Beer: (Eye of the Hawk) Select Ale
Brewery: Mendocino Brewing Company
Cost:$7.99
Result: A-/B+
In-Depth: This beer is surprisingly good. I know I've stumbled across their other beer, Red Tail Ale, in the Midwest and I don't recall any fond memories. So I bought this beer with some trepidation. Especially at $8! However, this beer is quite good. It tastes like an ale in the British sense of the word. It's got that amber color and an actual body to it. It is also, apparently 8% alcohol so that Belgians won't turn their nose up at it. In fact, I think a cross between a Belgian beer and an Irish Ale. I would actually buy this again. It manages to taste good alone and complements microwave popcorn. Both of those are quality attributes for a beer that I might stock in my humble domicile. Additionally, I've been planning to go to Mendocino sometime soon and now I will try and tack on a visit to their home and report further.
Note: Further research leads me to the discovery that their brewpub is in Hopland. First off, a brewery in a town called hopland = awesome. Plus the fact that this is California and they have the decency not to drown their beer in hops = double awesome.
Further note: The reason this is a "morning after" post is that I left the laptop at work, not that I was overwhelmed by the excellence of the beer.
posted by fulsome @ 8:29 AM
