Red Tail Ale Selected One of Top Ten Beers In The World.

HOPLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 20, 1997--In its 1996 Special Holiday issue, the well-respected magazine The Wine Enthusiast has selected Mendocino Brewing Company's Red Tail Ale as one of 1996's Top Ten Beers in the world.

In describing Red Tail Ale, in the review, writer Stephen Beaumont said, "I have long admired this perfumey, fruity ale and am distraught whenever I see it mistakenly associated with the current trend towards generically-styled `red ales' simply because of its name. Make no mistake about it -- Red Tail is a delectable American original."

First brewed in 1983, Red Tail Ale is the flagship of the Mendocino Brewing Company. Brewed in a traditional, natural manner, Red Tail is made using only premium two-row malted barley, Yakima Valley whole hops, fresh water and the brewery's special proprietary yeast culture. After fermentation and immediately prior to packaging, actively fermenting yeast is introduced to the beer, initiating a second fermentation in the bottle, producing natural CO2 and depositing a fine layer of brewer's yeast in the bottle. This is a traditional European brewing technique known as krausening, or bottle-conditioning.

The Mendocino Brewing Company, established in 1982, is California's first brewpub since Prohibition. The company offered a Direct Public Offering of stock in 1994, selling 600,000 shares of common stock at $6.00 per share. This enabled the company to begin construction on a new brewing facility which will increase production from the present level of approximately 16,00 barrels per year to an approximate level of 200,000 bbls (a brewer's barrel equals 31 gallons). In February of 1995, the company was accepted on to the Pacific Stock Exchange, one of only a few small manufacturing companies to be so accepted. The brewery's ticker symbol is "MBR.P."

Michael Laybourn, MBC President and CEO, says, "It is high praise indeed for a magazine of the stature of The Wine Enthusiast to award us such an honor. We feel that, like a fine wine, Red Tail Ale is a quality beverage of health and moderation and is meant to be enjoyed with food, with friends and with the family. To be considered one of the world's great beers is panegyric not only for us, but for the American craft brewing as well."

For further information, contact Bob Meadows at 707/744-1015. -0- Red Tail Ale

"Good dense head. Attractive reddish-amber color. Nutty, perfumey maltiness; herbal hoppiness and peachy fruitiness; all assert themselves in the bouquet. The nutty maltiness becomes slightly chewy and spicy (a very faint suggestion of licorice?) in the palate, and the hops surge through in a long, soothing, herbal finish. A beautifully balanced substantial ale. Justly renowned in California."

Michael Jackson

Author of "The New World Guide to Beer"

"The fruity-berry aroma doesn't warn you of the big palate to come, even though the flavor is faithful to the nose. The zesty well-hopped flavor is a mouthful, but a well-balanced combination of complex flavors that last and last. A big pleasureful sipping beer."

James D. Robertson

Author of "The Connoisseur's Guide to Beer"

"This is a superb bottle-conditioned ale -- fit for a king. I enjoyed it on a hot summer afternoon, perhaps a little too cold, but it soon warmed in the glass, and I felt no regrets about the temperature. This beer is worth a trip to California, and the hops in it are a pure enjoyment, smooth, with no afterbite, just a kiss of the hops in my nose and down my throat."

Fred Eckhard

Beer Columnist

"A hearty, full-bodied extra special American Pale Ale if there ever was one. A definitive amber color, and perfect ale-like fruity aroma. Bitterness is obvious but smooth and well-balanced by the maltiness and full body. This is not a dry beer, but rather a beer that one can really feel, smell, taste and experience the ingredients. A good session beer as well as a complement to any dinner meal."

Charlie Papazian

Founder of the American Homebrewers Association and Editor of "Zymurgy"

"Some of the drier, hoppier full-bodied American amber ales, such as Red Tail from Mendocino...could be considered the Cabernets of the beer world. Jim Dittmore says that `Red Tail actually reminds me of the Chateauneuf-du-Pape wines of France. That's a wine with thirteen different grape types, so it has a very complex flavor with a number of different tastes. For me, Red Tail Ale has that kind of complexity'."

Jim Parker

San Francisco Examiner 

"The bottle is a real eye-catcher on the supermarket shelf, with a stunning label illustrating a red-tailed hawk.

Red Tail Ale is bottled-conditioned, so there's a slight deposit of yeast in the bottom of the bottle. If it's disturbed in handling, you might want to let it settle before opening so you can pour a clear glass of ale.

The color is an appealing coppery bronze. There's a ton of fruit in the nose, and it comes on strong in the flavor, too. At the same time, it has a robust and rustic character. It's a complex ale for its weight, but also well-balanced and dry in the finish. I've been a Red Tail fan for years..."

Vince Cottone

Seattle Post-Intelligence

"I have long admired this perfumey, fruity ale and am distraught whenever I see it mistakenly associated with the current trend towards generically-styled `red ales' simply because of its name. Make no mistake about it: Red Tail is a delectable American original."

Stephen Beaumont

From "The Wine Enthusiast"

CONTACT: Mendocino Brewing Company

Bob Meadows, 707/744-1015