Blue Heron Pale Ale - Mendocino Brewing Company

TheLongBeachBum

California

4.22/5  rDev +24.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Lovely clear (I left the bottles for over a week and poured mine carefully after reading the other reviews, yeast is detectable in the bottom dregs afterwards) Golden color. Pours well with a solid head, that leaves a distinctive bubble encrusted lace pattern clinging to the sides as you drink down the glass. Clean tasting beer with a very hoppy aroma that almost assaults the nasal cavities as the bitterness explodes on the tastebuds. Strong tasting hoppy bitter beer. I love this beer, but it's too strong to drink in quantity. No sell by date but tasted very fresh. Maybe older bottles don't fare so well ??

Serving type: bottle

09-16-2002 22:47:59 | More by TheLongBeachBum

Jason

Massachusetts

4.03/5  rDev +18.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Yeast hazed dull golden colour with a flexed rocky white head that drops down to a thin sticky lace.

Orangey hop aroma with hints of ale-like fruity esters and a dollop of yeast to boot.

Stable medium body with a well textured carbonation and mouth feel. Citric hop tone has a bitter bite, pale graininess underneath. The fruity esters have a light alcohol kick and show some warmth in the mouth. Soft flare of yeast. Thin layer of malt sweetness rolls through and the hops stick to the taste buds with a lingering bitterness.

A tasty pale with a kick, I see this one as a good change up pale ale.

Serving type: bottle

09-15-2002 13:12:14 | More by Jason

frank4sail

New Jersey

3.15/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

huge pour. Obnoxiously carbonated. Pale, hazy, straw yellow look. Huge airy rocky head. Not much nose but a hint of hops. Very light flavor of pale malt on the tongue with a little hop bite on the finish. Finish has hints of bitter/hop/perfume. Light bodied....

Serving type: bottle

08-12-2002 08:47:12 | More by frank4sail

AaronRed

New York

3.98/5  rDev +17.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Very pale, I would say. When I first poured it, I did not think it looked like it had this much flavor. You can smell the hops and grains immediately, and of course taste them. I found this beer very hoppy, bursting from the first sip. A citrus flavor was also present, with a fairly strong aftertaste, which I like. I like beers in which the flavors persist. I also love hops, hence this beer did it for me.

Serving type: bottle

07-01-2002 18:47:14 | More by AaronRed

Brent

Kentucky

3.65/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

For an American style pale ale, this was less well hopped than most, and the hops profile was not particularly grapefruity or floral. Malt lended some slight caramel, and overall this struck me as more of a British IPA interpretation. Overall, a pleasant pale ale, but the hops seemed a little blunt, their bittering not too well refined.

Serving type: bottle

06-28-2002 13:25:11 | More by Brent

ZAP

Minnesota

3.33/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a foamy head....cloudy golden in color...strong spicy hops on the nose and then on the buds...seems to have a decent malt backbone but the hops are this beers signiture..For an APA it is hopped up nicely. Not my favorite hop style...very raw, spicy and oily hops...a slightly above average APA in my opinion...I'm just a tich disappointed..definitely not a bad beer, but I expected to score this near a 4.0 and it is not in that league..

Serving type: bottle

06-13-2002 22:40:55 | More by ZAP

Bighuge

Minnesota

2.88/5  rDev -15.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Cloudy, murky deep golden appearance. Slight citrus and grapefruit in the aroma. Seems like a decent malt backing in this brew. Hop bite is minimal. Bitterness is minimal. Things that I like in a PA are missing. This isn't bad. Just nothing distinguishable about it.

I should've prefaced by saying this sample may be old. I bought it as a single at a store out of town that I know little about.

Serving type: bottle

04-11-2002 22:11:26 | More by Bighuge

marc77

California

4/5  rDev +17.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Blue Heron pours a very dense and thick white head that settles into a very persistent one finger thick layer. Hazy golden in hue, and the sparse bubble production leaves the impression of an undercarbonated brew, but carbonation is more than adequate. The hop nose is floral and clean and lacks the often overbaearing grapefruity and ciitrusy notes some American varieties have. It seems to be a combination of Kent Goldings and perhaps Cascade. The hop bitterness is relatively high, but the body is relatively high for an APA and thus provides ample balance. The finish is typically clean for style and devoid of any flaws whatsoever. Blue Heron is a somewhat rich APA, and the combination of American and British hop flavors provide for a unique drinking experience. It's not outstanding, but is certainly tasty.

Serving type: bottle

04-09-2002 20:19:56 | More by marc77

Jordan

California

3.9/5  rDev +14.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

An excellent Pale Ale. Bread and whole grains on the nose. A semi-sweet front, turning into a hoppy grapefruit bitter finish. Complaints on the aftertaste? A beer shows some originality and people get turned off and reject? (Pardon, but some people need to formulate their own thoughts.) Hazey, very fine sediment presence. A delight on the lips, tongue, and it's way into your stomach.

Serving type: bottle

12-09-2001 20:32:25 | More by Jordan

John

New York

3/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

The label's description sure makes it sound good. I wasn't impressed, very average pale ale.

Serving type: bottle

10-26-2001 14:00:04 | More by John

gwfrankpsu

California

2.8/5  rDev -17.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Not a great beer, great label, wish the beer matched the label. This is a drinkable beer, but something is missing - weird aftertaste.

Serving type: bottle

10-19-2001 12:32:34 | More by gwfrankpsu

pbrian

Connecticut

2.4/5  rDev -29.4%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

I don't really care for the aftertaste on this beer. Rather hoppy in an unbalanced kind of way.

Serving type: bottle

10-08-2001 10:37:01 | More by pbrian

Todd

Massachusetts

3.78/5  rDev +11.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Presentation: 12oz brown bottle. Blue label with a blue heron in flight. No freshness date.

Appearance: Rich, cloudy golden with a sticky, creamy white lace/head. Nice head retention.

Smell: Freshly milled sweet pale malt and raw hop aroma.

Taste: Full bodied, but not heavy. Smooth, rich mouthfeel with an upfrount grain sweetness. Hops hit heavy with a floral, citrus and spicy medly. The combination stays all the way into the aftertaste, especially the spiciness which seems to stick to the palate by way of residual hop oils (hop napalm on the tongue) and becomes pronounced in the middle by a crisp dryness wrapped in grain husk flavours. Finishes with a dextrin, oily, semi-dry coating on the palate.

Notes: Born in 1985 and weighing in at 6.1% alcohol by volume, this is a fantastic example of a West Coast American Pale Ale. I really like this brew. My only gripe is the extreme aftertaste which is sort of difficult to shake. Some may not welcome it. I don't mind it at all. Try eating some bread in between tastings and all will be well.

Serving type: bottle

10-22-2000 00:00:01 | More by Todd