Holy Mackerel Mack in Black

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

Sampled at Bockyhorsey’s Bocky Bash on 7-5-08. Deep black pour with a ring of tan head. Smoky aroma of coffee, chocolate, fruit and alcohol. Coffe and chocolate dominate the flavor, with the fruitiness coming through on the finish. A little thin on the palate. Overall very good. My first from Florida! SWEET!

Draught at Oldsmar Tap House. Oily black body, medium sized tan head. Good retention and some decent lacing. Nose of smoke, tobacco leaves, fruit, chocolate and dark malts. Interesting. Flavor is similar, chocolate and smoke up front. I can’t really identify the pomegranate here, all I get is a general fruity note in the aroma and less so in the flavor. Reminds me a bit of Dunedin’s Biere de Cafe, but obviously with much less coffee. Finish is medium length, chocolate and malts, then some fruitiness and more smoky tones. Medium bodied, would have liked a little more heft, but can’t complain at 8%, Overall an interesting, fine effort.

Bottle from daknole. The aroma was chocolate and roasted malt. Flavor is chocolate, malt, coffee, with a little bit of a tangy sweetness which I guess is the pomegranate. A little thinner than what I would look for in an impy, but not bad.

Bottle in trade from daknole, thanks! Consumption from a shaker- poured non transparent heavily used motor oil from a tractor trailer black, upper end low carbonation of tiny bubbles. Aroma of coffee, dark bakers chocolate, dark toasted wheat bread, and dark fruit. Hits the mouth with a wide body, malt is roasted heavily just from the first taste, hard coffee taste, mild sweetness on the end. A little out of balance, but still good and drinkable.

Bottles courtesy of theisti and daknole. Thanks for the bottles, guys. Pours jet black with a finger of tan head which collapses to a ring clinging to the edge of the snifter and surrounding a thin, shifting island of tiny bubbles atop an oily surface. The nose is a blend of sweet, fruity, roasty and lightly boozy notes: pomegranate, dark roasted malt, chocolate, coffee, a touch of ash and a bit of alcohol which may be more a result of my associating the smell of pomegranates with pomegranate martinis than actual alcohol on the nose. Medium to full-bodied and oily slick with just the finest carbonation and an almost vinous mouthfeel, the palate concludes in a roasted, bitter and somewhat sour finish. The flavor is a blend of coffee, tart/dark fruit, chocolate and roasted malt that concludes in at drying, sour, bitter roasted finish. A tad disjointed, this is a bit of an "odd bird", but I do have to give them credit for venturing outside the proverbial box.

[Bottle, generously gifted to me by daknole] Pours dark brown with a good sized tan head that lingers quite nicely. The aroma is very unusual. The predominant aromas are roasted malt, barley, and pomegranate (which I will admit I probably wouldn’t have identified had it not been on the bottle), with cocoa and dark chocolate also present. Taste is slightly tart with a little bitterness. The pomegranate is detectable, but much more subdued as the barley dominates. I also noticed a hint of banana at the end of the glass. Medium-thin mouthfeel with a good roasted malt and barley finish. Not a bad beer by any means, but the taste was lacking just a little. Still, a very interesting beer that I’m glad to have tried--thanks again, daknole!

bottle from TBS! thanks. very smooth, rich and nice. some coffee. booze is well hidden. some fruit. neat stuff

Deep dark brown-black with decent tan head that dissipates fast. Rich roasty aroma, with earth, cola, coffee, and cheerful red grape fruitiness and roosty spice. Smooth mouthfeel, soft, decent carbonation levels. Unique and fun panoply of flavors. lots of fruit tartness on the sides of the tongue and back of the palate. A lot like chocolate-covered fruits. Long-lingering roasted malt. Strange but amusing combination of flavors, fun and pleasant.