Mendocino Winter Ale (06/07 - Oatmeal Stout)

Formerly brewed at Olde Saratoga Brewing (Mendocino Brewing Co.)
Style: Sweet Stout
Saratoga Springs, New York USA

Courtesy of goldtwins via trade

Bottle: The aroma has a lot of chocolate malt, light roastiness, and a hint of vanilla. It pours a dark brown, virtually black, with a small tan head that quickly fades to a ring. Lots of chocolate up front with a touch of caramel and vanilla. It finishes with moderate roastiness, a touch of coffee, and very mild piney bitterness. They should really consider making this year round, along with the Porter from 04.

FIrst beer of my "Stay @ Home b/c of Snow Rating-Extravaganza." 12 oz bottle poured into a small curved tulip glass. Pours black with a small brown head that quickly fades into the thinnest halo brown lacing. Aroma is strong with roasted coffee, which is followed by sweetness akin to chocolate milk. Indeed a very nice and sweet aroma. Taste is similarly roasted coffee and a dry chocolate sweetness. The one fault I see is the mouthfeel is a bit overcarbonated and fizzy on the tongue. Aftertaste is a dry slightly bittered coffee. Medium bitterness and a hint of bitterness.

12 oz. bottle in pint glass, no date. Huge dark brown sugar head overflows glass, lasts a bit longer than on the ales from this company. Initial aroma out of the bottle was vanilla, graham crackers and molasses. Opaque black liquid with medium body and amber highlights around the edges. No biting tastes of some overpowering stouts. Subtle malty, chocolate front melts into a hint of chicory coffee with not too much hops on the finish.

Bottle #2, this one from jah noth. Let’s see if my original rating is indeed an "off" bottle. Nothing new appearance-wise. Aroma? Yeah, big time. Roasty with plenty of chocolate and burnt sugars. Creamy, soft body dominated by milk chocolate, roasted malts, and a touch of licorice. Nice firm, bitter finish. I believe this is what was intended by the brewers. Vindication roasts me.

Bottle from goldtwins. Opaque charcoal-brown body, thin brown head. I’m not even close to the consensus on this beer; the roasted malt and chocolate notes were weak and watered-down, and diacetyl dominated the aroma and body. Rating: 5-3-4-2-9 (2.3).

Bottle. Pours black with a moderate dark brown head that lingers and leaves nice lacing. Aroma is roasted coffee and molasses, plus a hint of vanilla and fruits. Flavor is also roasted coffee and molasses with hints of fruits, moderately but not overly sweet, plus some graininess from the oats, a background coloring of noble hops, and a nice lingering burnt finish. Palate is very smooth and creamy, and moderately full-bodied. This is an excellent oatmeal stout.

Bottle... This beer rocks!... Pitch black ale with a mid-sized, creamy, well tanned head. Great retention. Rich, mocha and molasses nose. Chocolaty, espresso flavor with medium burnt bitterness. Full-bodied and very creamy with moderate carbonation. Lengthy, charred, grassy finish. World class oatmeal stout. A very pleasant surprise!

Bottle. Pours dark black brown, tan head. Aroma is anise, molasses, caramel, chocolate, vanilla. Flavor is smoky, molasses, caramel, barley.

bottle-well, my first rating in quite some time. I have had a few beers here and there, but nothing to "rate" really. My beer fast has done well-i lost a few pounds and feel pretty good. Now its time to drink a little, but not on the breakneck pace i was going at. this oatmeal stout pours very dark brown, almost black with a small dark tan head with a lighter edge. aroma is roasty, somewhat chalky, burnt grains, and a lite wiff of dusty esters. flavors are roasty, dark chocollate, dark burnt malt, with some really burnt notes. a touch of smoke lingers in the foreground on the finish. body is somewhat lite, but understandable for the style. some decent hops come through as well long into the finish, which i remember there being more when the beer was a little more fresh. pretty nice for this brewery.