Mendocino Summer Ale

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

2 bottles shared with HogTownHarry, GregClow & tupalev -- courtesy of HogTownHarry. Pours a cloudy pale yellow, slightly bubbly, with an average size diminishing white head. Sweet aroma of yeast, fruit (lemon, apple and more) and spices. Flavour’s nice and spicy, just like how I like it, and fruity (no banana - yay!). Light bodied. Wheat beers are not a favourite of mine but this was very enjoyable and a great way to start our tasting.

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.

Special Edition. White small fizzy head that mostly diminished, lacked lacing, fizzy carbonation, cloudy, and a straw yellow hue. Nose was malty, citrus, spicy, clean and refreshing. Flavor was sweet, spicy, thin, spicy, citrus, and clean refreshing. Tingly, watery, thin mouthfeel. Light body.

Bottle. Pours hazed gold with a small bubbly white head. Nose is wheat, light citrus, clove, and yeast. Taste leans towards being too yeasty and wheaty. The spice is there but seems more in the background. The citrus notes are almost gone as I drink this. The body is light-medium with some creaminess. Finishes with more wheat and yeast notes and light spice. However, there’s some lemony dryness towards the end. It’s not bad, but could/should be improved.

Tallahassee, Fl. - New Leaf Market - 12 oz bottle. Murky, bright yellow appearance, spritzy white head. Aroma of yeast and lemon, somewhat fresh. Flavor has lots of spiciness to it - detect corainder; lemon accents, some yeast and a bit of cake mix. Just the right amount of carbonation and spritzines in the mouthfeel. Pretty solid American wit.
Earlier Rating: 5/30/2007 Total Score: 3
Savannah, Ga. - Habersham Beverage Warehouse - 12 oz bottle. Murky, light golden pour with a thin, soft white head. Grassy aroma, hints of spiciness, sprig of lemon. Flavor has some of the same essences that were found in the aroma with a decidely lemony bent. Hints of cloves and bubblegum as I near the finish. Good textured mouthfeel. Middle of the road Wit.

12 oz bottle. Unfiltered. Hazy golden-yellow color with thin white head. Light yeasty aroma with distinct bread-dough note and a touch of orange and coriander cowering in the background. Flavors are similar, but a bit more balanced than the aroma. Tart finish.

Bottle. Musty aroma with notes of lemon, banana, bubblegum, and clove - great smell. Cloudy orange-yellow color with small head. Light musty lemon/grapefruit flavor - pretty light. A very nice witbier with some lambic/saison characteristics.

In the bottle. Pours a colloidal gold with a fine white head of little resolve. Aroma is lemon-fresh like a dishwasher detergent. The flavor finishes with a coriander and lemon tartness. has poor lacing. The beer is very pretty in a schooner glass while watching the carbonation bubbles going up and the flocculent yeast particles churning and dropping. Clove and banana esters up front in a big way.