Holy Mackerel Mack in Black

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

Pours a black color with hardly any head at all. Aroma is of black patent malts, a bit of roastiness, and some fruit. Flavor is a weak watery roasted flavor with that hint of pomegranite in there. This is a perfect example of ho not very good beers get good ratings because they are a stout.

Bottle thanks to bitbucket. Black pour with no head. Aroma of capuccino, chocolate, maybe licorice. Flavor is similar, roasted at first, but then sweeter malt and the pomegranite juice take over. The juice sort of balances the roast. I think i like it, but i am not sure.

12 oz bottle
Thanks to daknole for sending this a few months ago in a trade. Now that the site appears to be back I can finally enter my belated rating. This was a decent experiment with blending stout and fruit but overall I think the novelty wears off about halfway through. The last six ounces were pretty boring; this was an average imperial stout at best.

Aroma / Appearance - The short lived tannish head served as garnish for the black oily body underneath. A sticky film of lacing made it evident this was not a low alcohol release. The nose was a blend of smoky dark chocolate, raisins, pomegranates and malt. A oily texture held everything together.

Flavor / Palate - The mouthfeel was much more carbonated than I was expecting. Fruity and fluid it washed across the tongue leaving a trail of chocolate, smoke, black coffee, and plum. The warmth of the ABV comes out in the finish which also serves to moisten the back of the throat. A unique twist on the typical imperial stout I’m still not sold that this is anything more than a one trick pony. Nonetheless I would probably give it a try again if I were in the area and it was on tap.

From WBF in Raleigh, but resampled later at a more sober time and place. The idea for this beer sound admittedly not so attractive... chocolate barley, Belgian yeast, and pomegranate juice??? Very dark pour with small tan head. Roasty chocolate and coffee. Some sweetness from the fruit, I guess. A little sour on the nose, but in a fruity more than oaky way (that would be the pomegranate). Odd thin, watery mouthfeel with some acidity from the fruit, I guess, that feels weird in a dark brew; but pretty good overall. Definitely better than it sounded on paper, and props for the interesting effort.

Draught at WBF in Raleigh. Black pour, medium tan head, with some lacing. Aroma is typical--chocolate, coffee. Flavor is not that good, grainy, with a pomegranate fruitiness that really detracts from the flavor. ReRate--In bottle. Tastes much better. Aroma has pomegranate, lactose, coffee, sucrose, bitter chocolate, slight alcohol, and yeast. Flavor is similar, bittersweet, slightly tangy. Delicious.

This is one of the best Imp. Stouts I think I have ever had. It ranks up there with DFH World Wide Stout, but much more reasonable. I was a bit skeptic when I read the pomegranate info, but it was excellent. It has a lot of chocolate and coffee in the aroma, after it pours a dark chocolate color with a tiny off-white head. At first sip it has a great milk-chocolate and slight-coffee flavor, but instead of any hop bitterness I was left with a mellow, slightly fruity taste at the end. It has a lot of complex flavors with only a splinter of fruit. Incredible Beer!

Bottle poured into a tulip. Pours dark, dark brown with ruby hints around the edges and with a small tan head that recedes quickly to a ring leaving no lacing. The smell is fairly sweet and with chocolate up front and hints of dark fruits and toasted grains. The taste follows the aroma with sweet chocolate and grains up front before the sweetness of the dark fruits takes over in the middle. The mouthfeel is very, very smooth and slick. This is a decent beer and fairly hard to categorize. Much better than the Special Golden for me.

2008 Bottle. Black with a tan head that settles to a ring and left light lace. Subdued aromas of milk chocolate and roasted malts. The flavor stands out more with chocolate, coffee, roast, and nut. Medium to full body, creamy texture, and a roasty aftertaste.