Mendocino Red Tail Ale

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

Amber colored, medium bodied, fairly strong. Low carbonation, very drinkable. A pretty good beer.

Bottle. Pours a little cloudy and amber with slight head. Nose is like a British Ale, a little malty and a slight hop aroma. Nice malty flavor that finishes pretty clean. This is not an overpowering brew in any way, but I think it is very tasty. I enjoyed it a lot. Good brew that is done well. Nice.

12 oz bottle. Hazy amber color. Head? not really. Aromas were very subtle, with just some maltiness. Flavors were a bit better with a decent hop bite, but a rather bland finsih. Average at best.

Amber beer with a medium tan head that lasts a while. Light yeasty aroma, pleasant. Flavor is rather full with malts and caramel up front, starting out faintly sweet. Drys out toward the end with a bitter hop finish. Medium to full body but good carbonation and a bit crisp. Fairly well done for an amber ale. Not bad for $6.99 a six pack at Broudys, Orange Park FL.

Poured from bottle into shaker glass. Rusty amber color with diminishing off- white head that was a little loose. Aroma is...wait...what the hell is that in my beer? It looks like a terrible case of impurity! I realize that it is "bottle conditioned" but that shouldn’t mean asteroids floating in my beer. It’s not a chill haze or yeasty sediment. They look like various-sized pieces of dandruff. They probably are just pieces of barley husk that haven’t been strained out, but it’s very distracting. I may have been able to look the other way and drink it anyway, but it’s not near good enough for that.

12oz bottle - Pours copper with a short white head that fades fairly quick. I didn’t get much aroma at all from my bottle. A little alfalfa hay and some subdued caramel malts. Flavor is mostly malts caramel, and a little bit of a bitter yet dry hop finish. Palate is medium bodied with not much carbonation at all. This is drinkable but oh so boring.

I really love red tail. It has a very strong , interesting flavor. I love the hoppiness and aftertaste. If you can get one of these on tap, do yourself a favor and DO IT! I have been drinking this beer for years and would love one right now.

Clear reddish amber. Predominately malty, although not sweet palate. Little hop aroma or flavor, but the hops come through in the dry, mildly bitter finsih.