Mendocino Winter Ale (05/06 - IIPA)

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

12 oz. bottle via trade with OhioDad - Pours a hazy amber color with a 1/2 finger thick off white head. Very light lacing. Light floral & citrus hop and toasted malt aroma. Has a bitter hop flavor with a slight bit of malt. Palate is a bit thin. Slight oxidation is setting in. Medium body. This beers’ age is beginning to show. Too bad, I bet it was good when first released. Still, a decent beer now. Glad I got to try it. Thanks Scott.

Golden orange color, very mild nose of mango and citrus, I wish it were stronger. Creamy citrus bitter taste with a lingering finish.

Bottled. Poured clear medium orange with a dusting of white head and a spattering of lacing as it went down. Aroma was quite nice, retaining the juiciness of the Simcoe, but definitely leaning toward the sweet, malty side with grapefruit meat, toffee, and some alcohol sting accenting it. Flavor was good, but a bit too boozy... sweet rum-laced toffee, caramel, and juicy grapefruit with unidentifiable hop and alcohol sharpness. Sticky caramel and pear finish. Felt OK at the various points on the palate, but didn’t necessarily flow well. Decent brew, and damn cheap.

12oz btl. Consumed fresh in December 2005, via Knightly Spirits Orlando. Pours a hazy amber with bubbles trying to coagulate into a small off white head. Protruding caramel malt and dry hops dominate the aroma, with tinges of lavender, grapefruit and toffee. Flavor is more of the same, additions of bitter hops(nice blend), melons and creamy sugar. A nice malt backbone keeps things on an even keel. Palate is a little watery in the finish, otherwise really well wrought. Finishes long, dry and slightly astringent. Good effort from Mendocino.

Bottle from Party Source, KY. Pours a hazy copper with a large fizzy off-white head that was mostly lasting with good lacing. Heavy hoppy citrus aroma. Medium to full body with a slick texture. Heavy hoppy bitter flavor with a good bittersweet finish of moderate duration. Very good brew.

12 oz bottle

This was a decent suprise that I picked up on a run to Woodman’s a few weeks ago. As I triage some stuff, this came to the front of the list. Overall it was a well made double IPA though not really head and shoulders above the rest. I would compare it to Full Sail Slipknot or something similar. It has a nice balance and is very easy to drink. It was not long before the bottle and my glass were both empty.

Aroma / Appearance - Toffee, honey, spruce and cinnamon form an inviting nose. In the background is the smell of cheap waxy chocolate like that found in your average candy bar. It was a nice balance and not as hoppy as I was expecting. The body was a carbonated amber with bubbles flowing to the top at a steady pace.

Flavor / Palate - Chewy toffee fills the mouth on the first sip. It is almost like somebody blended a hard candy into a fluid form. After that a lingering astringincy supports the taste of hot molasses. The mouthfeel is very full and creamy. It has hints of west coast hops without being over the top. The finish is dry, leaving traces of orange peels and grapefruit on the throat.

Bottle (12oz). Via trade with iowaherkeye. Clear burnt copper pour, with an average lasting foamy white head, nice sticky lacing (4-). Muted roast malt / pine/resin hop aroma, hints of spruce leaf and lactose, very little alcohol. The taste is more up-front - pine/resin hops, good orange peel malt backbone, long bitter finish with rousing alcohol; herbal side notes. Average body, quite astringent, lingering bitter palate; solid almost burnt roasty I2PA - has held up very well.

(Bottle 35,5 cl) Pours a slightly hazy amber golden with a small, off-white head. Somewhat fat aroma of caramel malt and aroma hops. Fairly solid body with plenty of caramel and some potent if slightly perfumy aroma hoppiness. A dose of bitterness rounds this off. Decent but far from outstanding. Courtesy of Degarth. 191206