Mendocino Winter Seasonal Imperial IPA

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

Bottle from total wine. Orange pour, medium sized head. Aroma pounds you with some crazy resinous hops. Malt profile is pretty nice...but this one has the smell of turpentine. Flavor is too harsh and bitter for my likes. don’t get me wrong, this is a well done beer, but it is just over the top a bit for me.

Not something that wallops you with great hop taste or gets you good and drunk like other double IPA’s but this is a nice and affordable hoppy option for these dark financial times. Hints of grapefruit and more than a hint of pine. The malt backbone is a little big and sweet. This is still a solid enjoyable beer good for watching some sports and not thinking too heavy.

I picked up a reasonably priced sixer of this at the Binny’s in Orland park, IL. I figured, being a hop-head, how could I go wrong? Not bad. It pours a clear golden amber body with a respectable head and a modest amount of lace. The aroma is strong on the PNW hops - lots of grapefruit, pine, and zest - and is well supported by a caramelly sweetness. The flavor, while reflective of the nose, is mayhaps a bit too balanced for a DIPA. Still, it delivers a prolonged and bitter finish. Tasty.

12oz bottle shared by robert at stateline. Drank a couple at home as well Nice orange/redish color, decent head. Nice sweet bitter taste, soft on the palate which makes me think they might bottle condition their beers but probably not. It had a nice hop bite to it but it was still well balanced. Maybe some spices in there as well. Overall a good DIPA that is worth trying. Thanks again Robert! Brewed and bottled in NY???

pours a copper colour with a thin bubbly head. citrus hop aroma, some caramel backing it. Again citrusy hop flavour, medium malt body with a hint of alc in the finish. Not too shabby.

Pours with a copper body topped by a thin to medium thick head with some lacing. It’s slightly sweet with notes of apricot, pine and a little pineapple from the hops as well as a butter note. Medium bodied, smooth and slightly dry.

Pours clear golden amber with a small, short-lived head that leaves a ring and a little bit lacing. There are some pine and grapefruit in the nose but it’s balance by the biscuity malt backbone. The taste also veers to the sweeter side of the spectrum with the malts featuring as much as the hops. There is minimal hop bitterness in the taste and quite a bit of sugary sweetness. The mouthfeel is sticky sweet with strong carbonation. This is decent and relatively balance IPA, but it’s not one I would seek out.

Sampled from a 12 oz brown bottle this beer poured a caramel-amber color with a large butterscotch head. The aroma was strong piney and grapefruity hops - somewhat sweet and robust. The flavor was sweet, rich and full of piney and fruity hops with a light malt backbone and a hint of caramel. There was a faint resiny middle and the beer turned sour on the finish. A bit subdued. The mouthfeel was thick and syrupy. There are some really nice elements here but something did not mesh quite right.