(Hopland, CA) – Mendocino Brewing will be making some significant changes to its beer lineup in 2010. Pretty big for this 27-year old brewery.
To start off, the brewery will re-introduce its Imperial IPA with a new recipe this May. The brewery released a version of this in November as a winter seasonal. The brewery has upped the ante going from 7.5% ABV to 9.5% ABV. Hops are Amarillo, Cascade, Simcoe and Crystal whereas the winter edition featured Columbus, Warrior, Simcoe and Challenger. It will also switch from 6-packs to 4-packs. 80+ IBUs.
Also coming out in May will be a Barleywine that is different than the current Talon Barleywine. The brewery will then follow with its first-ever* Imperial Stout this fall. [* based on there being none currently listed in the Beer Advocate database]
Mendocino is also in the midst of replacing its current seasonals. Mendocino Blonde Ale will replace the brewery’s White Ale this summer. This is a new recipe and not to be confused with Peregrine Golden Ale.
From an “analyst” perspective, replacing a White Ale with a Blonde Ale seems like a risky move. As discussed here, Belgian-style White Ales were reportedly up 58% in 2009. Blonde Ales were up 19% per IRI data.
Boston Beer Co. recently replaced its White Ale with Noble Pils. Though Noble Pils has appealed more to those who rate beers, if the nasty comments I have seen regarding the change are any indication, the public, at large, didn’t agree with the decision. Without insight into BBC numbers, specifically, the brewery took a style that was up 58% last year and replaced it with one that sank 27%. From what I’ve heard from a couple distributors, White Ale was a more successful brand than Noble Pils has been.
It will be interesting to see whether Boston Beer Co. backtracks on the move next year and whether Mendocino’s move succeeds.
How much of the up in Wits came from InBev heavily pushing Hoegarrden or Blue Moon from Coors? That seems like a category to explore when those two brands top off and are revealed to the average beer drinker, for who/what they are now. I know people who are still very surprised that Blue Moon is owned by MillerCoors.
Excited to see what Mendocino does with this line. Their original imperial ipa from I think 2005/06 was absolutely killer and delicious, when they went with the seasonal approach and made it the winter it has been hit and miss. This years batch was way more malty than hoppy and also came off prematurely oxidized, I think due to heat pastuerizatoin on the bottling line.
Talon is a way underrated barley wine so interested to see a new one and how it compares. Their White Ale is a true wit and it blew Sam Adams White out of the water, but I would say cases just stacked in my area which is less than a half hour from the Brewery in Saratoga NY.
The ups were for “total craft” brands as far as I could tell. I think those beers definitely have led people to the styles.
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