Holy Mackerel Special Golden Ale

Brewed by Florida Beer Company
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Melbourne, Florida USA

On tap at the Ye Olde Falconers pub in Fort Lauderdale. Poured a hazy, deep gold color with a thin white head. The aroma was spice and bread, with malt notes present. The flavor was banana, cloves, candied sugar and some other fruits that are too muddled to make out. This tasted more to me like a cross between an imperial lager and a hefeweizen. Ok brew, but a little ill conceived.

Bottle. Nose-macroness, Imperial Lager. Taste-artificial sweetener, Dr. Pepper, sweet husky corn, sweet Chiclets, banana, cinnamon. Overall cloyingly sweet and annoying.

2008 Bottle Vintage; Sampled January 2009
A solid pour into my 25cl tulip glass produces a two-finger thick, pale tan colored head. The beer is a light amber hue that shows a deep gold, brilliantly clear hue when held up to the light. The aroma smells of cracker like grain, honey-like malt, a touch of spiciness and it has a backdrop of fruitiness to it. I am able to isolate notes of pear, ripening melon, white pepper, clove, a touch of young ginger, green apple towards the end and crushed pale grain. As the beer warms the clove notes become more noticeable and in fact dominant. The aroma is not bad, not incredibly interesting, but definitely solid.

Sweet tasting up front with a bit of golden raisin flavor to it (as well as a touch of herbal honey character). This morphs into a mix of green apple and ripe pear that lingers on in the finish. The carbonation provides a bit of texture and carries / conveys some spicy esters and phenolics as well as providing a peppery bite. The spicy notes don’t quite balance the sweetness, but do provide flavors of white pepper, lingering clove and a touch of herbal spiciness (fennel and nettle perhaps). In addition to the sweetness the malt character also provides a subtle cracker like grain note towards the finish that tends to give this an almost chewy finish. This beer does have some heft to it, I wouldn’t quite call it heavy, but it has a certain viscousness and body that makes it amenable to sipping.

The sweet fruit notes are definitely the most dominant flavors here, but there is a nice spiciness that doesn’t quite reach the level that I would like to see for balancing purposes. This is a solid Belgian styled Golden Ale, but it could use a boost of fermentation complexity and definitely would benefit from a lower (drier) final gravity. Still this is an enjoyable brew and it is easily the best thing I have had out of the Florida Beer Company so far.

This beer poured a dirty-orange color with little head that dissipated quickly leaving a thin film at the top of the beer. Aroma is very fruity, but which kind of fruits is hard to nail down; I think maybe pear. The belgian yeast is also detectable. Mouthfeel is a little thin. It does hide the the 8.5% abv very well. Drinkability is okay, but taste is sort of one-dimensional sweetness. Decent, nothing more.

12oz bottle from GodofThunder pours medium golden color with alot of carbonation but very little head. Fruity and bread-like aroma. Very sweet body with some syrup. Apricots, cherry and some bubble gum. Slightly dry at the end. Some wheat flavors too. A bit too thick for me and heavy.

Aroma: Complex fruity aroma with hints of pear Appearance: Deep Orange/Golden in color with minimum head and lacing Flavor: Light fruitiness with hints of pear and apples, light alcohol flavor in after taste. Mouth feel: Minimum body Overall Impression: 8.5% ABV. Refreshing, drinkable, I could easily have more than one in sitting. Though the over all flavor is subtle, if you are looking for beer with bold flavor, this is not your beer.

Comes out of the tap a beautiful clear golden with a crisp, malty, somewhat fruity aroma that has a hint of honey - very inviting. Flavor is crisp and fruity - mainly of pear - and has a sharp alcohol bite and a whisper of honey sweetness. Finish is smooth and satisfying.

Bottle vintage 2008 courtesy of Butters on 08/12/2008. Slightly hazy golden body with a small creamy off-white head. Sweet candi sugar and floral hops, some citrus hints. Very sweet candi sugar and caramel flavor, more light floral hops and faint citrus hints hiding behind the sugar. Medium full body with moderate carbonation. With some age, this may be outstanding after the sugar smooths out.