Mendocino Red Tail Lager

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

Cloudy copper pour...Thin white head...Malty aroma...Light body...Crisp carbonation...Slightly sweet...Clean slightly sweet finish...

Grainy/grassy aroma with a hint of sweeter breads and steeped cereal grains. The body is a dull copper/amber color and holds a thumb thick white head that is fairly lasting but leaves very little lace. Fore is sweet cereal grains with very faint fruity/sugary notes....almost like having your Booberry with water and then drinking the left over water. I actually reaqlly like the flavor though. It hints at toasty grains, but is mostly sweet and lightly fruity. The finish is clean if not dry, but leaves a lingering blueberry, apple, grain flavor. I’d drink this again for sure.

This is lager that drinks like an ale. There is a lot of body and peppery hops with very little malt. Not extremely sweet, but the aftertaste is quite caramel-y.

Pours a slightly hazy light copper with a average sized head. Aroma is of light malts, barley, and mild citrus. Flavor is nice and crisp. Light hops and malts with a slight tartness. I found it to be a nice basic very drinkable beer.

Bottle: Bronze color, light head and lacing. Nose is floral and hoppy, nice malts, some toast, the flavor is balanced, very rich in pale malt with a balanced hop background. Medium body, solid finish. Tasty lager. Premium indeed.

Pours a clear medium amber with thin ring of offwhite head. Sweet malt aroma and flavor. Some honey. Easy drinking. Nice session beer.

On tap. This was at a little restaurant in Tahoe City, CA called Rosie’s. The pour was a crystal clear pale copper color with a foamy white, one-finger head. Spotty lacing followed all the way down the glass. The aroma was subdued citrus and a bit of floral hoppiness. This beer was VERY fresh. The flavor was a surprisingly nice blend of citrus and floral hops with some thin malt present. A bit of a lingering sweet finish. This is a perfect example of how important FRESH beer really is. I’m sure if I had a year old bottle of this stuff from my local liquor store I would have given this a much lower score, but since it was from a fresh keg I’ll tell you it was a very solid session beer.

From a bottle. The body was dark gold with a light khaki head. The aroma was spicy bell pepper and some potatoes. The taste was bitter grass with some spice at the end. The mouthfeel was fairly full. A decent lager.