Mendocino Red Tail Ale

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

Rated 4/13/06: Sampled out of the bottle and also in a glass. Pours a medium amber color with a dirty copper tint. There is minimal head and moderate lacing. Average amount of aroma that is nice with characteristics of sweet malt, fruity overtones, and a faint hint of hops. Adequate mouthfeel for an ale, somewhat filling, rather smooth with an easy finish. The flavor is considerably better than average. The malt characteristics are easily tasted, and there are some sweet flavors that also stand out, caramel perhaps. A nice hearty hop finish rounds out an overall pleasant and enjoyable ale. This one is decent.

Pours a clear orange with zero head. Aroma is hoppy with buttery whang that didn’t fit. Alcohol is not disguised well at all, but the flavor starts as that of a hoppy amber, just ends dry and uninspiring. Odd beer in that it seems enjoyable at times, but overall just not quite that good.

Pours a opaque reddish color with a white head. Has hints of some sweet fruits, spices, and hops. Finishes with a sweet hop flavor on the tongue.

Poured a reddish amber with a thin creamy offwhite head. The aroma is more substantial than I expected. Sweet, hoppy, fruit, and caramel. Mostly sweet notes. The taste is very similar. Sweet malt, hoppy bitterness, a bit dry. The palate is waxy. Not too bad for an amber ale.

A pleasant surprise! Best Mendocino offering I’ve tried. Not over the top alcohol-wise like their Eye of the Hawk and IPA. Quite good overall; one of the better ambers I’ve tried. No weird aftertastes, like many of this style seem to have. I’ll probably be coming back to this one often. I think the 52 current rating is considerably understated.

This beer surprises by its tartness. It really lights up the front of the tongue and almost as much near the back of the throat. It is mildly bitter. Flavor is difficult to get a handle on. I keep looking for caramel but it is way back in the background. Hops are more evident in the tartness than in the flavor. It is described as "complex" and that is a good description. Another word used for it is "crisp" and that is also apt. Other words that could be used are "interesting" and "unique."

Nothing too aggressive here, just a mild bitterness and a crisp feel. Aftertaste can feel a little rusty, but overall it’s a clean beer good for warm-weather sippin.

not sure how old world they were trying to get with this, but it tasted like a quick-e-mart attempt at microbrew. I mean, not much to go by other than some watered down hops, caramel, and some Rickards Red.....It’s like Dog Tick Beer from the Simpsons. "Needs more dog."