Holy Mackerel Mack in Black

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

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.

Bottle sampled at Noog Four-0 5/31/08: Pours a mostly opaque black with a thin, wispy-lacing light tan head. Aroma of dry, roasty earthy dark chocolate malts and some toasty grainy notes. Body starts sweet and sugary with a hint of soy sauce and light fruits before a drier, thinner earthy dark chocolate finish. An ok imperial stout but needs more body and balance.

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.

Courtesy of northernbrews

Bottle : Big chocolate aroma with moderate pomegranate. It pours a dark brown with some orange hilights and a small tan head. The flavor starts with lots of chocolate. Lots of sugary sweetness in the middle with moderate pomegranate juice. There is some light roasted coffee in the finish. Medium bodied with light carbonation. A little too sweet for my preferences.

Pours black with some sort of purple hues. There was a head when I poured it, but I looked away for a second and it was gone. There is a lot of roast in the nose and there is the sweet tinge of pomegranate juice. The flavor is good. The juice fits in really well with the roast. Kind or oily on the palate and a dry finish.

Bottle. Pours a dark brown with a thick and creamy head. Aromas are not very full... a bit of chocolate and roasty malt, some fruit that is almost like blueberries more than pomegranate. and some cream. Pomegranate comes through very strongly in the flavor, however... kind of that bitter flavor that is almost like cranberries or something. Even though they are advertising that there is just a hint of it, it does quite a number covering the other flavors... You get hints of roasted malt and chocolate, but it’s more like they peek through around the edges than anything else. This is pretty decent for a fruit beer, but somewhat lacking for an imperial stout. Thanks Greg!

2008 bottle. Deep brown color with a tan head. Big dark pit fruit aromas plum, prune juice, tobacco with some vanilla. Smooth medium body. Good dark pit fruit flavors again of plum dark raisons black licorice spice with some drying dark malts to finish. Cloying watered down cough syrup taste to finish. Thanks Juice for this bottle.

12 oz bottle. Pours a clear black body with a small fizzy dark brown head that ran to a thin ring quickly. The nose is very roasty with a nice dark chocolate note and maybe a lightly sour note as well? Some dark fruits, but nothing I can peg as pomegranate. There is some pomegranate flavor here, especially on the back end, but it’s still mostly roast, burnt malt, and dark fruits. No noticeable alcohol. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with some slight clinginess that coats the mouth well and leaves a long lingering finish. OK, but not a stand-out or something I would seek out again.