Mendocino Winter Ale (05/06 - IIPA)

Formerly brewed at Olde Saratoga Brewing (Mendocino Brewing Co.)
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Saratoga Springs, New York USA

Bottle from Captain Cougar, thanks a ton. Pine and light caramel malt in the aroma. Golden brown body. Medium palate. Lots of hop bitterness up front with a nice caramel malt balance. Must have been a hop monster when it was fresh, because this baby is still going strong. Very enjoyable.

Bottled. Orange coloured. Unclear. Dense off white head. Pines, citrus and spice in the aroma. Is quite flowery and herbal. Flavour is herbal, sweet, spiced and citric with heavy floral notes. Medium to full bodied. Dry. Has a distinct citric bitterness in the end. Thanks to Degarth for the trade.

Thanks Skyview for sharing. A clloudy amber pour with bone white head. Lots of floral hops on the nose and some sweet malt as well. Orange hops on the body and some hop bite.

An interesting find. Picked up a single bottle at Main Street Market in Egg Harbor, WI during April 2007. Shared with Brewfiend, pours a cloudy, dark amber brew with a thick off white head. Aroma has the hops like no tomorrow. Other aromas include caramel, citrus peel, grapefruit, and tasted malt. Taste is citrus and sweet and it reminds me of those sweet orangesickles on a hot summer day. Finish has some carbonation, smooth and then the hop comes back and bites good.

Sampled February 2007
Pours with a hazy, dark amber color and is topped by a frothy, initially one-finger thick, light tan colored head. The beer smells of lightly aged, distinctly caramelized malt and still somewhat pungent hops. Notes of sweet citrus fruit mix with the chewy, caramelized bready malt notes. The finish has a nice dry biscuit or cracker type aroma to it.

Still sharply bitter in the taste; the bitterness hits the tongue from the beginning and lingers on in through to the finish. Chewy, biscuit like malt notes are what sticks around the longest though. A pungent hoppiness, lead by a solid herbaceous pine-like character & even some menthol like notes, is quite present and plays the leading flavor role here. There is clearly some aged malt character here, but the hops are still big enough that it is hard to dig out; lightly oxidized malt character seem to amplify a toasty cracker like note and, a seemingly paradoxical, dry caramelized character.

This is still drinking quite nicely, I am sure it was much more pungently hoppy when fresh, but the years worth of age has melded together flavors quite well and added a touch of light oxidation character that helps to boost the malt complexity. I am not sure I would want to age this much longer though.

(Bottle) Pours a clear amber body with a medium off-white head. Aroma of caramel, citrus, breadiness, and light pine. Flavor of hops, fruit, and caramel with a bitter finish.

12oz bottle acquired in trade with ughsmash (thanks!). Poured a medium and slightly hazy orange color with an averaged sized off white head. Aromas of citrus, pine, lightly earthy, toasted malts and light caramel. Tastes of citrus, melons, grapefruit, caramel and toffee. Light alcohol finish.

This beer pours an opaque amber with a small white head. The flavor is dry, bitter, hoppy with some citrus notes.