The Mack House

 

 

 

 

 

When it comes to craft beer in South Florida it can be totally hit or miss. The guys at the Mack House are extremely knowledgeable about the scene and offer a great selection of in-house nano-brews that is second to none. Once they start bottling their in-house brews the sky is the limit!

Love this little hole in the wall, I don't go a frequently as I would like, but every time I do its fun. The beer is very good, lots of special stuff not many people know about my only knock is it needs to be bigger, can get crowded and it's not spacious enough to do the special releases. Got check it out if you are in the area!

 

 

A big sign with the word brewery attracted me here. I had no idea this was the people that make holy mackerel.

This brewery is located in a shopping strip, among some restaurants and other bars. The line up is pretty cool, with some unusual brews. Beer is cheaper than at other bars. The place is a bit divey, and the clientele is interesting.

 

I've hung out at the Mack House 3 or 4 times and it's always a good experience. They have the beers they make on site on tap, usually a guest tap or two of a local or regional brewery, and a decent bottle list. The bartenders are nice and will let you sample a few. For example, my wife went with me and she wasn't sure what she'd like so she tried a couple and settled on their House Hefe. They also had an Andouille Brown Ale that I sipped on, which was an interesting beer that used a lot of the same spices used to season the sausage. I also had a Belgian style that was made with Florida oranges. They don't amaze with their beers but pretty much everything is solid to above average. As for the guest taps, one time I had Wynwood Pops Porter there and another time I saw they had one of the Terrapin Side Project beers (Pineapple Helles), so they get good stuff.

Prices are cheap (around $5 or $6 per beer) and they have couches and video games and it's a chill atmosphere. It's in a strip mall and near Nova Southeastern University, so it's somewhat of a younger crowd that hangs out there but a mix of all ages as well.

South Florida is such a contradiction in beer culture, there are several places that cash in on the beer scene but there are a few GEMs that get beer cultures and are beer geeks themselves.

Mack house is that kind of place one of a scant few places that gets the beer person. Mack House is the nano brewery outlet for the Holy Mackerel brand. They are constantly doing experimental beers here. My last visit there was a coffee stout that was very good and they also had a braggot on tap as well.

Service is friendly and attentive feels more like a friends house (albeit a friend that knows their beer) than high end beer bar. I really like the feel and the friendliness of the service.

Selection is the Mack House brews plus a few cans of other Florida beers to try as wellGo there for the MAck House stuff and the GREAT vibe.

Highly recommended for s top in if you are in the area, it is about 15 minutes from Fort Lauderdale airport

This place was once known as Stage 84, and I believe it still retains a few mementos from it's past life. Not being from the area, I don't know what Stage 84 was like, so I can't compare the two, but considering its replacement--the Mack House--is a nanobrewery, I'd say that's an improvement. From what I understand, the Mack House is a nano spin-off of Holy Mackerel / Gordash Brewing.

This was our first stop in FL, and we went pretty much right off the plane to meet up for a bottle share, which the owner so graciously allowed. The place is small, but they use the space well. I'm guessing not too many people know about it yet, because it was pretty dead. There's a small bar that seats I guess between 5-10 people, several tables, and a small stage, where bands presumably still play. It's divey, but it's got its own charm, and I liked it.

Although we were mainly there for the bottle share, I did sample some of the house brews, all of which were good and interesting. Seems like the brewer knows what he's doing, is in touch with the beer scene, and is using the Mack House as an experimental outlet. I mean a 10% honey braggot? Sure, why not? Apart from the house brews, of which there were maybe 5 or so, there was also a decent selection of local guest taps, with enough variety to keep you happy.

As I implied, service was fine, our host was generous, and the people knew their business. Prices were friendly. They don't have food here, at least not yet, but you are allowed to bring outside food or order from local places. There's a pizza place in the same strip mall.

I think this is a place to keep an eye on. If I lived in the area, I'd be a frequenting customer.