Mug Shot Stout
Frankenmuth Brewery

 

 

 

 

22 ounce bottle into tulip glass; no bottle dating, but is a recent release. Pours nearly opaque dark brown/black color with a 2 finger fairly dense and rocky khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass. Aromas of big nutty medium roast coffee, milk chocolate, cocoa, caramel, brown sugar, toasted oats, and brown bread; with light vanilla, herbal, dark fruit, and roast/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malt and coffee notes; with great strength. Taste of big nutty medium roast coffee, milk chocolate, cocoa, caramel, brown sugar, toasted oats, and brown bread; with light vanilla, herbal, dark fruit, and roast/toasted earthiness. Light-medium herbal hop and roasted coffee bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of nutty coffee, milk chocolate, cocoa, caramel, brown sugar, toasted oats, brown bread, light vanilla, and roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Damn nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt and coffee flavors; with a great roasted bitter/sweet balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Slight dryness from hop/roast bitterness as well. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, creamy, and lightly sticky/chalky mouthfeel that is great. Alcohol is very well hidden with minimal warming present after the finish. Overall this is an excellent oatmeal coffee stout. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt and coffee flavors; very smooth and easy to drink. A very enjoyable offering.

I picked up a bottle of Frankenmuth Brewery's Mug Shot Stout for $7.59 at The Lager Mill. Since that last new beer I tried from this brewery was pretty good I thought I would give this one a try, so lets see how it goes. 2016 Vintage. Poured from a 22oz brown bottle into a imperial pint glass.

A- The label looks good, it goes well with the name and it's just a little eye catching. It poured a darker brown color that took on more of a brown color when held to the light with around a fingers worth of lighter tan head that died down to a thin ring that stayed till the end and it left some spotty lacing behind. This is a pretty nice looking beer, but I wish the color was darker.

S- The aroma starts off with a medium amount of sweetness with the coffee being the first to show up and it imparts some nice black coffee aromas and it's followed by a little bit of those creamy and oatmeal like aromas. Up next comes the malts which impart some roasted malt, sweet malt and dark malt aromas with some caramel and chocolate aromas showing up in the background. This beer has a pretty nice aroma, but I wish it was roastier.

T- The taste seems to be similar to the aroma and it starts off with a slightly higher amount of medium sweetness with the coffee still being the first to show and it imparts the same black coffee aspects that it did in the aroma, but this time it's just a little lighter. Up next comes that same creamy oatmeal aspects that I got in the aroma and it's followed by the malts which impart all the same aspects that it did in the aroma. Towards the end there's a slight bit of bitterness with a little bit of sweetness and in the aftertaste there's some chocolate, coffee and roasted malt flavors. This is a pretty nice tasting beer, but I wish it was a little more robust.

M- Smooth, a little creamy, crisp, medium bodied with a slightly higher amount of medium carbonation. The mouthfeel is nice, but I wish it was thicker with a little less carbonation.

Overall I thought this was a pretty nice beer and a nice example of the style, it had most of the aspects that I was looking for, but in the end it was a little rough around the edges and that held this beer back from being as good as it could be. This beer had nice drinkability, I could drink the full bottle, but that would be my limit. What I like the most about this beer is the aroma, it was nice and true to style. What I like the least about this beer was mouthfeel, it wasn't that true to style for a stout. I might buy this beer again and I wouldn't turn one down. All in all I liked this beer, but I didn't love it and I think with a little more work it could be pretty good. It's not a favorite Frankenmuth beer and it's just a little above average for the style. Nice job guys, this is a solid coffee stout.

 

 

 

 

Poured into a nonic pint, it has a thin beige ring head with a black body. Smell of oatmeal, chocolate, roasted malt, cold steeped black coffee, and vanilla. Taste is chocolate, oatmeal, black coffee, roasted malt, and a bit of astringency. Full smooth mouth feel and moderate body with a moderate amount of carbonation.

 

Nice smooth coffee flavor. Not bitter.

Poured a dark brown color. Tan head with traces on the glass almost to the end. no overpowering aromas but a strong but smooth coffee flavor.