Smoke & Dagger Black Lager

Review Date 8/14/2021  By John Staradumsky

  Style: Schwarzbier   Brewery: Jack's Abby   Country: USA   State: Massachusetts   $ Per OZ: $.16 (B)   ABV: 5.6%

Here’s the thing about Smoke & Dagger Black Lager by Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers of Framingham, Massachusetts: Is it a Schwarzbier, or is it a Rauchbier? Maybe it’s both; I think it’s both. Would that make it a Schwarzrauchbier, or a Rauchscwharzbier? I don’t even want to hazard a guess, but for purposes of style I think I will peg it as a Schwarzbier, since Jack’s Abby calls it a black lager. That is smoked, of course.

From the can label:

Cloaked in Mystery, this Black Lager is brewed with traditional old-world ingredients and cutting edge lagering techniques. The perfect balance between old and new.

Jack’s Abby Smoke & Dagger Black Lager has an alcohol content of 5.6% by volume with 25 IBUs. Total Wine sells it for $10.49 a 4-pack of pint cans, a good deal I think these days. Especially for a Schwarzrauchbier. How often do you see those on store shelves?

Jack’s Abby Smoke & Dagger Black Lager pours to a dark black (but not opaque) color with a thick creamy tan head and a nose of smoke and roasted malts. Taking a sip, the beer is medium in body, dry roasty with hints of licorice and chocolate. Hickory smoke pokes through, medium to slightly more and lingers into the dry roasty finish.

A really, really nice beer that I will surely be drinking again (in fact, I am almost out of them, and need to find more).

Glad I tried it?  T

Would I rebuy it??