Mendocino Winter Ale (06/07 - Oatmeal Stout)

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

Black pour with a tan head, decent lacing and retention. Aroma is very roasted with more oat notes, some chocolate and caramel. Some vanilla if you search. Medium body, fairly sweet finish. Enjoyable, way better than I expected.

(Bottle, 06/07 vintage) Pours a black body with a medium brown head that quickly dissipates. Aroma of chocolate, toasted oatmeal, and burnt marshmallow. Flavor of roasted malt, coffee, and chocolate.

Yowsa, I’ve never seen a regular (non-impy) stout pour so dark! Nearly black even during the pour, with a tan foaming head. Aroma is light but dominated by coffee and burnt bread. Interesting flavor, with notes of dark chocolate and strong roasted grain, mostly dry except for a hint at a cereal sweetness. Finishes like cappucino, with a creamy coffeeness, maybe a touch of milk chocolate. Soft, smooth palate, although medium in body. What a unique beer (and I’d consider it a dry stout rather than a sweet stout). Definitely a sipper and a pretty good recipe for a winter seasonal (too bad it hit 80 degrees today!!).

Black brown color. Brown head starts full but fades quickly. Coffee, but more of a cherry like smell. Aroma is unexpected and rather nice, like a black forest cake. Flavour is too burnt to be considered a standout, plus overly bitter finish. No real sweetness or chocolate or even nuetralizing oatmeal to balance it, much less any sign of those cherries I smelled. Oily thick palate. Gets worse not better by the sip.

Pours an inky opaque jet-black color. Creates a fluffy, pillowy coffee colored head with minimal retention other than some isolated wisps of foam with spotty lacing. Nice aromas mostly of dark roasted malts, espresso beans and dark chocolate. Some aroamatic notes of cocoa powder, vanilla bean and smoke faintly linger in the background. Palate was a bit disappointing, being a touch too thin and fizzy for this style. Also possesed a slightly watery texture to it. Flavor profile however was quite impressive leading off with a big hit of burnt malts and dark coffee beans initially, followed by a pleasant caramel, mocha, toffee sweetness. Flavor finishes with a moderate charcoal-like dryness. Easy enough to drink and enjoyable, but the body could use a bit more muscle.

Nice jet black with a thick beige head. Light roasty nose. Flavor has notes of sweet caramel, a slight touch of sourness, chocolate, moderate roastiness. Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Overall, ok - this one didn’t really do it for me.

Nice rich looking pour. Dark brown with a taller dark tan head. Weak coffee, treacle, corn bread and cocoa aromas. A little too dessert like in aroma. Smooth and creamy fell, just like I would expect in an oatmeal stout. Mocha flavors abound. A mild charcoal finish and dry linger. A very drinkable potation for its heft. Nearly too smooth and balanced. I could see myself having one to many of these in a session and wind up staggering about.

Pours pitch black with a thin, fluffy mocha head. Aroma of dark slightly bitter roast, Mouthfeel is full bodied with slight resinous quality and lush carbonation.