Mendocino Black Hawk Stout

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

I had this beer at Table 50 in Roanoke, VA. This was a really nice beer. A dry stout, yet slightly sweeter than perhaps a Guinness or a Murphy's, but it is very palatable and an overall nice roasty stout.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

It looks and pours the way a stout should - deep opaque brown, almost black, with a rich tan head. Aroma is stouty and smoky with hints of roasted coffee. In the flavor, smokiness predominates; there are hints of coffee and chocolate. Hop bitterness is strong but not overwhelming. It feels a bit on the thin side, but it is smooth and satisfying.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

As somebody who spent 40 years of my life in the Chicago Black Hawk organization, it is my solemn duty to try every beer that has Black and Hawk in the name. This was not a bad start. An Irish style stout with great coffee aroma and a good creamy texture. Flavour was well balanced with caramel/chocolate sweetness and coffee bitterness.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Bought a 6-pack of this because the price was right. I liked their Eye of the Hawk better. Tried that one first, so was hoping this stout would be equally as good. Not a bad stout, just a bit thin and somewhat lacking of flavor. Probably better than Guiness, but for this style I still prefer my 8-ball stout. Thinking this may be better on tap, but I do not live in Cali and only see it in bottles here.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 6

A very local brew for me as I drive by brewery several times a week. Unfortunately I can't say anything really great about this beer, It pours nice and dark, but there just does not seem to be the flavor hit that many other stouts provide. Maybe this brew will improve in the future.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 4

This really was average .. . low head, very minor lacing, but spots .. . time out: on video .. . dark black brown .. . very light but pleasing roast, and maybe some slight coffee . . mendo typical quality. .

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

I liked this stout, turned a nice color and had a good aroma. I would say this one was made just like a stout should be made. I will highly recommend this beer.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

not as good as it used to be (all Mendo brews have gone a little downhill over the last few years), but it's still a solid effort. all the right roasted, malt flavors...decent hop balance, just a touch underwhelming.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

From a bottle. Pours an opaque brown/black with a nice tan head. Aroma of coffee and chocolate. Flavor is typical for a stout. Nothing spectacular, but a good beer overall.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 6

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: Plaza Liquors, Tucson AZ