Holy Mackerel Brewing makes big, bold, flavorful beers meant to be savored not rushed. Holy mackerel was created by Robert Gordash, a Fort Lauderdale area native and award winning brewer of the Samuel Adams World Homebrew Contest of 1996. Although, originally founded and brewed in Fort Lauderdale, Florida these beers are now brewed with his friends at a small batch brewery in Greenville, South Carolina.

How did you become so interested in beer?
I have always loved beer since I was thirteen ( sorry to say) by the time I was 18 I was trying all sorts of imports to see what was new and exciting. My first craft beer was a Samuel Adams lager at a country western bar in the early 90s then an Anchor Steam not long after that. I did not care for either one at the time because of the abundance of hops that I was not used to. Things have changed since then and Samuel Adams is now still my favorite all around lager.

What inspired you to open a brewery?
When I discovered I could make beer and good beer at that and I won many contests including the Samuel Adams world homebrew contest in 1996 then all my friends loved my beer and they encouraged me to take it to the next level.

What's the story behind the Holy Mackerel name?
I like the name for several reasons , One it is a an exclamation of surprise and very fitting for a stronger beer, Second we use a Yeast from a Belgian Trappist Monastery and so the word Holy I thought was fitting. Third Mackerel is a popular fish being caught in Florida and it helps with the local feel.

Are you mainly self-taught or were you mentored by anyone? If so, what did they teach you that stands out in what you do today?
Actually both. I read volumes and volumes of books but I also entered many contest and received much constructive criticism. I would also take my beer to local brewpubs such as the now defunct Independence Brewery in Fort Lauderdale and get great advice on the brewing of beers. I toured breweries in Colorado, NY, Scotland, and England and learned much from what I saw. One thing that really standout to me is the need to aerate a beer three days into fermentation something I learned at the Black Sheep brewery in England.

Tell us about your first batch of brew...
It was a simple batch on the sharper image small kit and it turned out like well beer? Nothing great but not bad at all. I think it was a Canadian lager. Then there was no stopping me.

Are there any plans to expand the Holy Mackerel selection in place?
Yes, we are doing test batches all the time. But we really like to focus on our flagship brands - the SPECIAL GOLDEN ALE AND PANIC ATTACK

Why is your distribution so limited?
Actually it depends what you mean my distribution. We have distributors in 5 states now and we are authorized in ABC fine wine, Crown Wine, Wholefoods, Total Wine, and even Publix. We also have draft available in many craft beer bars. However we as other brewers do as well have to deal with getting lost in the distributors portfolio, we have to deal with them pushing other beers not ours.

We are seeing more and more collaborative efforts between breweries. What's your take on them and do you have any projects in the plans (that you can share) that we might see in the future? I think it’s a cool idea and it really highlights that we are united even though we are competitors. However at the same time I feel it is beginning to become a bit faddish. We have done some collaborative beer dinners though and they were great.

Pairing dinners are becoming more wide-spread. What foods would you suggest pairing your beers with?
Special Golden Ale with any citrus accented dish or cheddar cheese (Perhaps a salad with tangerines)
Panic Attack With any Asian dish with ginger also any grapefruit accented dish
Mack in Black with dark chocolates, Brie cheese with pomegranate jam.

If we were to open your fridge, what beers might we find?
Westmalle Tripple
Allagash Tripple
Lachoufe Gnomegang
Orval
Chimay Cinc Cents
Avery Salvation
Avery Majaraja
Smuttynose IPA
And the list goes on....

Learn more about Holy Mackeral on their website.