Brew Brain Blog

Tonight I bring you my first offering from the Mendocino Brewing Co. - Red Tail Ale.This is one of six main beers offered by the Mendocino Brewing Co., and their flagship. It is a “bottle conditioned” ale. There is a bit of yeast on the bottom of the bottle, so it is best (in my opinion at least) to pour carefully so as to avoid dumping that bit into the glass. I also prefer not to drink these directly from the bottle as the yeast will become mixed into each swallow.

Appearance: Mine was on the cloudy side, which leads me to believe I may have introduced some of the yeast into my mug. I had forgotten to be careful on the end. The head was tiny and dissipated very quickly.

Smell: Very light on the malt side of things - possibly a little toastiness. Most of what I smelled was floral and fruity. It’s a fine smelling brew.

Taste: Again, the malts were light for me. I got a bit of caramel, but not much to speak of. A fruity sweetness was dominant, finishing off with a mild bitter hops flavor. The flavors were well balanced and very drinkable. Nothing truly earth shaking, but nothing foul either.

Mouth Feel: This is a medium bodied beer, not too slippery, with nice carbonation. It could maybe use a little more carbonation, but it is very acceptable. It finished smooth and dry.

Overall: I found this to be a very nice beer - I expect it to rank somewhere in the middle of the pack when I’m through many ales. I would gladly drink it again, but wouldn’t seek it out. I will update this review if necessary after trying it again, this time making sure to leave all yeast in the bottle.

Enjoy your beer.

brewbrain

see the Brew Brain store!