Black Mac
Mac's Brewery

 

 

 

After racing a triathlon in Taupo, my wife's family wanted to get together on the SW side of the lake, so we picked up some beer to take to that get-together. Since the other beer drinker and myself are both dark beer fans, we went with this one.

This beer pours a reddish, dark brown hue that is clear but the opacity makes it a bit difficult to see the light carbonation. The head is khaki colored and creamy, dissipating to a rocky layer with a neck that is retained. 4/5 The aroma is fairly sweet with caramel and toffee providing a very enticing sweetness along with a bit of dark chocolate and vanilla from the dark roasted malt. The hops are negligible and only come out, if anything, as a very light grass note. The aroma is fairly strong for such a low abv beer. 4/5 The flavor is very much like the aroma with the dark roasted malt really dominating the palate and the hops playing second fiddle throughout. Caramel, toffee, dark chocolate, vanilla, leather, and toasted whole wheat bread all seem to come out in a cacophony of flavor that seems complicated but really works well. There is just a touch of spiciness as the beer warms, from the hops perhaps? Bitterness is light and lingers only lightly after swallowing. 4/5 This is a full bodied, but not overly heavy, beer that is fairly easy drinking and wetting. There is a light dryness that develops near the end of the mouthfeel that lingers lightly after swallowing, but for the most part this one comes across more as wetting and coating. Carbonation is limited to a light tickle on the front end. 4/5 I've gotta say, I'm impressed with this beer. With most of the offerings that I tried in NZ being lighter beers of the pilsner and pale ale styles (summer was starting after all), this is a really good dark option that is quite tasty. 4/5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

330ml pop-top bottle with ABV of 4.8% and a BB date of June 2014.

Pours clear, dark reddish brown with a good head, leaving very good lacing.

Feel: medium body and nicely smooth, with medium carbonation.

Aroma: caramel, medium and dark roasted malts with hints of coffee and chocolate.

Flavor: good balance; lasting dark roasted malt aftertaste with a touch of NZ hops and a hint of coffee.

O: easy drinking, moderately favorful black ale that was notably better and more flavorful than the Matson's Black that preceded it.

On tap at Mac’s Steamship Brewing Co in Auckland.

A: Served a very dark Mahogany color with a hint of ruby around the edge. Decent head, creamy and fades to some lacing.

S: Aroma of roasted malt bit of caramel sweetness and a bit od spice in the background.

T: Taste of roasted malt caramel sweetness and a bit of spice. Mild bitterness and a dry finish.

F: Medium body, smooth and ceamy with a nice balance.

O: Nice beer for the style that goes down easy.

 

Bottle: okay 330mL brown bottle, pretty boring label.

Appearance: mid-dark black with some faint ruby highlights. Head never really puts in an effort - one-finger that disappears quickly. Slight lacing.

Aroma: a bit too subtle for me, but well comprised. Some roasted malts, a touch of nut and chocolate, and possibly some vanilla.

Taste: the roasted malts come through, but there isn't all that much to back it up. Quite a nice, if simple English Brown.

Aftertaste: a touch of those other flavours - nuts, chocolate and vanilla do come through slightly in the aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: medium bodied and medium carbonation. Not bad at all.

Overall: again, not bad for the price. Some better, most worse.

 

 

Clear medium brown colour with a small and short lasted tab head.

Dry, roasty nose with a slight phenolic note. Simple but good.

Sharp, dry bitterness with some roast and a touch of mineral. Not bad at all.

Medium light body with moderate carbonation. Fine.

A nice, cheap, simple dark ale with good roast flavour.

On tap at northern steamship...
Pours a dark brown with half finger of head that seems to linger quite a while that leaves lacing all over...
Nose leaves a lot to be desired. A tiny bit of roast and charcoal, but man, I am trying hard to get even that.
Taste is a bit better... the roast and charcoal are much more pronounced... but honestly, other than that, there really isn't much there. Slight bitter aftertaste, otherwise, pretty boring here. Velvety carbonation though, light to medium bodied, and lacing is all over the glass so much so that I feel like I am being cheated a few ounces, lol.

Had a few times while visiting the South Island.

Malty dark brown, almost black, as the name would suggest.

Very malty smell and taste, not a lot of hops going on. Clean easy drinkig and a solid all around beer. They tend to like their Lagers in NZ, this is a good escape from some of the bland beers. On par with Montheith's Black.