Left Hand Brewing Company Black Jack Porter

Brewery: Left Hand Brewing Company
Location: Longmont, CO
Style: Porter
Brewery Website
Rating: B

Today’s tasting is the Black Jack Porter from Left Hand Brewing. The Black Jack Porter is a deep mahogany brown color (bordering on ebony). If takes a firm pour to get a modest-sized, fine-bubbled head that is a nut-brown color. The nose detects roasted notes, some caramel and faint chocolate aromas.

The palate finds roasted malt notes up front. The Black Jack Porter is quite dry. There is some moderate hops bitterness, but without much hops flavor to speak of. There is a bit of a mineral water note. Some bitterness from the roasted malt is here as well. I also detect something akin to grilled or roasted corn. There are also some highlights of brut champagne as well as some aged cheddar/gouda. The Black Jack Porter is medium-bodied with a touch of astringency and some fine, prickly carbonation. The finish has dry, toasted malt notes with some mineral and bitter notes (the latter similar to unsweetened chocolate).

The Black Jack Porter has some very nice complexity. I did find it to be a bit too dry for my tastes. I would also like to see a bit more hoppiness for balance. All-in-all, this is a decent porter. It is not particularly suited to my tastes, but it is still worth checking out if you are a fan of dry porters.

Left Hand Brewing Company 400 Pound Monkey

Brewery: Left Hand Brewing Company
Location: Longmont, CO
Style: IPA
Brewery Website
Rating: A

Today we get the monkey off our back and into our glass. A 400 pound monkey to be exact. Left Hand Brewing's English-style IPA pours up a deep gold color with a very short white head. The nose has a whiff of "Eurolager" along with some spice and fruity hops.

On the palate the grainy malt hits at the same time as the hops.  The hops here have a great spiciness to them along with a touch of pine and some herbal notes as well. In addition, there is a solid bitter bite from the hops. The malt has pretzel and pasta dough components to its side of the flavor profile. There are also some woody notes and a touch of alcohol. A hint of sweetness presents as a malt syrup/honeyed flavor. The 400 Pound Monkey is medium bodied with some mouth-coating astringency. The finish has lingering grains and some faint oakiness, but the dominant note is spice and piny hops.

Left Hand Brewery has a real winner on their hands with their 400 lb Monkey. This is a refreshing change from the typical west coast Cascade-fest IPA. There is a nice bit of malt here, but the hops really take the center stage. I really love the unique spice and pine hop character this beer. I can't recommend this enough to IPA fans who are looking for a bit of a break from the same old thing.

Left Hand Brewing Company Polestar Pilsner

Brewery: Left Hand Brewing Company
Location: Longmont, CO
Style: Pilsner
Brewery Website
Rating: A-

Today's beer tasting is the Polestar Pilsner from Colorado's Left Hand Brewing Company. The Polestar Pilsner is golden yellow/straw in color with a bubbly, clumpy white head. The nose has notes of citrus, eurolager and pine. I also detected a slight skunky aroma, but the bottle I sampled was about 6 months old so that may explain the skunkiness.

On the palate the Polestar Pilsner has a maltiness with notes of both wheaty and lagery notes. There is a mild-to-moderate bitter kick from the hops along with notes of pine and citrus. Some mineral water flavor is present on the palate as well. The finish has lingering lager maltiness along with some faint citrus hops. The Polestar Pilsner has some bigger malt and hops flavors than the typical Euro-style pilsner and it has a crisp, medium body that is just enough to hold up to them without being heavy.

The Polestar Pilsner has a rich European-style lager/pilsner flavor, along with a fair amount of hoppiness. This is one of the better American takes on a European pilsner that I've tried. The Polestar Pilsner is well worth checking out.