Lervig is a cool brewery, they make cracking collaborations and even better beer. As part of my beer haul from Lowcostbeer.com, this beer is something I was keen to try. Having already tried Lervig’s Special Pilsner and Lucky Jack, I think quite highly of Lervig. During this review of Lucky Jack Grapefruit American Pale Ale, I will cover the history of Lervig and this beer, the pour, the taste and aroma and finally, my verdict. Cheers
The history of this Norwegian beer producer
Lerving was founded in 2003 by Kristoffer Stensrud in Stavenger, Norway. Lervig was created in response to Tou Brewery being bought and moving to Tromsø. Lervig was created out of loss felt by locals in Stavenger. At first, the brewery started out as brewing pilsners, however this all changed when American Mike Murphy was brought in as head brewer. This marked a turning point in the brewery as they began to focus more closely on craft beer which includes IPAs and barrel aging. In 2018, 50% of Lervig was purchased by US investment fund, Orkila Capital.
Lervig is credited as Norway’s largest independent small scale brewery and they produce around 2 million litres per year. This is exported to 30+ countries worldwide. The ethos at Lervig is quality over quantity and this has seen them named in the Top 100 breweries in the world in two occasions by RateBeer.
Lucky Jack is a range by Lervig. It is an American Pale Ale brewed using Amarillo, Chinook and Citra hops, along with pilsner and caramel malts. The Grapefruit variant contains grapefruit juice and peel extract which would intensify the citrus flavour. The ABV of this beer 4.7%. The grapefruit variant is a summer style beer for Lervig and it dates back to at least 2016.
A golden caramel pour
When poured, you can instantly notice the hazy orange colour, which reminds me almost of caramel. It produces a moderate head and retains it somewhat, leaving a small amount of lacing around the glass as you consume it. The grapefruit Lucky Jack is lively and the bubbles rise steadily which gives it the refreshing look. Overall, An inviting looking beer.
A grapefruit orientated taste and aroma
To start off, the aroma of Lervig Lucky Jack Grapefruit American Pale Ale offers a bright citrus punch which is of course led by the grapefruit. Beneath this, tropical and floral hop notes came through as typically Citra and Amarillo give notes of orange and mango. To add to this, there is notes of caramel and biscuit like malt.
When tasting this APA you will notice a distinct bitter juice taste mainly from the grapefruit. This has a balanced softness and sharp citrus taste mid palate. There is a bitterness which I noticed orange and tropical notes. The finish is clean and crisp. This is medium bodied in my opinion. This is a nice tasting ale and quite session-able in my opinion.
Time for my verdict
To conclude this review, I feel this a great beer if you want something easy to drink and full of flavour. This is a juicy American Pale Ale which doesn’t disappoint. It is medium bodied and very session-able. The hops used give the beer a serious depth of flavour and is overall representative of the quality that Lervig usually present. Overall, I would rate this 4 out of 5. A very nice beer.
Where I purchased this beer from
I ordered this from the legends at Lowcostbeer.com. I couldn’t recommend them enough. I had an issue with the courier DHL and Daniel was so so helpful. This issue was resolved in a timely manner and I could not fault them. Top notch service and I am looking forward to my next order with them. I think I paid £2 for the can.
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