Mendocino Winter Seasonal Imperial IPA

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

Bottle pours copper with a big giant head and residual lace. The aroma is citrusy. The flavor is dryer than I anticipated with some nice lingering hops. The palate is very smooth and rich. Very nice.

This isn’t a bad impy IPA, but not one that blows me away. It pours a mostly clear dark copper color with a thick and sticky off-white head. The head leaves plenty of sticky residue around the sides of the glass. The nose leans a little heavier toward the malty side, with notes of bread, yeast and caramel. But it does have some hoppiness to it, along with some grass, earth, light citrus and pine. The body and flavors are a little too balanced. I wish there was more hops to this beer. It does have a good ratio of malt to hops for a balanced taste, but I like my IPA’s to be really hoppy and spicy. This one fell a little short of those expectations. But it’s still a decently delicious and drinkable beer.

Pours a clear amber with a thick white head. Aromas of bread dough and citrus. Sweet malt up front with a very nice bitterness in the finish that takes you by suprise. Slight warm alcohol finish. Not the hoppiest IIPA out there, but a very solid offering.

My first brew from Mendocino. orange/amber pour with a nice creamy of white head. Grapefruit and pine scent. Decent hoppy bite, balanced bready finish with the hops. A good beer, I will try some of their others now.

Very solid ipa from a very solid brewery. Hoppy and sweet, very thick, nice stuff.

12oz bottle. Pours a clear, amber colored body with a finger-width, creamy, beige-tan head that dissipates slowly and leaves a nice lacing. Aroma isn’t explosive like some DIPA’s, but its nice and clean. A sweeter and bigger caramel malt backing with a moderate amount of piney citrus. Some bread joins the orange, lemon, and apricot fruits. Flavor is sweet malts up front with plenty of sweet, resiny hops. Some lemony grapefruits and orange with a light apricot join the fatter caramels for a simple, but well balanced flavor. Finishes with a resiny, moderate bitterness and lots of sweet hops and malts that linger for a good amount of time. A light toasty malt creeps in there too. Medium body and smooth with an average carbonation. Overall, this was part of a build your own 6-pack and came away as the clear favorite from the bunch. A balanced, sweeter, well hopped DIPA with a lightly toasted, sweeter caramel malt. Everything comes together nicely for an enjoyable, smooth beer.

This brew was ok. I liked the subtle nutty notess that came out from the exhale. It was sweet. I totally liked the cool hawk and dug the ferocious hops presence that was actually pretty lame but it was cool it wa s there if that makes sense? not a bad brew for sure but not one to lead off the winter season with....albeit at tasty one

This poured a bright orange color with a big fluffy white head. Aroma was pungeant piney and grapefruit hops, some apricot in there as well, also some bready notes. Flavor was terrifically balance toasted malts to keep the bitterness in check, but with a great resinous hoppy taste. This definately exceeded my expectations.