Good Things Come in Nano Packages: a Review of the Mack House Nano-Brewery

Jason, aka @ZauderWithaZee recently offered to do a guest post about the Mack House located in central Broward, along I-595. Here's what he had to say....

I had a "night-out" pass from The Wife so I headed to the Mack House in Davie. It is located in a little strip mall on State Road 84 in the same strip mall with a country music bar and a Kabooms amusement center.

I had fantasies of Kabooms and the Mack House being right next door so that I could watch my daughter play at Kabooms while I had a beer, but alas, the two places were not adjacent. The Mack House was a little hard to find at first, but soon their large neon 'Brewery' sign out front came into view.

When I walked into the Mack House, it was full but not too crowded. On the left-hand side as soon as you walk in the front door, there are two large brew kettles that are part of their brewing system. I thought having the brew kettles front and center was a great reminder to the patrons of the 'small in stature, but large in creativity' ethos of this nano-brewery.

The Mack House was in a large, comfortable space that included some couches and a TV where some people were playing old-school Nintendo games. It definitely had the feel of being in your friend's living room, if your friend was a beer geek. In addition to all the video games they offered, there were plenty of board games like Jenga to play with. Lastly, there were two TVs above the bar showing sports, so that I could suffer through watching another Knicks loss.

The place was sparsely-decorated and proudly displayed a lot of Drink Like a Local signs. They had some of their own t-shirts and stickers for sale, too. They had a great choice of music and get bonus points for playing the Pixies. Again, I felt like I was hanging out at a friend's place, as the atmosphere was relaxed and unpretentious.

The Mack House was affiliated with Holy Mackerel brewery, and I had tried some of their beers before. Holy Mackerel contracts with a brewery in South Carolina to make their beers that you see in stores, but the Mack House also brews some special beers on-premises. Their food menu consisted of three different appetizers (two of which used their brews as ingredients), but the star of the show was definitely the beer. They had five of their own beers on tap, including some of their core beers that they infused. They also had four guest taps that featured Florida breweries Funky Buddha, Cigar City, and Native Brewing.

I tried some of their beers, and they were excellent. I could taste the freshness in their Downpour India Pale Ale, and it was hoppy without overdoing it. Their Panic con Pablo (a Belgian-style ale infused with coffee roasted in Miami) was out-of-this-world delicious. It had a great coffee aroma and finished with a spicy, dark fruit flavor. In addition to what was on tap, they had an extensive bottle list with lots of great craft beers. I appreciate that their prices were very fair, as there were many great beers to be had for $5. With so many great beers on tap that were made on-premises, I don't know why anyone would order a bottled beer, but hey, variety is the spice of life. Their beers were so good that I had hoped I could take a growler home, but they don't fill growlers there. Looking back, it's understandable that a nano-brewery wouldn't have the capacity to fill growlers, though.

The Mack House staff was friendly and knowledgable. A patron next to me didn't know what beer to order as he usually drinks Bud Light. The bartender served him up with a craft beer, but something similar to what he usually drinks, a Narragansett Lager.

Overall, this a great place and I plan on coming back often. The western part of Fort Lauderdale and Broward County may not be a craft beer Mecca (yet), but the Mack House is turning out fresh, high-quality brews regularly. For all the details on this fine establishment, visit www.themackhouse.com