Mendocino Black Eye Ale

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

Beer poors dark with a thick white head. When held up to the light it’s actually a very dark brown as opposed to that black stout color. Very attractive. Lots of malt in the aroma with a hint of coffee. Dark roasted coffee flavor really has me thinking that the stout dominates this blend at first but as the beer warms I can really taste the hops coming through. Surprisingly impressive beer. I guess it is possible to combine to mediocre beers to make a really good beer.

Malty sweet aroma. Black body fluffy white head. Mildly roasted barley flavor with some sweet malt flavor that starts int he middle and stays around through the aftertatse. Never really bitter, but there is a mild bite in the finish. Very English Porter like in feel and taste.

Hmmm, I’m just not sure what to say here. The idea of this beer seems a bit gimmicky but here goes. I guess my first question would be, "why do you want to package your ale and stout together? Are they weak on their own? Did somebody accidentally dump two batches together and you didn’t want to throw it out??" Surprisingly, this actually isn’t all that bad. Definitely not the "Ultimate Blend," but not too bad. As a stout lover, this comes off like a stout with potential. I haven’t had Mendocino’s Stout or Ale on their own and this makes me want to try both, out of curiosity mostly. Interesting to say the least.

Very appetizing looking ale in my Imperial pint mug, very dark almost total blackness, topped by a rather bubbly,frothy tan head, that sticks. The aroma is a bit subdued but is rather pleasant and mainlly of malts, dark roasted. Thids is actually not a bad tasting beer, mostly burnt,roasty oat like flavours with a nice hoppy undertones and a pleasant alcohol sensation near the end , some faint fruitiness throughout. Very pleasant on the palate..its a very varied mouthfeel,nice. I liked this unusual ale..the first beer from this brewery that has impressed me.

A B&T that delivers. I would like to try its components. It was a wonderful brew that had some smokiness and chocolate maltiness evident. Some hoppiness evident. Fine full balanced ale.

22 oz bottle. Black walnut bark appears in the glass, topped by a rich and endless thick bubbly dark head...light roasty nose, hint of chocolate and earthy hops...body very smooth, creamy, on the thin side, somewhat vinous, moderately sweet, lightly roasty, with little hop presence but a fair amount of coffee acidity and bitterness towards the finish...fairly drinkable, though alcohol is apparent, but I’m not impressed.

chestnut and midnight-ruby color, dense foamy tan head. aroma is deep sweet malt, a little raisin, a little sweet vermouth too. carbonation is high, medium mouthfeel. flavor is deep sweet malt, also a little bit like a dry sherry. light alcohol flavor, the most I’ve ever tasted in a "black & tan". matter of fact this tastes like an american strong ale to me. finish like blackstrap molasses. a lot of power for a 6.5% beer, the alcohol makes it seem stronger than it is.

Decent sized brown head which reduces slowly. Nice and frothy on top. Low carbonation. Rich roasted aroma with vanilla, milk and a hint of chocolate. Color is a very dark brown with a hint of red. Flavor is sharp with a little bitterness. Once that passes, it is a nice smooth easy drinking brew with plenty of roasted malts and a bit more chocolate but this time bittersweet. Finish is a little dry and bitter. A pretty good version of a black and tan or black and red as this case may be.