Mendocino Blue Heron Pale Ale

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

This pale ale poured a cloudy golden color with small white head. this was purchased at first visit to whole Food markets in Richmond. The APA has the bitter flavor of hops yet the medium bodied beer has a lingering bitterness. I purchased another APA in August 2009. It was excellent. This is a very good Pale Ale. The finish ahs the bitterness of good APA>

Bottle. Pours a pale yellow golden body with 1/8" white head. Sweet corny malty a bit skunky. Light note of fruit. Tastes like rusty copper maltiness. Light floral hoppiness and honey. Eh.

Pours a pale golden color with a foamy head. Aroma of caramel malt and some floral and citrus hops. Flavor is well balanced, with neither element overpowering the other. Slightly fruity as well. A bit under-hopped for my tastes, but not a bad brew at all.

Sweet malty aroma with light fruit hops consisting of mainly citric tones. I liked the fact that this wasn’t a ultra hoppy pale. I also enjoyed the fact the malts played a much larger role, yet you knew it wasn’t and English pale. The hops balanced out the higher malts to provide a refreshing, smooth, easy drinking APA. I think it’s a bit underrated.

12 oz bottle: Aroma is balanced hop bitter and mineral . Poured light golden yellow, clear, and quite bubbly with a moderate white head. Tastes are integrated: bitter components of must, citrus and rubber tire, along with sweet malt body and American yeast. Tastes unfiltered; has body of pressed apple cider. Finish gets cleaner as you drink. Nearly classic pale.

Pours a pale orange color with a tiny white froth around the edge. Aroma is very sweet and malty with a definite bit of fruitiness, a bit like green grapes. Some mild graininess that is a bit stale and unpleasant but not too bad. Flavor starts with a quick hit of malt fruitiess but within a split second gets very bitter. Stays bitter and gets a bit of grain in the finish that provides some balance but doesn’t help too much. Medium body and carbonation. Just doesn’t balance well enough and ends too harshly to be great. This is mediocre.

Bottle. Diminishing small, white head with a hazy, dark yellow body. Aroma of toasted malt and grain with notes of flowers and a note of apricot. Hints of dough. The flavor is moderately sweet and lightly bitter. The fnish is more sweet than bitter with tastes of grain. Light to medium body with a watery texture and adequate carbonation. Way too sweet, malty and watery for a good pale ale.

Bottle. Pours a light golden amber with little a nary a head that disappeared quickly. Strong hop presence on the nose and on the palate too. Balance overwhelmingly favors the hops. Enough to detract from the malts that barely there. An average ale.