Alpine Beer Company Mandarin Nectar

Brewed by Alpine Beer Company (CA)
Style: Fruit Beer
Alpine, California USA

22oz bottle: Pours to a clear, light amber colored body with a small, quickly fading white head. The aroma shows pale malt, light honey coated cereal, a hint of orange blossom (though smells more like orange than the jasmine-like flavor of the blossom), and a mild orange zest scent. Taste is clean & crisp on the palate, showing initially some very pleasantly light orange flavor, almost flowery, mild honey, mild pale malt, and finishes with some mild orange zest and very light earthy hops. The body is dry, light, and crisp, with lively carbonation. While the flavor isn’t intense, I think this beer is exactly what it is intended to be - an approachable, quenching, light beer with hints of fruit. If the orange were too intense it would be unpleasant to drink. As it is, each sip leaves you wanting more. Nice.

Pours golden orange hue, very clear, white creamy head sustains well. Floral sweet hop nose with grainy malts and hints of grass. Taste is moderate hop bitterness, medium citrus hop flavors, spices, bready malts, sweet but not cloying, finishes dry and sweet. Medium-bodied, high level of prickly carbonation blasts the palate. A sweet and flavorful ale, aromatics are refreshing and the flavor is sweet yet balanced.

Bomber from South Bay Drug. Coppery amber color with a slight white head. Aromas of grain, malt and citrus. Near medium body with creamy carbonation. Flavor seems wheaty, and there is coriander and arguably zest of some sort of citrus. Struggling for orange here. Finish is slightly sweet and has a touch of paper. Interesting. Quite different from other fruit beers I’ve had. More like beer beer.

Bottle. Good sweet muscat grape nose. Golden amber color with a bit fizz. Very sweet entry with some dried fruit mids and a late dry finish. A bit watery but the flavor that does come through is very pleasant.

Tap at the brewery. Poured a orange/yellow color, with a nice white head. Not much of a smell to it, slight orange. Tasted really good, slight tang to it , very good.

Draft… RBSG’08… Clear golden ale with orange highlights and a small, creamy, white head. Decent retention. Restrained nose of perfumy orange blossoms and cereal grains. Medium-bodied with a skim-milk mouthfeel and bristly carbonation. The flavor is perfectly balanced, but bland and boring. Crisp, mostly clean finish.

Clear light amber with a tight head. Faint fruity aroma with tart wheat. Light/medium body. Flavor is lightly sweet tart wheat grain with a decent citrusy mandarin essence. Nice on a hot day.

Light copper color...small but persistent head with slight lace. Aroma of malt, straw, orange. Flavorful, significant mandarin orange, lemon, straw, grains, slight sweetness, some bitter notes, light overall but decent as a summer session beer or first brew of the evening.