Mendocino Blue Heron Pale Ale

Brewed by Mendocino Brewing Company
Style: American Pale Ale
Hopland, California USA

Golden color with a thin head that disappears quickly and completely. A bit sour and light with an almost skunk flavor. I expect that it was stored warm before I got it.

Clean and crisp, finish could be improved...overall a good mid-range pale. It’s perfect for those seeking hops but not going as far as an IPA. Very easy to drink.

(12oz bottle. 03/2006) If poured carefully, you get a clear, straw/gold beer in your glass -- but why pour carefully? Pour vigorously! Take the haziness! Small, unlasting, white head that leaves a thin, white ring. Very mild, fruity aromas with some bready notes in the background. Sweet maltiness up front with little middle and a mildly bitter back-end. Moderately bitter aftertaste. Definitely thin bodied pale ale. Drinkable, but nothing spectacular.

(bottle - 12 oz) Clear gold color with no head and very little carbonation. Aroma is extremely light and almost nonexistent. The only thing I can get is a very light hop smell. The taste begins with a lightly sweet taste that moves smoothly to a peppery and hoppy middle and a very bitter and sharp aftertaste. Stays on the tongue for quite a while. Very thin and watery. Your average, middle of the road APA.

Orange/gold with a modest white head, this has a gentle caramel malt and PNW hop aroma. The sweetness of the malt becomes more pronounced in the flavor, well balanced by grapefruit and lemon zest bitterness. Finishing on a lingering, bitter note, this is quite a sessionable APA.

Me thinks my friend frankenkitty got an old bottle to review. This is a style that needs to be drunk fresh.

<font size=-4><a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp? Armanetti, Willowbrook, IL<font size=-1>

Pours a light-hazed golden/copper, mostly flat, with a white head that settles skinny and laces wetly. Harsh, skunky hops greet me in the aroma striking as a Czech pale lager. Flavor, too, is harsh and uninviting with some grasses and zoo-pen urine trough. Dry finish. Pretty damn bad.

<font size=-4>Via bottle from <a href= http://www.ratebeer.com/Place/illinois/chic Map Room, Chicago, IL 60647<font size=-1>

This is what I like to call a friendly beer. There is nothing to hate about this beer unless you don’t like hops. It has a simple but pleasant aroma of citrus hops and malt. The appearance is a cloudy gold and the head is small. The flavor is hoppy with malt, grapefruit, and butter elements. The palate is good. The aftertaste is bitter. There is nothing outstanding about this one but I wouldn’t mind another one if you know what I mean.

Mine out of the bottle was really light straw color. Decent hop aroma a tad grainy for the taste very light for a pale in comparison to others crisp finish and fair body.