365 different beers from 365 different breweries in 365 days with random musings on beer, food, music, sports, dogs and anything else interesting along the way
My time management skills are terrible, but Gary's are even worse. Who will arrive first? Friends for our barbecue or Gary with groceries for said barbecue. At least the beer is already here!
Today I'm reviewing Mendocino Brewing Company's Eye of the Hawk. It part of their Select Collection and for whatever reason, they're all named with hawk in the title. The label tells me this beer is a premium American classic from a pioneer brewing legend. Having started brewing in 1983, they have a pretty decent run in the world of craft brewing and I'll give them legend status.
The Eye of the Hawk -- an American style strong ale at 8% ABV -- poured a deep amber with a thin white head. It smells a little nutty and of malts. The flavor is mellow hops and malty
roundness. Kind of a nondescript beer flavor but crisp and satisfying.
Cheers! Now go pray the rain holds off...I want to do some outdoor drinking today!
Beer #257 Eye of the Hawk / Mendocino Brewing Company, Ukiah, CA
Feeling much better about the world today, thanks for asking. Sorry for being grumpy yesterday - I know you all have challenges in your life, and you click on this website for mirth and merriment. I'll double down on mirth and merriment over the next few days to make it up to you. Thanks for sticking around.
On the heels of a big summer league win tonight, we're through the Elite Eight and onto the Final Four next week. Should be intense. I've been playing in this league for longer than I care to admit out loud, and have never had the pleasure of cutting down the nets. As a company, we need to quit hiring 22 year olds - that would greatly even my odds. The beer to celebrate tonight's win is the Eye of the Hawk from Mendocino Brewing. It has a nice amber color with a dissipating white head and an aroma of malt and plums. The flavor is rich, with sweet notes of toffee, malt dark fruits, and (maybe it was just me) but a hint of citrus in there as well. It's potent at 8% ABV, but it's not too heavy to drink - quite nice, indeed. In my notes I described it as a "Belgian Quad, Jr." If you find it, drink it.
If you move, it's like the hawk eye follows you.
Mendocino has been brewing craft beers in California since 1983. We didn't get to visit or drink Mendocino during our West Coast trip, so I'm very glad I was able to find some here on the East Coast.
Thing to Think About Today:
Yes, the beer is tasty, yes, "hawk eyed" is a well known phrase, but if we're sitting in the suburbs of Philly and drinking an "Eye of..." beer, I need to put on some theme music for one of this city's favorite sons, Rocky Balboa. For those of you who don't live in Philadelphia, there's a statue of Rocky, oddly placed outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art, near the steps where Rocky famously ran up. This being said, tourists in Philly run up all sorts of stairs, jutting their arms into the air in mock victory at the top, regardless of whether they're at the Art Museum or not. Enough talking, it's time for you to get the Eye of the Tiger, courtesy of Rocky III.
