Holy Mackerel Mack in Black

Brewed by Florida Beer Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Melbourne, Florida USA

BOTTLE: jet black pour, chocolate and fruit on the nose. Taste is roast, coffee, fruit, very creamy, pretty awesome.

Nice tan frothy head. Opaque black body. Aroma is not huge, but is clean mostly being of chocolate malts. Very thin body more resembling a lager than a stout, and the label calls it an imperial black ale. I’m not picking up the pomegranate juice, but that’s probably because of the darker malts present. Perhaps a little tartness in the aftertaste and finish. If it were available here in the SF Bay Area I’d probably be up to buying it again depending on what type of food I was pairing it with.

Super Dark with minimal lighter fluffy head. Aroma is sweet and roasty with hints of fruit. Taste is sweet and creamy and I wouldn’t pick out pom right away but it is slightly tart coming through the coffee. Pretty good overall.

Black color with no head. Strong aroma of chocolate and fruit. More of both of those in the flavor. I wouldn’t say it is distinctly a pomegranate quality, but certainly fruity. Light roasted malt.

My Bottom Line:
Sustained roastiness surrounds this strong ale’s inner fruitiness, as dark chocolate and a suave mouthfeel provide many enjoyable sips.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A sheet of foam tops the pitch blackness.
-I would never have said there was any kind of fruit juice added to this, even though there is an obvious fruity slant to it. This fruitiness could just as easily have come from the yeast.
-The roasted malts offer good bitterness.
-The smooth bubbling makes this quite drinkable for its strength.
-Light smoke and coffee notes round out the pleasant malt profile.

Bottle.

opaque brown with a quickly dissipating reddish head. chocolate aroma with a faint pomegranate character and the tiniest hint of smoke. Thick feeling body with strong chocolate and smoke flavors with bits of pomegranate in there.

Thin light tan head of fine bubbles. Recedes quickly. Rich malty aroma with lots of licorice, smoked grains, molasses and sweet caramel. Quite inticing aroma. Very dark brown in color. Sweet and roasty flavor. Some vinuous notes and a bit of zip in the flavor. Bit of smoke, molasses and fruit. Must be the strange addition of the pomegranite juice that gives it that zip. Bit of bitterness also. Finishes oily and roasty. A pretty good "imperial black ale".

Deep chocolate aroma with a nice full mouthfeel. The finish and late palate really give that sweet pommegranite. Great balance all thorugh. Had it at the Tampa Beer Festival.