Mendocino Winter Ale (06/07 - Oatmeal Stout)

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

Coal black pour with a decent tan head. An aroma of chocoffee and toasted malt. A flavor more of bitter chocolate than coffee. Just a bit of a sourish flavor that turns to a decent bitter on the back and sides of your tongue. Just a tad on the fizzy side and very slightly thin. A pretty good beer overall.

Bottle. Now, we’re talking. This is the best of the winter ale bunch on my Christmas day. This is a seriously black beer. I’m posting my thoughts on this twenty minutes after the pour, and a dark tan head is still present. The aroma is fairly decent with notes of oak, chocolate, toasted oats, and roasty coffee. Taking a sip of this makes me wonder why it is that Mendocino makes mostly mediocre brews yet somehow pulls stuff like this and the winter porter out of their hat. The flavor is awesome. It’s plenty robust and deep with a nice oaty smoothness that keeps everything flowing and balanced. Suggestions of toffee, chocolate, and light soy sauce swim in the rich, roasty flavor. This is very reminiscent of Sam Smith’s Oatmeal Stout, but just slightly fuller. Well done! The only bad news is I have to finish the rest of my bottle of Santa’s Butt after this. I bet that’s gonna taste like water now.

Tap @ Mendocino (Old Saratoga Brewery) - This beer pours a very black color with a medium brownish yellow head. Aroma is chocolately with notes of coffee. Roasted malts, relatively sweet and tastes of coffee. Very smooth - especially if you got the draft beers aged in Jack Daniels Barrels @ 11% Alc. One of the best beers I’ve had - When not aged in the JD Barrels, still above and beyond.

Poured an almost opaque black with a medium sized brown head. Chocolate aroma with notes of ash and lighter notes of smoke and coffee. Roasted malt flavor with a fair amount of sweetness and some smokey ash. Lighter side of a medium body but decent. Nice beer.

12oz bottle. Pours a fairly thick dark brown with a two finger brown head. Aroma has a bit of sweet oatmeal, roasted malts/a bit of coffee though not in the normal roasty bitterness, some honey roasted peanuts, and some milk chocolate. Smells great. Flavor has a hint of soy and acidity as well as some bitter roastiness. Roasted malt with a little chalkiness for the finish. Medium bodied, smooth mouthfeel and light-moderate carbonation. This was good stuff

I really enjoyed the 05/06, so i was suprized by the dark brew with creamy cappucino like head. It was a pleasant surprize. Very smooth dry stoudt, with a crisp finish. the coffee and chocolate stand out... once again, a great winter brew at a great price.

Bottle. Strong, rich, sweet, milk chocolate aroma. Smells more like an imp. stout than an oat. stout. Pours like oil. Even leaves an oily residue on the side of the glass as it goes in. Opaque, very dark brown with a light brown head. Excellent lace. Initial mouthfeel is dry, smoky. A well done brew, but a little one dimensional for me. Looks like I missed last year’s IIPA. Bummer. Pretty decent hop profile for the style even though it is predominantly masked by the strong chocolate malts. A very solid brew and a must try for sweet stout fans.

pours a very dark full bodied black with a nice one finger dark brown head. aroma is roasted malt and a little sweet oatmeal and some coffee. flavor is the same with a little hops mixed in. definetly has a little oily feel to it and a little carbonation. not a stout lover but it is definetly a nice stout, some nice lacing to it as well. little watery carbonation feel to it at the end or this would be rated a little higher. as it warms i do notice a little stronger flavor and has a little bread to it.