Manny's vs Mack & Jack's

In my quest to find the perfect Pale Ale or at least brew the perfect Pale ale I have had a lot of time to think of Manny's and Mac & Jack's African Amber. Now I know that Mack & Jack's isn't a Pale Ale but they were once brewed by the same brew master. When I first moved to the Seattle area I fell in love with Mack and Jack's. I thought it was a flavorful full body beer with the perfect balance of malt and hops and a bit on the sweet side which I tend to like. Also the fact that it was an unfiltered beer appealed to me. I tend to like unfilitered beers becaue you can obtain more of the yeast flavor which really has a big impact on beer flavor. I can’t remember when I first tasted a Manny’s but when I did it instantly became my new favorite beer on tap. It is a more refined version of Mack & Jack’s. Now I know they are two different styles but there are several distinct characteristics to the beers. They are both unfiltered, they both have a sweet profile to them which can be somewhat accredited to the yeast. They also both have strong malt profiles. Manny’s stand apart from its predecessor with a strong hop aroma and flavor pallete. It is a very well balanced beer.
Unfortunately both of these beers are only available at your favorite bar or the brewery. This led me to adopt my own recipe for a similar beer profile with the same characteristics. I brewed an all grain batch with a friend several weeks ago and kegged it last night. The beer is still young but had a clean fresh flavor. Time will tell how this will turn out. please stay tuned for more on this.