Mendocino Summer Ale

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

Bottle. Poured a golden color with a lively white head that fizzed to a ring. Aroma of banana, clove, and citrus. Nice comfortable flavor. Orange, clove, lemon, wheat, and other spices all detected in this one. Light body that I imagine would be great on a warm summer day.

12 oz. bottle, $1.15 from the loose bottle rack at <a href=http://ratebeer.com/Place/illinois/downers-gr Sam’s Wines, Downers Grove. Kind of a generic looking label, eh. Pours standard beer yellow, tall weizen glass kicks up a bit of yellowish foam. Basic slightly spritzy wheat beer smell. Taste is a decent enough American wheat, but it’s not easy to find any Belgian character or spice to it. Well, no, I do have a bit of bubblegum and orange peel as I go further down the glass. Pleasant, but not quite what it aspires to be.

Light-hazed golden (yet strangely clear) with a fizz-away head and tiny floaters. Overwhelming Lymon® aroma that is so strong and artificial it seems chemical... like a glass-cleaner or carpet cleaning solution (I found it both pleasant and undrinkable at the same time). Lemon-lime flavor on a mild wheat background with a sour, acidic finish. Thin-bodied and fizzy with an alcopop persona. Not very beer-like, but sweetly refreshing. Might suit you as an alternative to a wine cooler. 5/3/5/2/8 = 2.3

Soft re-rate 07/10/08    Appearance shows murkiness as opposed to the "clear" formerly mentioned, and the head stays for a while, falling soft and foamy (appearance +1). Aroma still gives off an artificial quality, with chemical-lemon over a welcome nuttiness and an unwelcome sulfur/acetone overtone (aroma +0). Tart, fruity flavor remains as before, yet a hit of plasticine finishes and lingers (flavor -1). All things considered, I’m going to let the numbers stand as I originally entered them two years ago. Boooooo. Mendocino has FAR better beers. Shame.(5/4/4/3/8 = 2.3)

<font size=-4>Single bottle from <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/ViewUser.asp?Use cellar.<font size=-1>

Pours a cloudy yellowish-orange in color with a massive white head that fades rather quickly. Nice lacing. Aroma is yeasty with a bit of banana and citrus. Nice wheat flavor, slightly sour and reminiscent of a hefeweizen. Undertones of citrus. A tasty summer brew.

12oz bottle - pours a light, bright yellowish gold with a modest white fizzy head which dissapates to almost nothing, very quickly. Lacing is minimal. Aroma is mostly yeast, with nuances of lemon and orange. Flavor is refreshing with a light spiciness, clove, wheat and ginger. Mouthfeel is fizzy and light, no real body to it. Aftertaste is plesantly light with nuances of lemon and other citrus flavors. This is not a bad beer, very refreshing and a good thirst quencher!

12-oz. bottle. Pours pale yellow with a thin white head that mostly dissipates yet leaves enough to produce some lined lacing. Heavy wheat and yeast (dough) aroma, banana and clove notes, faint citrus hop nose. Yeasty wheat and light malt flavor, banana and cloves, floral and lemony. Light and very fizzy, spicy palate, quite refreshing.

12 oz bottle, from Blue Max in Burnsville, MN. Just a touch of haze to the golden body, minimal semi-permanent white head....very, very sweet aroma of candied orangepeel, cardamom, allspice perhaps, not unpleasant but a bit odd...but oh, in the body disaster; fizzy, barely flavored tonic-water character, huge carbonation and a little citrusy sweetness, but mostly it’s mineral water, certainly no "Belgian" or "wheat" character. Refreshing in place of Perrier maybe, but not much of a beer.

New rerate. Turbid yellow beer boasts a two-finger stark white head. Musty lemon/orange, hay, coriander, and white bread aromas; further reflection suggests white peach and candied ginger as well. Unexpectedly and pleasantly dry, with restrained phenols and tartness... spicing is very subtle with only a little peppery-orange coming through in the flavor. There is a definite element of brett barnyard funk that comliments the beer nicely. Lightish palate has a powdery texture and CO2 sting. Although I can take or leave the witbier style, this year’s is an impressive example.*****Original rating 2005; 6/2/8/2/15/3.3: One of two west coast "summer" beers on the shelves this week, thanks to K-town’s diligent distributors (sarcasm.) Beer is sunflower gold, aswirl with floaties despite careful pouring off the lees. Apathetic dirty white collar of foam. Lemon and coriander nose, plus wax, honey, and minty/herbal (German?) hops. Abundant zesty spice... in order: orange, coriander, ginger, caraway... on top of bready wheat malt. Definitely not subtle. Thin palate leaves a waxy feel in the mouth. Hay, marigold, and G&T aftertaste. A well-spiced, in-your-face witbier.