Mendocino Blue Heron Pale Ale

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

Pours a light amber with yellow edges and a 3 finger chunky white head that has pretty good retention and leaves decent lacing. Aroma is raw barley, some caramel, toffee, lots of vegetal notes, some citrus hops... not much though. Flavor is sweet barley, caramel, lots of cereal grain, some vegetal notes, soggy corn flakes, some off metallic notes, a hint of citrus and some fruit notes come in toward the slightly bitter finish. Palate is medium body a little oily and neutral to finish with a light carbonation. I didn’t really enjoy this too much it has alot of the same off flavors that many other mendocino brews have.

bottle poured a yellow in color with a white head. aroma has pale malt, light hops, and a touch of bitterness. mouth feel is light with minimal carbonation. flavor has some nice bitterness, pale malt, grains, and low sweetness. a nice easy drinking brew.

(12oz bottle) Pours a clear yellow with a small white head. Subtle aroma of florals and grass. Flavor of hops (grass, earth) and malt with a moderately bitter finish.

I can’t count how many times I’ve stopped by the store in some place in NorCal and wound up buying a sixer of this because it’s tasty and it’s pretty inexpensive. The beer pours out a solid gold color, clear with a large 2" thick head which disipates to a thin, wispy head. A doughy aroma with the off-setting fruity hops (getting orange rinds). Flavor is very well balanced with the fruity sweet malts and the tame perfumey hops. Easy to drink and still pretty tasty all these years.

Pours an eggshell head with light lacing. Body is deep golden. Smells of honey, little bread, and some hops. Flavor is biscuit and honey. Bitter finish.

Appearance: Pours a clear, burnished golden body with a small, though frothy, white head. Smell: Sweetish honey and toffee candy notes with an indistinct background lemony character. Taste: Crisp pale maltiness with sweet touches of honey, toffee, and light caramel. Slight graininess. Then, it’s a burst of hop bitterness that comes across a tad harsh as the malt character is fairly light. Only meager hop tastes of grass and lemon pith. These tastes linger into the dry, bitterish finish. Mouthfeel: Just barely squeaks into medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Drinkability: Fairly middle-of-the-road at best. I appreciate the initial malt tastes, but they’re a bit light and far too fleeting, which allows a dull bitterness to trounce the tastebuds, but you’re left wanting a bit more actual hop flavor.

12 oz bottle courtesy of the Binnys singles rack (Orland Park, IL). Pours a golden hue, with some dark notes, hazy, with decent offwhite head that dissipates to a film and clings to the side, light lacing. Aromas are citrusy lemon hops, grass, and pale malts with a touch of floral. Initial is lighter bodied, pushing pale malts and light citrusy lemon hoppiness. A bit bitter on the backend, crisp grain, a little underwhelming hopwise. Finish crisp, grainy with light bitterness, forgettable.

Aroma is not very strong, golden yellow with lots of particles throughout, hoppy, slightly metalic aftertaste.