Mendocino Winter Seasonal Imperial IPA
Our limited edition Winter Seasonal is a robust, full bodied Imperial India Pale Ale. This heavily hopped brew is exquisitely blended with rich malts for a unique drinking sensation.
3.5
334 reviews
Ukiah, United States
Community reviews
Clear orange with a fizzy white head. Grapefruit caramel and citrus hops aroma. Tastes of caramel citrus and malt with a brassy bitter hoppy finish.
Got this on a whim since it’s my favorite style and was on sale. Pours a nice dark orange with a large beige head that laces nicely. Aroma was pretty standard with "grapefruitiness", but also a little bit of a rose bouquet and some earthy tones. Taste was like drinking a grapefruit with very little malt sweetness to contrast the bright flavors, but I’m a fan of bitter beers. Finishes like a dry wine, leaving only a hop bitterness on the tongue and throat. Nice beer for a nice price.
Grapefruit and sweet maltiness vie for top billing. Clear amber with a lasting white head. Soft palate accentuated by some alcohol numbing. Pretty decent stuff, especially at the price. Other IIPAs seem to at least cost 30% more than this one.
12 oz. Dark golden/light amber color, very clear, white frothy head with slight retention, leaves some larger lacy patterns. Mostly floral hop aroma on the nose, not too over powering but definitely dominates. Slightly malty sweetness that becomes apparent and lingers after the mostly bitter hop flavors. Kind of an oily texture on the tongue, low carbonation, medium-thick body.
Very nice beer. On tap at Capone’s/ Pours a orange-amber color with a thin white head. Aroma of grapefruit. caramel, and hops. Nicely balanced with grapefruit, hops, and caramel.
Purchased 12.oz single bottle from Monument wines and liquors in Concord, CA.
Poured a clear dark amber color with a dense, lush tan-colored head .
Smell: Aroma of pine, resin, citrus, and floral hops.
Taste: nice IIPA bitterness. Not the same complexity of a PTE but very drinkable.
Palate: Quite smooth on the palate. Mild carbonation.
Overall: It was a great winter seasonal that i wouldnt mind them turning into a regular. One of Mendocino’s better beers.
Serving type: bottle
12oz bottle from Orland Park Binny’s single rack. Pours clear amber with soapy off-white head. Aroma is citrus, pine, hops, and some sweet caramel malts. Flavor is sweet and caramel malt, grapefruit, lite pine, and medium hop bitterness. While not a huge hop bomb it is not overly malty eaither so it has a nice balance. Solid IIPA and a good beer for this brewery.
11.02.09 bottle. Pours reddish amber with very thin off-white head. Aroma is very hoppy, citrusy, fruity, hint of malt, bread, bitterness. Tastes very hoppy, citrusy, tart, bitter. Dry mouth feel.
Pours a clear amber color with a thin off white head. Aroma is huge grapefruit juicy hops. Some caramel malt undertones, but this beer just smells juicy. Flavor is very hop forward with a nice malt backbone that doesn’t quite stand up to the hoppiness. Pretty quick finish and a somewhat sticky mouthfeel. Not bad, but not great.
Nice pour - clear brew with foamy head. aroma is spicy, carmel, hops. Well carbonated and nice mouthfeel. Taste starts with a Grapefruit Citrusy Hop that finishes with a spice that seems to mellow the hops out a bit. Nice flavor but not what I expected with a IIPA. Still a good brew. Definitely a seasonal spice. If it were not Christmas time I may not have been ready for this spice ;-)
12oz bottle. Clear gold pour with a thin off-white head that leaves a ring of retention. Caramel malt aroma with some citrus in the background. Sweet grainy caramel malts up front - then a resiny grapefruit hop bitterness. Finishes up bitter but fairly brief given the style. Doesn’t come off like an imperial - more like an average ipa.
A - when i first poured it i could smell the soapy hop with a hint of citrus. As it warmed up a bit the more earthy hop notes stepped up
A - deep amber color with a thin head light lacing
T - ok, again more earthy in hop flavor with a good malt backbone for a hint of sweet before finishing with slight hop bitterness
D - tastes fine, reminded me of Torpedo a bit. I’d order it again in a bar but wouldn’t go running all over town to find it
Pours a great IPA color with nice head retention. Aroma not that apparent, but I am not a great smeller. I really like the grassy hop character. I am a big fan of hop flavors over super bitterness, that’s just me. Well drinking beer!
12 oz. bottle. Pours a hazy gold with a moderate yellow/white head that lasted through the first third of the glass and left partial lace. Very pleasant and bright aroma of sweet citrus. The flavor begins with a moderate malt backbone followed by some equally moderate resinous pine and some stronger but not overdone grapefruit hops bitterness. This is more like an IPA than an IIPA, and at 7.5% I suppose it is despite its name. Still, a solid beer as it is.
Pours a nice amber into a sturdy plastic cup, the finest vessel La Quinta Inn has to offer. Nice beer, though-piney, malty aroma. Flavor is pine, grapefruit, rye?, spicyness, sweet malty aftertaste. Medium body, sweet, then everlasting bitterness
Poured hazy amber, simple, caramel malts citrus hops, little bready, dry finish.
This IPA has well balanced hop profile. It’s medium bodied with good mouthfeel, and himts of darker fruits. Overall a good IPA, though I am not finding as much imperial as I’d like
Tallahassee, Fl. - New Leaf Market - 12 oz bottle. Medium copper, dark orange pour with a nice sticky white head. Heavy malty aroma with some spruce and maple syrup but a tad artificial. Flavor is a bit over the top - too sticky and sweet. Grapefruit bitterness is there as well as some maple syrup sweetness but it comes across as overbearing. Sticky enough mouthfeel.
12oz bottle served in a tulip. Crystal clear amber pour with a one-finger thick head of beige foam that displayed some very good retention. Chunky rings of lacing clung to the sides of the glass. The aroma had thick bready malt, caramel, citrus, and tropical fruits. Pretty restrained with the aroma hops...especially for a fresh bottle. The flavor was also loaded with thick caramel and bready malt. There is a nice clean bitterness, but flavor wise, the hops are very faint. Just a hint of citrus. Medium-bodied with light carbonation. Where are the hops? For a DIPA, this is just plain dull.
Bottle pours copper with a big giant head and residual lace. The aroma is citrusy. The flavor is dryer than I anticipated with some nice lingering hops. The palate is very smooth and rich. Very nice.
This isn’t a bad impy IPA, but not one that blows me away. It pours a mostly clear dark copper color with a thick and sticky off-white head. The head leaves plenty of sticky residue around the sides of the glass. The nose leans a little heavier toward the malty side, with notes of bread, yeast and caramel. But it does have some hoppiness to it, along with some grass, earth, light citrus and pine. The body and flavors are a little too balanced. I wish there was more hops to this beer. It does have a good ratio of malt to hops for a balanced taste, but I like my IPA’s to be really hoppy and spicy. This one fell a little short of those expectations. But it’s still a decently delicious and drinkable beer.
Pours a clear amber with a thick white head. Aromas of bread dough and citrus. Sweet malt up front with a very nice bitterness in the finish that takes you by suprise. Slight warm alcohol finish. Not the hoppiest IIPA out there, but a very solid offering.
My first brew from Mendocino.
orange/amber pour with a nice creamy of white head. Grapefruit and pine scent. Decent hoppy bite, balanced bready finish with the hops. A good beer, I will try some of their others now.
Very solid ipa from a very solid brewery. Hoppy and sweet, very thick, nice stuff.
12oz bottle. Pours a clear, amber colored body with a finger-width, creamy, beige-tan head that dissipates slowly and leaves a nice lacing. Aroma isn’t explosive like some DIPA’s, but its nice and clean. A sweeter and bigger caramel malt backing with a moderate amount of piney citrus. Some bread joins the orange, lemon, and apricot fruits. Flavor is sweet malts up front with plenty of sweet, resiny hops. Some lemony grapefruits and orange with a light apricot join the fatter caramels for a simple, but well balanced flavor. Finishes with a resiny, moderate bitterness and lots of sweet hops and malts that linger for a good amount of time. A light toasty malt creeps in there too. Medium body and smooth with an average carbonation. Overall, this was part of a build your own 6-pack and came away as the clear favorite from the bunch. A balanced, sweeter, well hopped DIPA with a lightly toasted, sweeter caramel malt. Everything comes together nicely for an enjoyable, smooth beer.
This brew was ok. I liked the subtle nutty notess that came out from the exhale. It was sweet. I totally liked the cool hawk and dug the ferocious hops presence that was actually pretty lame but it was cool it wa s there if that makes sense? not a bad brew for sure but not one to lead off the winter season with....albeit at tasty one
This poured a bright orange color with a big fluffy white head. Aroma was pungeant piney and grapefruit hops, some apricot in there as well, also some bready notes. Flavor was terrifically balance toasted malts to keep the bitterness in check, but with a great resinous hoppy taste. This definately exceeded my expectations.
Poured a clear orange/amber with a tall creamy light tan head. There was a nice amount of carbonation bubbles rising in the glass. A strong grapefruit aroma was detected immediately. There was a strong hop bite right away with flavors of grapefruit and pine and some sweet malt backbone underneath. The finish was of a good hop bitterness that lasted a long time on the back of the throat. The head left a light lacing all through the glass. Very good beer full of good hop character.
This ipa definitely has a malty backbone but certainly some nice bitter and resin-like hop aftertaste. Its certainly more of an east coast ipa in that its not as hoppy but overall more balanced. The color is a dark orange and it leaves a very nice aftertaste. Its nothing crazy like most double ipas out there but it certainly is a nice addition.
Bottle. Pours a clear, amber color with a sparse, frothy white head. Lacing is a bit weak. Aromas of all hops and more hops, hints of grapefruit and a touch of malt. Mouthfeel is very smooth to start, then gets a bit lively toward the end. Slick finish. Flavors of grapefruit, citrus, and some malts. The more I drank this beer, the better it became. I think it may need to age a bit and could be a great beer.