Mendocino Winter Seasonal Imperial IPA

Brewed by Mendocino Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Hopland, California USA

Pours a reddish gold color with a light head that leaves some lacing as it goes down. The beer is extremely clear. The overwhelming smell is of bitter hops and maybe some grass. The beer is pretty hoppy, but it also a little sour. The beer takes on an almost creamy texture in the mouth and has a long lasting aftertaste. The hop flavor isn’t quite as strong as I would expect from an imperial IPA, but this is a pretty good beer.

12oz Bottle $6.99 6-Pack Binny’s Orland This is bottle was brewed in Saratoga Springs, NY. Mendocino’s Winter Seasonal is a IIPA. I wish there were more IIPA Winter seasonals. Pours crystal clear with a dirty copper hue. The bright white head grew to one finger on the pour and after relaxing for a minute or two fell to a thin cap leaving some decent sticky lacing on it’s way down. This beer is pretty big on the malty end for a IIPA. I prefer mine huge on hops but a nicely balanced IIPA is good every now and then. A thick layer of caramel maltiness creates the base for this beer. The hoppiness comes along floral with swirls of citrus here and there. Good smell but a little faint for my liking. The taste really stands out without really standing out. It’s perfectly balanced between the big caramel malt and the lightly floral and citric hoppiness. The hoppiness is soft and enjoyable which go really well with the caramel. Like I said before, I’m more into the one-sided hoppy IIPAs but this is a very well balanced and tasty brew. The body is medium with a velvety smoothness. The carbonation is on the lower end of the spectrum which lets this beer just glide across the palate. The superb balance makes this beer extremely easy to put away. I could easily drink these all night long. I think this might be my first Mendocino beer. For some reason none of their beers really appealed to me until I noticed a IIPA and for $6.99 a sixer. I had to give it a try and I’m glad I did. I’ll be picking up more of this soon. Pick this up if you see it, it’s a sleeper for sure. 12/7/07

12 oz. pour clear coppery amber with light head yeilding to delicate lacing. Immediate aroma packing the punch of strong hops, dry acidic fruits and malty rich undertones. Initial flavor of ruby red grapefruit and lime mixed with a salty sweet mid palate and a bitter hoppy finish followed by a rich, rugged earthy aftertaste of malt, hops and lingering citrus. Somewhat reminiscent of the caribbean. This beer would be delicious paired with pork loin, chops or a nice fish like tuna steak and a light papaya/pineapple/cilantro chutney.

Bottle… Clear amber ale with a small, creamy, white head. Excellent retention. The nose is an aromatic whirlpool of toffee and topical and citrus fruits… pineapple, honeydew, papaya and grapefruit. Hefty malt backbone supports the heavily bitter hops. Within the context of this beer, the pungency of the hops is muted a bit, but still medium to heavily bitter. Grapefruit, pineapple and toffee in the flavor as well. Full-bodied and ultra-creamy with ticklish carbonation. Lengthy, bitter finish with a pinch of salt.

Near perfect fiery amber pour with a thick, whipped head. The nose is fresh and juicy with plenty of citrusy hops. Are these guys really located in Hopland? The body is again pure h-juice. A nice splash of rindy bitterness hits the tongue as notes of orange zest, roses and perfume develop as well. The malt structure is light, letting the hops do the work from start to finish. Very drinkable, and for what it is, it is good.

Pours a dark amber color with borderline reddish hues. A medium sized white head settles to a 1mm blanket that shows good retention. Stratified layers of lacing, varying in thickness, coat the glass well. The aroma boasts sharp, fresh grapefruit bitterness, toasted caramel malts, cream and toffee. The flavor follows suit, with caramel and toffee providing a solid malt base for sharp grapefruit hoppiness. Medium-full bodied and pretty smooth, though the finish is mildly astringent. Solid brew. Drink this as fresh as possible, as it seems like one that will fade very quickly. Reminiscent of Terrapin Big Hoppy Monster, but not quite as refined.

Nice carmel, resiny aroma with a sweet hopped up California-esque aroma. Taste is a little piney, bitter, touch of caramelized malt. Palate is full with a lot of carbonation and pine bitterness. Decent, but nothing over the top awesome.

Clear dark orange, creamy off white head. Hoppy aromatics of pine and cedar that warm to soft tropical peach and toffee-like notes. Moderate hop peachy pine flavor balances out with notes of earthy caramel. Medium bodied, soft carbonation, bittersweet finish. Why can’t their standard lineup be this good? Matter of fact, why not make this a year rounder…