Appearance – Pours a pretty much jet black color with a big light brown head.  It also left some decent lacing on the glass.

Smell – Roasted malts and coffee pretty much are the main smell but you can pick up some dark fruit as well.

Taste – Really busy taste.  I get roasted malts, pomegranate, cocoa, dark chocolates and a little sweet caramel.  There is a bit of an alcohol burn to it but not a lot.

I had the other Holy Mackerel brew awhile ago and didn’t really like it much.  This one is quite a deal better.  The classification of American strong ale could be debated as I find a lot more Belgian influence in it.  The taste is very complex and was very enjoyable.  Made just about 2 hours north of me in Melbourne, this is a Florida brewed beer I can be proud of.

Overall Grade – B+

Appearance - Pours a  deep golden almost orange color with a very minimal bubbly head.

Smell - Strong fruit smells of pear and banana.  You can pick up the alcohol in the smell as well.

Taste - Sweet malts with that banana taste coming back again.  You get that alcohol taste there at the end.

Following up with another Florida brewed beer I went with Holy Mackerel Special Golden Ale.  This one was a little awkward for the style.  I expected a little more on the pear and apple tastes than the over powering taste of banana that I was picking up.  But I must admit that the label does say that it is best if cellared for 2 – 3 years.  I did not notice that until the bottle was opened.  Plus I don’t have proper cellar conditions in my house at this time.  Maybe I will pick up a bottle once I get moved into my new house and cellar it so that I may try it at it’s maturity.

Overall Grade – C-