Silencing Buffalo Bill

Happy Labor Day Weekend readers!

We're on the hunt, stacking up this year's pumpkin beer selection for who reigns supreme in 2012! So far I've tasted two that I would consider misses, one more so than the other. It's time to introduce you to the 'more so' of the bunch.

I give you Buffalo Bill's Brewery. I've never had one of their beers because, to be honest, every time I have seen one of their selections in the store I have been unimpressed with their bottle art (with the exception of Alimony Ale; that's pretty sick looking). I'll be damned if I let any pumpkin beer I can get skip by just because of 'meh' box art.

It look's pretty solid, right? Not sure if it's just the lighting but the beer itself was much lighter than this picture suggests. It had a nice foamy head, and only a hint of spice or pumpkin aroma. So far, they've lost me on the scent and the look of the bottle. Two strikes before I've tasted it isn't a good sign, though in the glass was more uplifting.

The taste is what we care about, but that's where it missed the most. Yes, there is good spicing. Too much spicing for a pumpkin beer in my opinion. More of a pumpkin beer with Oktoberfest flavors. But where's the pumpkin? Somewhere in this batch there was a pumpkin I imagine but it didn't make it into my bottle. Think of pumpkin zest rather than any real sold pumpkin. This beer, though easy to drink, lacks anything to separate it from your normal fall brew offering. This deserves nothing more than a Flanders PINTRS rating. I'm happy to say it looks like Beer Advocate and it's readers tend to agree with my assessment. Our search continues, and so far we haven't found a positive step this fall yet!

Does Blue Heron have the wings to take flight?

Hey all!

WAY behind on my beer tastings, which just means I'm gonna have to drink more these next couple of weeks! Our last beer from the Mendocino Brewing Company is Blue Herron Pale Ale. The beer does have an awarding tradition. In 2010 it won a Silver Medal at the California State Fair (which is more prestigious than it sounds) and, according to Mendocino's website, a Bronze Award at the Great American Beer Festival (year unknown).

The beer has an average head that is quite frothy. As far as aroma, it's non-existent. Well, not completely. There is a VERY faint sweet smell to the brew, but nothing that really would enhance the drinking experience.

The best way to sum up the beer once it's been poured is light in color, light to drink. As described by Mendocino, Blue Heron is supposed to live up to the foundational qualities of an IPA with high alcohol content (6.1% ABV here) and high hoppy flavors. What does that actually translate to once you start drinking? This beer is easy to drink, with a heavy note of citrus on the taste buds. Surprisingly, this beer really doesn't have any of the signature 'cloudiness' I'd associate with these flavors. Mendocino said they were going for blend here, and they hit the mark. A little bitter and not overly hoppy. There is a slight, raw citrus aftertaste, but the more you drink it subsides substantially.

My verdict? A Flanders in the PINTRS. Not a creative IPA, is very baselines, but does not suck. I had a bit of an argument with myself about whether I can get disappointed at something for it being what is was. It's a pleasant brew, but not something I'd order by choice given other options. It certainly would deserve being kept in the fridge by someone who prefers a lighter, but not summer, beer.