Mendocino Red Tail Ale

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

Draught @ Brouwer’s Cafe: Amber, moderate white head that falls quickly, enjoyable lacing, lively carbonation.   Somewhat grainy malt base, subtle hop nose.   Somewhat astringent on the tongue, odd bitter twang that I dont relate to hops.   Decent malt base, carries through to the end.   Moderate body and mouthfeel, better than the Big Time Atlas Amber I had before this.   Finishes with a lingering bitterness.   Crisp, not terribly clean, decent but a bit below average in my opinion.

Amber-orange color, with a shy foamy white head, fruity, caramelized malt, toasted grains aroma folows through on a medium-bodied palate with caramelized malt, sweet maltiness, toasted grains, leading towards a clean well dry hoppy finish.

Nice balance of hops and malt in this beer. Small head but nice lacing. A decent brew. Aroma is pleasant. Overall better than your average amber ale.

I don’t normally like "fruity-tasting" beer but I really enjoyed this. Sweet, but not overpowering. Very smooth. I will definitely allow this into my fridge; I’ll just have to hide it behind the manly beers.

Nice balance of herbal hops and malt in the aroma. Appearance is copper in color with large, unsightly brown floaters. Flavor is fairly bitter from the hops but the prominent malt taste keeps it in check. Aftertaste is slightly sweet and somewhat coffee like in bitterness.

I don’t know about the commercial comparison to "good wine" here. Amber color, diminishing head. Aromas are significantly hoppy with an off-aroma of burnt caramel. The ale finishes short and sour with a watery mouthfeel. The beer kind of flings its flavors at you. Very little organization here.

Hoppy enough for me, alcohol is well hidden, very smooth. Light spice, well balanced. Enjoyed this one.

Tap. Pours a golden amber color, compact white head that left behind a bit of lacing, completely transparent with a lot of cascading bubbles rising from the depths of the glass. Aroma is gently hoppy (mostly a citrus sort of hoppiness), caramelly maltiness. One sip had me a little freaked out, because its flavor was nearly identical to the batch of homebrew that I bottled today. Hoppy flavor with a good dose of cascades would be my guess (as that’s what I put in my beer), a hint of sweetness at first with a dry bitterness from the hops in the finish, caramel malts are hiding in there too. Crisp and very drinkable due to its medium light body, well carbonated. All in all, a decent beer.