Mendocino Black Hawk Stout

Brewed by Mendocino Brewing Company
Style: Dry Stout
Hopland, California USA

You can smell (could it be?) chocolate before you even pour it. Pours a deep, dark, reddish-black color with a beautiful tan head that doesn’t hold long. Most of the aroma left with the cap though, I think. Tastes of light roasted malt with a bitter syrup on the backsides of the tongue. Makes it tingle a bit after each drink. Mouthfeel is pretty smooth. Not as potent and tasty as I like my stouts, but stronger than some I’ve had. Easy to drink, still provides enough flavor to satisfy. Not a bad job by the Mendocino folks.

good stout. Not too much flavor just a solid easy to drink stout. Has a good creamy aftertaste. Could drink a couple of these. Would buy again

this is a nice one in mendo’s stable. a solid Irish type stout, not quite as bold but still very drinkable, nice malts throughout and a chunky mid section, a little fizzely at the end, great beer to pair with cherried duck~

Bottle. Ok for a stout, much better out there. Weak aroma. Nice dark color with a tan head. Taste was weak for a stout and the hops were very noticeably. Overall, recommend trying once.

First rating for a brewery I’ve often noted on display at every venue I shop; this one is the first from a sampler...jet black body with a swift diminishing head that turns to basically a penicl thin moustache... sweet caramel notes and peat--a bit thin to probing nostrils... thin, slightly creamy; medium bodied and pleasant.... sweet, smooth peaty and a bit malty under the tongue--surprisingly balanced... notmilky and smooth, not hot or smoked-- a flexible, companionable beer, especially with old friends like Greg, Nikki, Dave and Jenn on a snow day...

12oz Bottle Pours out a light black topped with a nice cream tan head. A nice aroma of roast malt. Tast of light roast malt. I also picked up a touch of smoke. A pretty nice simple Stout.

A vigorous pour produces a three-finger thick, frothy, brown tinged, full tan colored head that is a mix of froth and cream in texture. The beer sits in my glass an almost pure black color, with perhaps a touch of amber to it. When held up directly to the light, you can just sense deep, concentrated flashes of red, so this is quite clear, just too dark to really see through. Amply toasted, dark grain aromatics greet my nose up front; the beer smells lightly sharp, slight acidic from the burnt grain, fully like a well toasted bread crust, some touches of lightly roasted coffee, perhaps a touch of dark chocolate and a rich, lightly sweet, dark malt character. After a bit, a light, yet certainly roasted, sweet, dark fruitiness is noticed towards the finish (raisins and sweet plum notes being most apparent, though still quite subtle) as well as a roasted grain husk character. At times the toasted malt character can seem a bit like burnt veggies, though thankfully this is fairly light.

Soft, with a light-medium body, nicely sweet (nice in that it is both noticeable and not in any way overwhelming), which helps keep the dark / roast grain character in check. A hop bitterness is contributing factor here, but, as in many stouts, is not nearly as noticeable as it would be in a lighter beer. The roast character adds a bitter component to the finish of this beer too, but the finish is not overly dry. The sweetness accents a significant component of prunes in this beer. The roast flavor contribute flavors of well toasted bread crust, slight city roast coffee notes in the middle, but sharper French roast notes up front and again towards the finish, a slight almost fruity acidity and interestingly enough, no real chocolate character.

I like that the roast character is fairly mellow though it is definitely noticeable, but it allows for a lot of the other flavors to come through. A touch more texture and body would make this really quite nice as it can be a bit thin at times.

Purchased: <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp? Liquors, Tucson AZ

Bottle from Cost Plus in Davis. This brew was smooth and mildly carbinated. The malts and hops mixed well for an unnoticable blend of flavor. Typical tastes for a stout: chocolate, coffee, and roasted nuts. Very good beer.