each laying around that I wanted to use up)

Looks like a good recipe of one of my favorite beers from when I used to live in Seattle area. I'm buying the grains today. Cheers all.
 
Salty's on Marine Drive used to have it on tap. Didn't the last time I was in town. I'll be in PDX in Feb, let me know where I can find it if it's still on tap. Otherwise i'll be a Rogue in Pearl and McMenamins Edgefield.
 
Old Town Pizza (MLK) still has it. I went and did some "research" just for reference.

Brew day tomorrow, so we'll hope for the best!
 
This stuff is delicious! It turned out slightly thinner than normal Mac and Jack's but I can probably attribute that to a few errors during the brew process.
 
I haven't seen it in awhile. Last place I saw it was Old Town Pizza, but it wasn't there last I checked.
Sorry, wasn't trying to be a smart ass but I was amazed you would have a hard time finding this in tap in Portland.. You can't go to any bar in Eastern Washington without MAc and Jacks on tap.. I figured in Portland it was a no-brainer.. Probably because there is more competition for tap space in Portland than in E. Washington... It sure is a fantastic beer though.. If you can find it in Nitro pour it's a little piece of heaven....
 
Alrighty, I'm going to try this as my first partial mash/BIAB recipe in a week or two. Back in 2003-2004 I went to a web developer conference in Seattle and I remember having pint after pint of a local amber beer with a lion on the label and African in the name.

So, after recently getting into brewing, I'm looking through my BYO Clone Magazine and I see a label with a lion on it called Mac and Jack's African Amber. I realize this has to be the beer I've been thinking about for 7+ years. Reading these posts about it being a local, draft only Seattle beer - I'm 100% this is what I had.

Can't wait to try this one out and thanks for all the info and help.
 
Alrighty, I'm going to try this as my first partial mash/BIAB recipe in a week or two. Back in 2003-2004 I went to a web developer conference in Seattle and I remember having pint after pint of a local amber beer with a lion on the label and African in the name.

So, after recently getting into brewing, I'm looking through my BYO Clone Magazine and I see a label with a lion on it called Mac and Jack's African Amber. I realize this has to be the beer I've been thinking about for 7+ years. Reading these posts about it being a local, draft only Seattle beer - I'm 100% this is what I had.

Can't wait to try this one out and thanks for all the info and help.

I have the grains and just need to brew it. I'm also BIAB and am sure it will be great. I brewed an Irish Red and Wiehenshephaner Wiess this weekend so it will be some several before I brew the Mac and Jacks. This is one of the best beers from the seattle area.....but not Portland. Cheers.
 
This is a clone of the famous Mac & Jack's African Amber. Adapted from a BYO recipe. Added a few more hops and a little more color. Anxious to see how this one turns out...

Zach & Jack's African Amber
Brew Type: All Grain Date: 1/21/2008
Style: American Amber Ale Brewer: Ohiodad
Batch Size: 5.50 gal Assistant Brewer:
Boil Volume: 7.00 gal Boil Time: 60 min
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 % Equipment: Brew Pot (7.5 gal) and Igloo Cooler (10 Gal)
Actual Efficiency: 77.09 %
Taste Rating (50 possible points): 35.0

Ingredients Amount Item Type % or IBU
8.50 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM) Grain 77.27 %
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 9.09 %
1.00 lb Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 9.09 %
0.50 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 4.55 %
1.00 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (60 min) Hops 29.2 IBU
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (5 min) Hops 3.2 IBU
1.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (0 min) Hops -
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (dry hop) 14 days
1 Pkgs SafAle English Ale (DCL Yeast #S-04) Yeast-Ale

Beer Profile Estimated Original Gravity: 1.054 SG (1.045-1.056 SG) Measured Original Gravity: 1.055 SG
Estimated Final Gravity: 1.014 SG (1.010-1.015 SG) Measured Final Gravity: 1.005 SG
Estimated Color: 12.0 SRM (11.0-18.0 SRM) Color [Color]
Bitterness: 32.4 IBU (20.0-40.0 IBU) Alpha Acid Units: 10.0 AAU
Estimated Alcohol by Volume: 5.16 % (4.50-5.70 %) Actual Alcohol by Volume: 6.52 %
Actual Calories: 240 cal/pint


Mash Profile Name: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge Mash Tun Weight: 9.00 lb
Mash Grain Weight: 11.00 lb Mash PH: 5.4 PH
Grain Temperature: 72.0 F Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F
Sparge Water: 5.13 gal Adjust Temp for Equipment: FALSE

Name Description Step Temp Step Time
Mash In Add 13.75 qt of water at 167.1 F 155.0 F 60 min


Mash Notes
Simple single infusion mash for use with most modern well modified grains (about 95% of the time).
Carbonation and Storage Carbonation Type: Corn Sugar Carbonation Volumes: 2.4 (2.3-2.8 vols)
Estimated Priming Weight: 4.2 oz Temperature at Bottling: 60.0 F
Primer Used: - Age for: 4.0 Weeks
Storage Temperature: 52.0 F

Oops.. removed the retired part!! A friend of mine who used to bring these back from the NW for me told me they stopped making this one.. Guess he was wrong! Sorry to cause the alarm!

Ok so how long do you primary this for???
 
Ok so how long do you primary this for???

oh and do you rack to secondary for the dry hop period?

I would primary for about three weeks, take some gravity readings until it's done.

You can dry hop in primary and rack right off that or dry hop in secondary. Dry hop for 5 to seven days or until you think it tastes right. Remember dry hopping is about aroma, and you'll pick up a bit more of that after the beer has aged a bit and carbed up. The never ending debate is about primary only or rack to secondary. Both work fine, personally I just use my primary for the entire time and dry hop in there as well. The beer I've brewed has turned out fine. I figure not racking to secondary is good because that's one less chance to pick up an infection.
 
I brewed this a couple weeks ago, just moved it to secondary for the dry hop.

I used some american ale II slurry from a local brewpup and to my surprise SG was sitting at 1.010 so I'm thinking it'll be a little drier than the original.

I used to live in PNW but haven't had this beer since, about 7 years now. Looking forward to it, sample was good.

Thanks for the recipe!!
 
I spent a half hour milling all the grains for this brew at the local craft brewery this afternoon. We are brewing this on Sunday and I think we have an ounce or two of whole leaf cascade hops available for dry hopping. Also, we don't have access to liquid yeast, so we are going to pitch safale 05. I'm looking forward to making it and will report back as it goes.
 
This is a clone of the famous Mac & Jack's African Amber. Adapted from a BYO recipe. Added a few more hops and a little more color. Anxious to see how this one turns out...

Zach & Jack's African Amber
Brew Type: All Grain Date: 1/21/2008
Style: American Amber Ale Brewer: Ohiodad
Batch Size: 5.50 gal Assistant Brewer:
Boil Volume: 7.00 gal Boil Time: 60 min
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 % Equipment: Brew Pot (7.5 gal) and Igloo Cooler (10 Gal)
Actual Efficiency: 77.09 %
Taste Rating (50 possible points): 35.0

Ingredients Amount Item Type % or IBU
8.50 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM) Grain 77.27 %
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 9.09 %
1.00 lb Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 9.09 %
0.50 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 4.55 %
1.00 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (60 min) Hops 29.2 IBU
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (5 min) Hops 3.2 IBU
1.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (0 min) Hops -
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (dry hop) 14 days
1 Pkgs SafAle English Ale (DCL Yeast #S-04) Yeast-Ale

Beer Profile Estimated Original Gravity: 1.054 SG (1.045-1.056 SG) Measured Original Gravity: 1.055 SG
Estimated Final Gravity: 1.014 SG (1.010-1.015 SG) Measured Final Gravity: 1.005 SG
Estimated Color: 12.0 SRM (11.0-18.0 SRM) Color [Color]
Bitterness: 32.4 IBU (20.0-40.0 IBU) Alpha Acid Units: 10.0 AAU
Estimated Alcohol by Volume: 5.16 % (4.50-5.70 %) Actual Alcohol by Volume: 6.52 %
Actual Calories: 240 cal/pint


Mash Profile Name: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge Mash Tun Weight: 9.00 lb
Mash Grain Weight: 11.00 lb Mash PH: 5.4 PH
Grain Temperature: 72.0 F Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F
Sparge Water: 5.13 gal Adjust Temp for Equipment: FALSE

Name Description Step Temp Step Time
Mash In Add 13.75 qt of water at 167.1 F 155.0 F 60 min


Mash Notes
Simple single infusion mash for use with most modern well modified grains (about 95% of the time).
Carbonation and Storage Carbonation Type: Corn Sugar Carbonation Volumes: 2.4 (2.3-2.8 vols)
Estimated Priming Weight: 4.2 oz Temperature at Bottling: 60.0 F
Primer Used: - Age for: 4.0 Weeks
Storage Temperature: 52.0 F

Oops.. removed the retired part!! A friend of mine who used to bring these back from the NW for me told me they stopped making this one.. Guess he was wrong! Sorry to cause the alarm!

ok so i made this recipe but i mashed at 153 degrees instead of 155 would this make it taste different because it tasted sweeter than a normal mac and jack? also would bottling at a higher temp make it sweeter? cuz my bottling room is set to 75.
 
Just cracked one of these tonight after 2 weeks in the bottle... couldn't wait any longer :D. All I can say is this is going to be mighty good in a couple of weeks. The only thing I changed from the original recipe was that I used 9lbs of Maris Otter for the base and the British Ale Wyeast 1098 as GroosBrewz suggested and I’m glad I did.

Thanks for recipe as this is one of my favorite brews.

As to the mash temp question. This was my 3rd AG batch so I have no idea but I'm some of the more knowledgeable people here do.
 
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