A Year of Craft Beer, Vol. 15, Maine Beer Company, Mean Old Tom

Hey, welcome back!  It's cool that you could make it!  Last Sunday I had 65 page views and they weren't all my own!  Sweet!  Thanks everyone!

Tonite I am drinking another beer from Maine.  They sure know how to brew a beer up thar!  This one is called Mean Old Tom and dedicated to the brewers uncle.  It is a stout (a very good one) that has been aged on Vanilla beans.  I don't know how many or how long but it is definitely apparent in the nose and on the tongue.  YUM!  Ladies, this beer is an aphrodisiac so be aware (not beware) of the intentions of the man who purchases you this beer!  Good ol' vanilla!  Also your man is shelling out a few bucks for this beer so be generous in return!

Let's talk about the beer.  Well, the bottle first.  Its a large perfect 20 oz. bottle with a crimp top!  SCORE!

The beer pours black and there is little or no transparency like a good stout should be.  Initially there is no head, but then a thin layer of various sized bubbles form a brown cap upon this dark beauty.  It's not a Guinness head, not in the least, but that is OK.  It laces really well on the sides and stays with you for the life of the beer.

The nose is of dark chocolate and roasted coffee with the tantalizing sweetness of vanilla on top like icing on a cake.  In fact, I bet this would go well with ice cream, just like cake.

As you take your first sip your nose is flooded with vanilla and combines with the roasted dark malts and vanilla notes to truly make this a fantastic drink.  The roasty malts coat your tongue with coffee and dark chocolate then fade to a really nice vanilla sweetness.  Of course the beer is bitter and a very traditional stout bitter.  Not over the top but after the vanilla and roasted notes set in, the bitter takes over at the end and will stay with you until that next awaited sip!

The carbonation is mellow and fine and the ABV is a perfect 6.5!

I really hope that you all get to try this beer!  I know that I am giving out a lot of 10's for beer ratings but this one deserves it just as much as the others or more so.  I am totally going to seek this beer out in the future.  And at $8.50 a bottle it's a bit expensive, but I have no qualms about putting out the cash to start a night of drinking off with this fine bottle!

Thank you Maine Beer Company!  TEN!

Have a great night everyone!  See you tomorrow night!

love,

Fish