Perhaps closer to a toasted lager than a true bock, well-balanced golden-hued medium body substitutes chewy caramel-chocolate malting and increased roasted barley sweetness for dried fruit expectancy. Near finish, recessive white grape-date-fig nuances and earthy nuttiness rail against ashy coal harshness.
MENDOCINO RED TAIL LAGER
Fine dark amber lager conveys butterscotch hilt, cracked wheat jilt, vanilla wafer lilt, and toasted almond tilt. Minor oxidation agitates citric twinge and earthy vegetal tinge.
MENDOCINO RED TAIL ALE
Coarse nuts, cereal grains, and orange peel immerse frothy golden red ale. Pronounced hop bitterness gives way to sticky caramel sweetness by floral-tinged fruity finish. Another organically complex ale from sunny California.
MENDOCINO PEREGRINE GOLDEN ALE
Tamped down Cascade hop bitterness moderates sharp grained malting. Apricot and barren lemon-lime hints add sunshiny tang to barley-wheat crest of light-bodied summer ale illumination.
MENDOCINO IMPERIAL I.P.A.
Brisk limited edition winter seasonal counters resinous piney-hopped bitterness with capacious floral-tinged red-fruited sweetness. Bright grapefruit-peeled orange-apple-peach-berry tang gets candied caramel malting enlivened by woodsy evergreen gird and lacquered bark tinge.
MENDOCINO EYE OF THE HAWK ALE
Sweet mocha nut-scented russet-hued ale with soured orange luster and phenol alcohol pungency resembles hearty Belgian double bock. Raisin, date, and almond re-enforce high cocoa malt concentration to sticky liqueur finish.
(MENDOCINO) BLUE HERON PALE ALE
Light-bodied golden ale lacks tangible nose, but retains sweet wheat-cracked barley biscuit signature, soft water foundation, and nutty caramel malt lining. Off-dry woody hops dissapate tangy orange snippet.
MENDOCINO BLACK HAWK STOUT
Blackened malts thicken resolve of dry-toned fizzy-hopped stout. Burnt pine mouthfeel enriches creamy coffee bitterness, sticky toffee sweetness, and grainy earthiness, leading to firm mocha finish. Further assertiveness needed for world class resolve.
(MENDOCINO) BLACK EYE ALE
Black & tan blends brewers’ Black Hawk Stout with Eye Of The Hawk Ale for dry mahogany-hued ruby-highlighted nonchalance. Ashy mocha-raisin sterility and distant coffee-chocolate creaminess stagnate roasted hop indifference. Robust stout nature lost in transition.
MENABREA LAGER
Hazy golden Italian with suspended yeast particles, aromatic floral accents, soft honeyed malts, and slight mint tingle goes down easy. Pleasant hop tide caresses sweet tobacco-leafed cotton candy illusion, lifting dewy nectar lightness to watery-textured musty-fruited finish.
MELBOURN BROS. STRAWBERRY BEER
Fruit-bursting orange-paled strawberry-saturated brew stays rich, syrupy, and tart to dry lambic-like candied finish. Fairly accomplished, quite strong, and better than Pete’s Wicked Strawberry Blonde by a hair.
MELBOURNE BROS. CHERRY BEER
Glorious strawberry reddish, pink-headed, wild yeast-fermented fruit beer binds cherry Danish tartness to sweet cherry pie dominance and ambrosial tangerine-berry-melon illusions, becoming medicinal by Chardonnay-like finish. Serve to New Glarus Raspberry Tart lovers.