Beer Flash: Maine Beer Company's "Mean Old Tom" stout

Grabbed this beer recently at D'Vines in Columbia Heights and figured I'd try it out. It's "Mean Old Tom", a 6.5% ABV stout from Freeport, ME-based Maine Beer Company. I've had a lot from this brewery, namely the "Lunch" and the "Red Wheelbarrow." One of the guys at D'Vines recommended this, and since I've been in a vanilla stout kind of mood, I picked it up.

It's got a nose of aromatic vanilla bean and dark roasted malts, which is nice. As it warmed up, it took it in small sips, and it presents soft flavors of coffee, baker's chocolate, and vanilla. The flaked oats make for a grainy taste that's rather good, and the subtleness of the vanilla flavor is a nice touch. Overall, very pleasant, with a silky texture and low carbonation. Not a lot of aftertaste, either.

This is probably one of the better vanilla bean stouts I have had, mostly because the vanilla is not aggressive, doesn't taste artificial, and doesn't overpower the oat / stout flavors. Sometimes, with beers like this, you get one or the other. But not this one. So give this a shot - $7.99 for a 16.9oz.