Marin San Quentins Breakout Stout

Brewed by Marin Brewing Company
Style: Stout
Larkspur, California USA

Pours with a creamy tan M&M head that lasts throughout the tasting. Aroma is dense cold coffee and cocoa bean. Nothing overwhelmingly complex, no strange esters, just clean coffee and chocolate cocoa. Taste is very straightforward too. A little bit thin in the follow through, but the creaminess of the beer tries to compensate for this fact. Decent, but high marks for aroma and appearance make this beer look better than it is.

Poured from a 22 oz. bottle. Charred oak appearance with a thin mocha foam head. Pungent aroma first suggests vinegar, pimento olive, and steamed broccoli in an underroasted coffee presentation; this turns deftly into rich milk chocolate, brown sugar, and medium roasted latin american coffee. Surprising transition. Flavor is quite simple with a generic cola and licorice presentation; moments of unassuming cheap coffee roasts and plenty of ash. Pretty weak altogether. Palate is medium bodied, and lightly carbonated; plastics whisper astringently amidst the general dryness of wood in the finish. Uninteresting, and hard to enjoy, but not especially bad. Thanks for sharing, Ryan!

black with shades of maroon and a medium light khaki head. sweet roasted aroma coming off of it. medium slightly syrupy body. well roasted sweet malt flavors with some coffee in there, it seems that chocolate is dominant but i think its more or a mix of the malt and dark fruit flavor that give it a real chocolaty taste. very good and well made a little sweet for my taste

Black pour, lighter tan head, decent lacing and retention. Aroma is rich coffee, sweet chocolate, minor to moderate hopping. Medium to light bodied, somewhat sweet with a roasted bitterness towards the end. Enjoyable.

On tap at the brewery. It pours a deep blackness with faint garnet edges and thin white head. The aroma is a mild sweetness mixed with rich inviting burnt malts and a hint of licorice. The aroma could be a bit stronger. The flavor ushers in mild burnt or highly roasted malts mixed with a sweeter malt element. I taste nice melded flavors that still have enough punch as to not be too boring or bland. Lots of flavor. Solid stout.

Considering the style, Scores ranging from 1 to 5, 5 being the most intense
Appearance:
Body:   Clear(1)->Murky(5) : 3     Light Brown(1)->Pitch Black(5) : 4     Still(1)->Sparkling(5) : 3
Head:   None(1)->Large(5) : 3   Off-White(1)->Dark Brown(5) : 2   Lasting: 3   Lacing : 3   Nitro : XX
Aroma:
Intensity : 3  
Yeast : XX   Bread : 2   Apple : XX   Tropical Fruits : 2   Ink : XX   Tar : XX   Olives : XX   DMS : XX
Malt : 3   Biscuity : 3   Burnt Toast : 3   Caramel : XX   Nuts : XX   Pumpernickel : XX   Cereals : XX   Coffee : XX   Dark Chocolate : 3   Vanilla : XX   Grapes : XX   Blackberries : XX   Cherries : XX
Hops : 3   Noble(1)->American(5) : 3   Leafy : 2   Floral : XX   Lemon/Lime : XX   Grapefruit : XX Orange : XX   Herbal : XX   Pine/Spruce/Resin : XX
Notes :   Earth : 3   Wood : XX   Mint : XX   Smoke : XX   Soy : XX   Bourbon : XX   Anise : XX
Flavor:
Initial Flavor : Dry(1)->Sweet(5) : 3   Finish Dry(1)->Sweet(5) : 3   Sourness : XX   Lactic : XX   Bitterness : 3   Complex : 3   Length : XX
Palate:
Light(1)->Full(5) : 2   Flat(1)->Fizzy(5) : 3   Clean : XX   Sharp : XX   Watery : XX   Oily : XX   Chalk : XX   Astringent : XX   Alcohol : XX   Mineral : XX   Oxidation : XX   Metallic : XX

Comments: Balanced, soft and rather light-bodied stout with intricate marshmallow notes. Classy.

Draft at MBC. Tan head with virtually no lacing, opaque, no visible carbonation, and a black hue. Nose was malty, roasty and coffee. Nose was coffee, roasty, malty, burnt and dry. Smooth and dry mouthfeel. Light body. Needs more umph in the flavor and is a one dimensional brew. Not a lot of character and didn’t leave me wanting more. Not a bad beer, just nothing exceptional for the style.

Thick black opaque pour with a fluffy brown head. Smell is standard roasty malt with bits of chocolate and/or coffee at times. Upon first sip its easy to see this is excessively overcarbonated for a stout. (or any style) not sure if its just my bottle, but its like drinking black champagne. Taste is semi dry roasty malt, and is fairly one-note and simplistic but nice overall. Not great, and I’m hoping it was just this bottle with the freak carbonation. "Creamy texture" as stated in the commercial description couldn’t be farther from the truth in my experience.