Keen sour chocolate nose perfectly complements butterscotch mouthfeel before dried prune, powdered cocoa, then transcending mint-y clove freshness, usurp slightly turbid yellow amber Belgian knockoff. Honeyed peach hints dig deep below surface, giving sedately floral finish a fruity sashay.
MAC TARNAHAN’S BLACKWATCH CREAM PORTER
Deep caramel chocolate richness, coffee ice cream influence, and smoked oak acridity provide unexpected dry stout appeal. Roasted hops embitter raisin-prune undertones, but slightest oiliness at mocha finish disrupts perfection.
MAC TARNAHAN’S AMBER ALE
Thick smoked chocolate nose, sweet mocha palate, and wintry cinnamon spice give malt-thickened dry-bodied rust-hued Scottish-style ale up-front vibrancy. By contrasting sharp grain bitterness against caramel creaminess, its Scotch finish compares favorably to heartier-than-amber ales.
MACCABEE PREMIUM LAGER
Scotch-licked grain-toasted honey-malted off-dry palate moderates mild hop fizz, settling on tongue ever so softly. Subtle roasted barley-wheat pleasantry washed-out by phenol metallic onslaught.
MACAU PILSNER
Impossibly simple yet gently effective Chinese pilsner never allows unduly skunked malt waft to prohibit crisp-watered lemony hop pep and cracked barleycorn nicety from reaching fizzy soft-toned nirvana. At finish, pearly-headed palest-bodied lightweight levels astringent corn trepidation with nice rice splice.
MAC ANDREW’S SCOTCH ALE
Pouring like an expensive champagne (and formerly brewed by Caledonian), tawny wheat-honeyed wee heavy coats the tongue with caramel-malted plum wine, barleywine, and bourbon boozing. Musty oaken vanilla and dry cherry illusions seep into leathery peat spine. An unsophisticated pleasure filling the middle ground between Samuel Smith IPA from Samuel Adams Scotch Ale.
(ALI’I) MACADAMIA NUT BROWN ALE
Hawaii’s original microbrewery makes this mighty fine macadamia nut flavored ale. Bitter nuttiness ascends just as fluffy carbonation and deep-grained caramel malting wane. Fruity notes furnish backdrop.
LUCKY LAGER
Uniquely embossed Buddha-bellied green-bottled lager becomes tiresome as Asian-influenced glutinous wheat-rice pastiness and musty malt souring falter. Dry-hopped astringency brings about dank dishwater soaping upsetting residual lemony tartness.
LOWENBRAU PREMIUM DARK
Wait a second, this one’s brewed in Canada but given German recognition. Anyhow, unlike offensively sour Miller version forced on Americans since ’77, this dry premium has soda-like fizz and lasting consistency brought on by bitterer chocolate malts plus cocoa-seeded black licorice overhaul.
LOWENBRAU PILSNER
Clear-toned pearl-headed German version suffers from dour malt souring, lacking body and resilience. Silky hop ease and subdued yeast pungency will thrill amateurs ready to try richer pils.
LOWENBRAU OKTOBERFEST
Soapy diacetyl indifference ruins early clove overlay, malted wheat-backed sweetness, mild leafy hop bittering, and yellow-fruited bubblegum ditz of pale medium body.
LOWENBRAU DARK LAGER
In the 1970s, Lowenbrau and Beck’s were thankfully imported into a dire U.S. macrobrew market, but when Miller took over the formula for American consumption, flavor and strength dissipated. It has now lost its edge to more authentic microbrews. The American version lacked complexity. As for the bubbly-headed Swiss variety, mildly bitter hop nose detected amongst dark malt pungency and clammy sour vegetal sag. Try instead the creamier, tangier imported version from Germany on tap for a four star adventure.