Summer Ale

12 oz. bottle, $1.15 from the loose bottle rack at Sam’s Wines, Downers Grove. Kind of a generic looking label, eh. Pours standard beer yellow, tall weizen glass kicks up a bit of yellowish foam. Basic slightly spritzy wheat beer smell. Taste is a decent enough American wheat, but it’s not easy to find any Belgian character or spice to it. Well, no, I do have a bit of bubblegum and orange peel as I go further down the glass. Pleasant, but not quite what it aspires to be.

Bottle. $1.49 for a 12-oz single. Very light yellow with a small white head. Lotsa bubbles. Aroma of banana and clove. Flavor... hmm... initial reaction was that it’s bland, but it’s actually quite nice. Starts with banana, middles with spices (clove, pepper), and finishes bubblegummy. I am actually kinda impressed with this one.

I am not a huge fan of Mendocino brewing. This was my first time having this particular beer though. Sampled from a 12 oz brown bottle this beer pours a cloudy pale yellow color with a large fluffy white head. The beer is heavily carbonated. The aroma is dry spicy wheat. The flavor is dry and lightly citrusy with a peppery spice element and a wheaty undertone. The finish is dry. Not bad.

Pour is a bright yellow like lemon juice. Aroma is odd, kind of a spicy lemon peel. Flavor is very tart and spicy. This beer almost could be considered a fruit beer with all of the citrus notes. Still it is just and ok brew.