It's always fun
walking into a liquor store and finding a new beer. At this festive time of
year, it's even more fun to find a new Christmas ale. But when you can get
that beer for less than $6 a six-pack and it turns out to be really good,
well, then that's just icing on the cake. And that's exactly what I did
today.
The beer in question is Mendocino Winter Ale. It's a new release for
the California brewer (they also brew in New York), or is it? We'll soon get
to the bottom of the glass, and the mystery, of Mendocino Winter Ale. First,
some background. Mendocino says this beer celebrates "over 20 years of
brewing excellence". Here's what the six-pack holder says:
Mendocino Brewing Company will, every year, create a unique and
exceptional Select Edition ale, brewed to perfection, especially for the
winter season. These ales, crafted in distinctly diverse styles-will be our
way of celebrating the passing of one year and the coming of a new
year-filled with the hope of good things to come. We hope the New Year will
bring you only the very best..
Sounds suspiciously like
Anchor Our Special Ale if you ask me. Anchor brews a Christmas ale each
year, too, and it varies if only slightly from year to year. Anchor just
released their thirtieth edition this year, and one wonders if Mendocino
isn't trying to cash in on their success with this ale which they describe
as a "warming winter ale".
But let's get down to it and try the stuff, shall we?
Mendocino Winter Ale pours to a jet black color with a thick, creamy
tan head formation and a very roasty nose with aromas of fresh grassy hops.
The palate is immensely chocolaty, roasty chocolaty, but of course the beer
isn't made with chocolate. Still, it has a rich chocolate-pudding character
to it all the same.
The coffeeish, roasted character here is tremendous, and they must use a
good dash of roasted barley for this beer. The mouthfeel is full, and in the
finish a good dose of minty, grassy, slightly phenolic bitter hops emerge
and blend with the roasted bitterness. The result: a knock-your-socks off
brew of considerable intensity.
But is this really a new beer? Mendocino has brewed a Yuletide Porter
in years past and I haven't seen it this year. It tasted a lot like this
beer. I wrote this about Yuletide Porter in 1998:
I'm sipping a Mendocino Yuletide Porter, and _this_ is
definitely one roasty brew¦ I don't think I've ever
had a porter as roasty as this, in fact I've had a lot of stouts that
weren't
quite so roasty
But hey. Yuletide Porter was a great brew, and this is, too. For under $6 a
six-pack it's a great value, too. An over-the top brew not for the
faint-hearted.
Update 2005
Mencocino promised a different beer each year, and they sure have delivered.
For 2005, we get an intensely hoppy IPA. The beer is bright orange in color
with a thick rocky head and an intense hoppy nose. The palate is full of
slightly caramelly, chewy, but mostly toasty malt and tons of resiny bitter
hops. The finish absolutely explodes with hop bitterness. For $6 a six-pack,
this is an outright steal and a damned fine IPA.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For
reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft