Mendocino Raptor Red Lager

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

[Bottled at Hong Kong Brew House, Lan Kwai Fong, Hong Kong] Hazy pale orange, rich, airy dishwater-like head. Perfumy peachy hoppy nose. Fairly sweet with clean hard crystal malt character. Medium bodied with a tad of citrus. Low bitterness. With it’s ultra-primitive malt character it’s only marginally better than than the rice lagers of southern China.

Bottle. This was really crap. No better in quality than Tooheys New. Stale, sweet, tinny and just plain awful, what a dissapointing brewery this is.

Head is initially average sized, frothy, off-white, mostly lasting. Body is medium amber. Aroma is lightly malty (cookie), lightly hoppy (flowers). Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, moderately acidic, moderately bitter. Medium body, watery texture, lively carbonation. Sourness grows a bit in the finish, and the aroma isn't very assertive. Plain, average, boring.

bottled. pretty poor, even for a red ale. light, corn syrup sweetness, aspirin finish

Bottle. Light amber color with a small, rapidly diminishing, white head. Aroma of slightly roasted malt and a little grassy hop. Near medium body with near creamy carbonation. Flavor is roasted red malt result with some definite grassy hop. Finish is nicely bitter - this is one heck of a pale lager.

Orange gold color. Small quickly disappointing head. Aroma is malty and fruity. Medium bodied amber. The malts are mild, nutty and sweet. Hops are slightly bitter. Has a definite lager like quality to it, with small bubbly champagne like carbonation. Mild flavors. Fruity and dry. This would make a nice summer session beer. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and dry. Aftertaste is slightly sweet.

2004 or 2005 bottle from Liquor Mart, consumed on 10/12/2005. Pours a coppery-amber color, very clear. Massive bubbles rising, with a thin, white head that barely even covers and recedes quickly to a touch on the edges. Smells of light berries, touch of honey wheat and a hint of lightly toasted grains. Deep barley smell is nice, but faint. Can’t find any hops in the nose. Yeast is not apparent. Flavor begins with some dough/breadiness, a touch of grassy/hay-like hops and then gets moderately sweet. Hops on the end, with some plastic as well. Kind of buttery. Though there is some hops bitterness, malt presence goes nowhere but downhill from the start. Mouthfeel is poor - huge bubbles bother my throat and create a broken consistency.. Medium-light to light body. Bits of spotty lacing. Not crisp on the end. Begins to get soapy the more I drink. Not enough body. I’ll stop now. . . .

Thsi beer isn't as bad as everyone thinks, but it is what it is. A tinny, acidic aroma but past that it's a refreshing beer. That is good when it's 90 degrees in the beginning of friggin March. Nice malty finish.