Beer of the Weekend #391: Black Hawk Stout
Sweets is pressuring me to go camping tomorrow night. The forecast low is 25º and I want to watch the Georgia-South Carolina and Nebraska-Ohio State games. Hmm.
I have failed to deliver on my promise to try as many Mendocino beers as I can (while I can), so tonight I shamed myself into buying Black Hawk Stout, brewed by the Mendocino Brewing Company of Ukiah, California.
I still cannot get over Mendocino’s bird-themed label and carrier artwork. It looks so corny. The hawk on the Black Hawk label, though, does look quite rapt and menacing.
Serving type: 12-ounce bottle. No freshness date.
Appearance: Straight pour into a pint glass. The color is not-quite-opaque black; a little light passed through when I held it to a lamp. Two fingers of frothy, tan head dissipated slowly to leave a rocky and spotted lacing.
Smell: Relatively Irish (from my experience) and tame for a stout. Light roasted bitterness, oatmeal, black raspberry, dark fruit (maybe some plum), caramel, toffee, black licorice, and chocolate. The smell evokes a smooth, creaminess, and the scents coalesce nicely.
Taste: A little roasted malt bitterness complements oatmeal smoothness, chocolate, caramel, toffee, black licorice, black raspberry, and dark fruit plum. It has a thickish body that is leaning toward heavy, but its very smooth and velvety. At the end there is a hint of black pepper.
Drinkability: Don’t let the corny label fool you. This is solid stuff.
Fun facts about BHS:
-Style: Mendocino refers to it as a “Classic Irish-Style Dry Stout.”
-Price: $8.99/sixer at John’s Grocery in Iowa City.
-Serving temperature: 45-50ºF. That is the BA recommendation and I suggest the higher end of that range.
-Alcohol content: 5.2 percent ABV.
-Food pairings: BA recommends barbecue, Latin cuisine, chocolate, smoked meat, and grilled meat.
-Before tonight I never realized there was a different between “complement” and “compliment.”
The Quiet Man’s grade: B+.
I have failed to deliver on my promise to try as many Mendocino beers as I can (while I can), so tonight I shamed myself into buying Black Hawk Stout, brewed by the Mendocino Brewing Company of Ukiah, California.
I still cannot get over Mendocino’s bird-themed label and carrier artwork. It looks so corny. The hawk on the Black Hawk label, though, does look quite rapt and menacing.
Serving type: 12-ounce bottle. No freshness date.
Appearance: Straight pour into a pint glass. The color is not-quite-opaque black; a little light passed through when I held it to a lamp. Two fingers of frothy, tan head dissipated slowly to leave a rocky and spotted lacing.
Smell: Relatively Irish (from my experience) and tame for a stout. Light roasted bitterness, oatmeal, black raspberry, dark fruit (maybe some plum), caramel, toffee, black licorice, and chocolate. The smell evokes a smooth, creaminess, and the scents coalesce nicely.
Taste: A little roasted malt bitterness complements oatmeal smoothness, chocolate, caramel, toffee, black licorice, black raspberry, and dark fruit plum. It has a thickish body that is leaning toward heavy, but its very smooth and velvety. At the end there is a hint of black pepper.
Drinkability: Don’t let the corny label fool you. This is solid stuff.
Fun facts about BHS:
-Style: Mendocino refers to it as a “Classic Irish-Style Dry Stout.”
-Price: $8.99/sixer at John’s Grocery in Iowa City.
-Serving temperature: 45-50ºF. That is the BA recommendation and I suggest the higher end of that range.
-Alcohol content: 5.2 percent ABV.
-Food pairings: BA recommends barbecue, Latin cuisine, chocolate, smoked meat, and grilled meat.
-Before tonight I never realized there was a different between “complement” and “compliment.”
The Quiet Man’s grade: B+.
