Mackeson Triple XXX Stout
Carib Brewery Limited

now brewed in the united states - not the same quality this wad one of my top 10 beers - but now it just tastes like a mild milk stout

Carib Brewery USA "Mackeson Triple XXX Stout"
12 fl. oz. brown glass bottle coded "11:53 22189" and sampled on 01 March 2023
$1.49 @ Total Wine & More, Wilmington, DE

Notes via stream of consciousness: So this is being brewed in the U.S. again? I know that Boston Beer had the brand for a while but now it's back, brewed in Cape Canaveral, FL. It's an opaque black beneath a short head of tan foam. The aroma is sweetish with golden caramel, sweetened cocoa powder, and a little bit of floral and fruity Belgian chocolate. On to the taste... it's as the aroma suggests it will be. The lactose is clear in the flavor, and I guess the texture, and it's sweet but not too sweet. That's due to the malts and limited bitterness rather than the lactose as lactose is not a very sweet sugar at all; on a scale of 0 to 100 it ranks a 15. It's not really roasty although there is a suggestion of it, and a hint of black licorice. It's not that chocolatey either with a mild milk chocolate note, and really more like cocoa powder. There's some golden caramel, and a bit of an Ovaltine flavor as well. It finishes surprisingly short and dries quickly with just some mild caramel and cocoa lingering for a moment. As you might expect there are no real hop flavors although there is some mild leafy and earthy character in the finish. In the mouth it's just medium bodied towards the higher end but it does have some creaminess to it. A moderate and fine-bubbled carbonation helps with that. It's interesting how beers will change given where they're brewed. I think this is a little bit better than when the Boston Beer Co. was brewing it, but not nearly as good as it was when it was coming from England, and that's not just my imagination or a foggy memory talking.
Review #8,551

Carib Brewing is in Trinidad and Tobago but my bottle was brewed in Cape Canaveral Florida. Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a pint glass, this beer is a dense black color with no light coming through. The medium size tan, foamy head offers good retention and there are thin bands of lacing on the glass. Aroma and taste are toasted malt, lactose and a little coffee. This beer is slightly sweet as well. Mouthfeel is light, smooth with no alcohol presence. It goes down real easy and has enough flavor to keep it interesting. A very good session beer and a good choice for a stout on a warm day.

 

275 ml bottle, bought in Barbados by a friend. Brewed in Trinidad & Tobago. ABV is 4.9%. Black colour, large tan head. Sweetish aroma of lactose and moderately roasted malts, hints of sweetened mild coffee, liquorice and chocolate. Smooth mouthfeel. Medium sweet flavour, notes of lactose, roasted malts and coffee, roasty and hoppy bitterness in the finish.

(12 oz bottle, code 90122 2842028B, brewed by Florida Beer Co. Cape Canaveral, FL, USA; purchased single bottle off shelf at Bella Vista... poured into a fat tulip)

L: deep, dark brown liquid; tall (as if from infection?) coffee ice cream-colored foam, sudsy sponge... craggy lacing all over; messy, bubbly collar and cap coverage... much to capture attention

S: cocoa-coated black licorice, coffee-ground roasty overtone, hints of nutty or almost charred grain; background essence of molasses, hint of earthy leather... little apparent booze; overall nice intensity and depth, just a bit indistinct

T: huh... apparent enhanced intensity of sweetness upon first sip, with a strong roasted barley-infused chocolate syrup flavor, but not quite sugary-sweet in the aftertaste... a couple sips in, and the roasted grain is humming up front, with a clipped molasses and caramel sweetness building and filling in the background of the aftertaste... basic sweet stout character; again, has depth, but no unique fermentation and/or adjunct (sugar) character

F: semi-silky viscosity, but not quite rounded in its body or residual outflow... thankfully not that thick or chewy; nice mid-range feel; little bit of acidic toast and sudsy sizzle on the back end, keeping the palate awake

O: single bottles were on clearance sale for $1.29, and I can't recall having ever seen this in the store, so an easy buy... thought this would be a crap shoot, and luckily it turned out to be decent, grew on me... wouldn't mistake this for a UK import, but it's flavorful enough that if a local bottle shop had it available on the regular (at that price), I'd buy it weekly (1649)

Deep black pour with dark tan head. Coffee and sweet chocolate notes on the nose. Flavour follows suit and sweetness is subtle. Finishes with a leathery note

 

 

 

Oh man I remember how I used to get those beer a day calendars in the 90s, and I would take them and make mixed tapes (cassettes) with those as the album covers. So a mix album tape would be called "Mackeson XXX" for instance. I still have that one. Seriously. So basically this is an older beer that has been around since/before cassette tapes.

Pours black and not overly thick. Leans on the thinner side of stouts, which I guess could be obvious if you look at the abv just below 5%. Aroma is roast, don't find lactose on this one.

Taste, wow, seems so much more like a mild export stout. Maybe not so much more, but at least equal parts. I guess I get a little bit of sweetness on the backend of the mouth feel, alternating between cola and stout. No off flavors or anything, just a mild middle of the road average stout pretty much. Would suggest to those who want lighter affair in their dark beer game.

Generous amber head with an opaque black body
Aromas of toffee, maple syrup, and oak
Strong start that quickly dissipates in the mouth leaving a slight but enduring acrid aftertaste
Medium to high sweetness
Nice beer for a night with friends in a cabin with a fireplace.

 

Sweet smooth notes of dark bread and lactose sugar. A bit of plum comes through as well, but other drinkers might parse the dark fruit tone differently.

High C (3.00) / AVERAGE

***
04/28/17: had to pick this up again when I saw it at $9 per six pack in New York with a year of age on it.

"Triple stout." "Milk stout." 4.90% ABV.

Imported by DCI Miami Inc. 330ml brown glass bottle with a branded red pry-off crown cap.

Brown bread. Coke (both the fuel and the soda). Prune/date/dark fruit. Dark malt sweetness. Chocolate malt.

Mouthfeel is smooth, wet, medium-bodied, and aptly carbonated. Could be softer and silkier.

Drinkable but lacking in terms of depth of flavour and intricacy. It doesn't beat widely available favourites like Left Hand Milk Stout, but it's approachable fare for what it is and makes me eager to try more stouts from Carib. I think it's more shallow for having been aged, but it's still enjoyable and well worth trying once.

C- / BELOW AVERAGE

Black pour with tan foam; good clarity under decent cap; moderate lacing. Light roast malt and burnt milk nose. Touch of sugary milk and malt flavors. Slightly creamy lite mouthfeel; moderate minus carbonation. A lite, somewhat creamy milk stout - ok.

 

 

 

 

I can still hear my landlord in Guyana now: "Hey buhye (boy), me gon go up on de road and trink five Mackeson. Let's go!" Good way to get yourself a nice day drunk with your favorite landlord. This is a pretty solid stout. Smooth, rich, a bit sweet, a little bit bitter but hardly at all, and easy to drink. A bit of chocolate flavor, some nice roasted malts, and a clean texture that's not too thick, because who would want to drink Guinness in the Caribbean coastal heat?

One of my top three for sure. The sweetness is not overpowering, but nice and mellow, not too sharp like its U.K.brewed brethren.

 

 

 

Bottle purchased at Beers of the World in Henrietta, NY.

This one pours a dark black, with a half inch foamy head, and a good amount of spidery lacing.

This one smells like milk chocolate, lactose, and a bit of caramel.

This is one of the classic milk stouts, and it shows. It isn't super bold, but it's still tasty, with sweet milk chocolate and lactose. Not a whole lot of roasted malt and grain here, which would have been the key to making this a legendary brew.

This is light bodied, not thin, but light on the palate, with a very creamy mouthfeel. Very drinkable.

A good but not great milk stout.

For me, this is the holy grail of sweet stouts, my absolute favorite style of beer. I've searched high-&-low--and will continue the quest--but have yet to find anything that surpases its taste for me. If you like lacing, gigantic head, and smooth super sweet stout, look no further. As to whether InBev/Carib is doing the same justice with it that Whitbread did is debatable; Some have suggested the taste has changed with the various incarnations. I'm just happy to have it around no matter who's brewing it. Availability still seemingly a challenge however.

 

 

 

 

Interesting import from the Caribbean. Inexpensive and drinkable but not great. Won't buy it again.