Red Tail Ale again selected as one of America's best beers.

HOPLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 3, 1997--In the June, 1997 edition of Men's Health magazine, Mendocino Brewing's Red Tail Ale was selected as one of the "Best Beers in America."

This recognition follows two other recent "Top Beers" awards for the brewery: Red Tail Ale was selected as "One of the Top Ten Best Beers in America" in the Holiday Issue of the highly respected Wine Enthusiast magazine, and Mendocino's Blue Heron Pale Ale was given a Gold Medal, with a Special Award of Excellence, by the renowned Underground Wine Journal (Vol. 17, No. 1.)

The author of the Men's Health article is John Hansell, a professional beer writer and editor and publisher of The Malt Advocate, a quarterly publication dedicated to the best beers, ales and whiskeys in the world. Hansell, who was awarded the coveted Keeper of the Quaich Award for his outstanding contributions to the malt beverage industries, said of Red Tail Ale, "This beer is full of character and well-rounded flavors. Citrus fruits and melon are impeccably balanced by caramel and honey."

Nationally recognized as a leader in the American craft-brewing renaissance, the Mendocino Brewing Company (MBR.P on the Pacific Stock Exchange) was the first brewpub in California since Prohibition. The company is currently completing construction on a new brewing facility which will increase production from its 1996 level of approximately 17,000 barrels to an eventual capacity of about 200,000 bbls (a brewer's barrel equals 31 gallons.)

Don Barkley, MBC Masterbrewer, adds, "From the time when we were trying recipes out of turn-of-the-century British recipe books, we knew that we wanted big, traditional ales with rich, malty characteristics and a complexity which mainstream American beers hadn't approached. We're very gratified that the results have met with such approval."

For further information, contact Bob Meadows at 707/744-1015.

CONTACT: Mendocino Brewing Company

Bob Meadows, 707/744-1015