Mendocino Black Eye Ale

Brewed by Mendocino Brewing Company
Style: Porter
Hopland, California USA

22oz bomber-i bought this beer for 2 reasons-its only 2.39 a bomber and that i have never rated it before. pours clear mahogony with a fizzy eggshell head. faint roast, chocolate, caramel malts with a little nutty quality to them as welll. faint earthy hops and a mineral content also in the aroma. some light vegetal notes as well. roast chocolate, faint char with some funky/artificlal flavors as well. body is fairly decent with a roundness to it. not a bad beer, but nothing i would put on a pedistal!

22 oz bottle. Poured dark, almost black wth a long lasting off-white head. Very rich, stout-like, with a silky smooth palate. Camel and chocolate flavors. You can taste the hops in the background. Very nice. An amazing blend. I will drink this again. Sure wish it was on tap around here someplace.

22oz - Aroma is mild carmel malt, a touch of hazelnut coffee. Pours a dark brownish black with a medium off-white head and great lacing. Flavor is more like an english stout than an American micro. Malty carmel, raisin, and a little coffee. Creamy and smooth with a bitter aftertaste. Not bad easy drinking ale.

22 oz. bottle. Pours a medium to dark brown with a light tan small head. Immediate smoky aroma and flavor took me by surprise. Malty sweetness dominates with little hop influence evident. Finish is slightly sweet and the roasted amlt flavor lingers.

22 oz. bottle, enjoyed 10/5/2005 while biting my nails watching the White Sox cling to a 5-4 lead. Pours nutty brown with a big frothy head. Smell is nice and malty, though not enough to give a hint of its intentions. But the taste really is something different. I get just a hint of smoke and plum, maybe even pipe tobacco floating above a sea of English ale and porter malt. Then the comfy roasties of a dry stout come to the fore. Ends up with a dense feel that gives an impression of barrel-aging. As nice a mix of two great tastes as Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

Bottle. A decent enough pour. Deep brown with a nice off-brown froth. Aroma of biscuits and dark chocolate. Some off flavors...probably an older bottle. Diacetyl in a bad way. Later some chocolate chip cookies. Lacked hoppiness and yeastiness that I’d expected. A nice, but not great brown ale...but not a black & tan!

All right...my first true black and tan! This beer pours a brown to light black color with a small soapy slightly pearlish head and little to no lacing. The aroma was VERY lactic with hints of milk, vanilla, coffee and roasts. Flavor-wise, this was medium bodied and extremely carbonated. Getting a little worried here with the lactic aroma and mouthfeel and the increased carbonation. Infection perhaps? Flavors of blackberries, vanilla, grapes and roasted barley....but man what a horrid cardboard box finish. Dry, somewhat malty and lactic...but seriously, what the funk???? Well, joy...now I’ve tried a black and tan....hoorah n stuff.

Bottle: Poured a dark brown color with a frothy light tan head that left behind decent lacing. Smells of caramel with a slight citrus background. Light Bitter Flavor of chocolate and roasted coffee. Medium body that was slightly creamy. Nice smooth mix.