Mendocino Winter Ale (06/07 - Oatmeal Stout)

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

Faint chocolate nose. Black in color with a full tan head. Damn good looking brew. Rich chocolate malted taste. Not too sweet for a dark ale. Frothy and smooth on the palate. Very smooth.

Mendocino, some interesting brews. How about this thing were many brewers send out a one timer for the year? I just got done with a Schell that is of the same thinking. Brown 12 oz bottle, pours opaque brown black into my clear steeler stein. The head is composed of large and medium sized bubble that make it look like a bunch of pearls against the side of the glass. Very nice lacing down the side of the glass as the brownish head fades. Hints of a roastyness aroma in there but nothing else. Stronger but not overwhelming alky in the initial flavor. This fades slightly to a medium bitter background. Not really bitter and it is mild compared to many imperial stouts but is bitter compared to the sweet stouts. I thought that sweet stouts swerved towards unbitterness. This beer is on the slightly bitter side of a sweet stout style. Has some beechnut qualities about it but it cannot hide the astringentness of itself. Did you every smell the freshly peeled bark of a beech tree? Not as offensive as an imperial stout but is not very gentlemanlike. Not quite as good as other oatmeal stouts I’ve tasted, but definitely very interesting. Better try some before it’s gone.

12 oz bottle sampled thanks to drewbeerme. Brown black color with a small brown head. The aroma takes a minute to come out, bakers chocolate, sweet oatmeal, and a hint of smoke. Sweet oatemel, coffee, nutty, but flat... rather muted flavors. ... As this warms in my glass I warm up to it. It becomes porter like. The roast starts to come out more and more. Finishes with dry coffee. Pretty tasty overall.

Bottle: Black body with brown tints. Lots of tan head with some lacing. Chocolate, roasted malts, licorice, woode, sweet pecan notes in aroma. Full, round mouthfeel, sugar sweet at first, melts into a licorice, milky flavor @ mid-palate, then the large amount of hops for the style hit. These continue til the finish, with the alcohol, also large for the style, showing up. Has a long, strong finish.

12oz bottle. thanks to jah noth for this extra. pours a beautiful black with big tan head that holds the whole time. aroma is nice with bakers chocolate, oatmeal, roasty notes, caramel, toffee, and some oak. mouthfeel is very smooth and creamy (almost chewy) but finishes watery. hop bitterness is really low, bakers chocolate, dark fruits, oatmeal, weak coffee and cream. seems more of an oatmeal porterish than stout. better as it warms up. a really nice beer that finishes to thin for me.

Bottle courtesy of artusory. Black oily body, huge beige head. Huge milk chocolate and creamy coffee aroma. Faint grass/citrus background. Have to really dig for it. Flavor sort of a milk chocolate and bitter bakers cocoa up front, plenty of coffee through the middle, (for some reason doesn’t offend me much right now). Finishes sort of dry, maybe from the oatmeal, otherwise, I don’t get any oatmeal characteristics. Creamy smooth-oily mouthfeel. Well done, stouties dream session beer IMO.

12 oz bottle. Black brown with a big choco-tan head. Settles leaving spots. Dusty lacto brown sugar. Espresso, two lumps, and a twist of lime. Some berries and prunes. Gets rather heavy with a spritz of carb. Residual coffee and oats.

12 oz bottle. Props to jah noth for this baby! Black with a big, foamy brown head. Big coffee and mocha in the nose, lightly roasty. Wonderful lacing! Flavor is a lightly chocolatey roasted coffee, a touch of wood and vanilla. Lightly bittersweet chocolate finish. Rich, soft, slightly oily body. Lovely!