Mendocino Summer Ale

Brewed by Mendocino Brewing Company
Style: Belgian White (Witbier)
Hopland, California USA

From a 12 oz. brown bottle with a blurb on the neck label, no freshness date I could find, sampled at a cooler cellar temperature. Poured a cloudy orangey dull yellow with a foamy white head that settled into a thin lacing, very minimal amount of sticking. Light aromas of coriander, bare hints of spices, lemon mixed with oranges and wheat malts. Moderate carbonation overall and a softly crisp, watery medium bodied mouthfeel. Pleasant, but average tasting, the wheat malts are a bit thin, watery tasting with no real dryness, watered down spices with a touch lemon juice, a light orange flavor that, for me, was too soda-like, a watery pepper shows up towards the end and, once again, a watery malty finish with a touch of yeast, average witbier drinkability.

Cold 12oz bottle: Pours a cloudy light yellow with minimal small alabaster bubbles around edges. Aroma is musty with yeast, lemon and grass. Moderately fizzy on the tongue. Taste is of sharp yeast, wheat, citrus and spice. Smooth finish.

Bottle: Pours a cloudy yellow with a thin white head, aroma has lemon, hay and sharp yeast, medium bodied with prickly carbonation, starts and end lightly sweet with a touch of sourness at the end.

Pours light yellow and hazy with a fully receding white head. Aroma of orange peel, lemon, and coriander. Tastes of orange peel and chamomile. Mouthfeel is thin bodied with foamy, spritzy carbonation.Interesting, but not very good.

12oz bottle. Pours a cloudy gold with a small white head. Aroma of...lemon. That is all. Flavor is very citrusy. Not a full beer at all, somewhat lacking in my view. Not much finish.

12oz bottle purchased from Wine Emporium in Boston. No freshness date found. Pours a cloudy white once the sediment at the bottom of the bottle entered. I got some of the sediment, but regretted pouring my beer too quickly to not get it all. Small head. Smells beautiful - all spicy and wheaty. Can’t wait for a taste. Darn. It’s pretty light. Feels watered down. A bit too tangy and lemony - with not enough fullness. Some lacing. Hmmm, not sure what to do with this beer now. I figured it might be suitable for guests, but I could see this not being too well received. I drink far more hefeweizen than I do "Belgian wit", so perhaps that is what I am used to. Time to do some reading then!

Bottle: Poured a dull yellow color with a thin white head. Quite the yeasty aroma ... and the yeastiness carries to the palate. There’s a hint of citric tartness. I don’t get the witbier spiciness .. this fits better as an American hefeweizen, American wheat. Good light and guzzle-able, but not a great example of Witbier.

12oz bottle-pours a white head with cloudy straw/yellow color, with lots of yeast particles and effervescence. Aroma is musty wheat, funky, citrus, heavier spices. Taste is musty wheat, funky, tart citrus, heavier spices. Good effervescence.