TMS Beer Project: Red Tail Ale

With the name Saloon included in our moniker, one could surmise that we here at TMS like to drinky drinky. One that would make such an assumption would be correct, thereby throwing out the whole, 'when you assume you make an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me' bullshit. We also like to plagiarize each other. In the same vein as the Wrigleyville Bar Project, we are proud to bring you another installment of the TMS Beer Project. The premise is simple: we review beers. Each rating will feature a variety of scores from 1-10 and comments from the bartender. This is a public service damn it. We don't want you to be the sucker who pays $15 for a six pack of some overrated Belgian cat piss. Now, we all drink massive amounts of beer so we know what we speak of. Each of us seem to have a favorite style of beer though. Will we be reviewing macrobrews like Bud and Coors? Oh you bet your Aunt Susie's ass we will. For purposes of this science experiment, and it is in the name of science, those will be the "control" group. Use them as a base line for when we review lesser known imports and microbrews. Without further ado, I bring you our next beer:

Red Tail Ale

Brewery: Mendocino Brewing Company (If you follow this link, don't skip the intro. And make sure your speakers are on.)

Type: Amber Ale

Receptacle: 12 oz. bottle

Drinkability (1 being Jim Jones' kool-aid, 10 being the nectar of the gods): 7.5 (Split decision between E-Claire's 7 and my 8). While I'm not usually keen on heavy beers, I didn't mind the slight aftertaste and the flavor. We're normally pale ale drinkers, but found this one pretty smooth going down (insert your own joke here...we sophisticated beer drinkers are above such tomfoolery).

Heartiness (1 being fresh mountain spring water, 10 being a pureed British steak infected with mad cow disease): 7. This wasn't a "beer to eat with a fork" along the lines of a Guinness, but we aren't talking about a Bud Light here. It had a nice amber color, but a bit more manliness (or woman-lyness) than your average college beer.

Intoxication (1 being your friend's weird pentecostal grandmother high on Jesus, 10 being Boris Yeltsin on a week long bender in the Crimea): 7. The 6.1% alcohol content won't get you wrecked as fast as some other beers, but it'll do a pretty decent job of getting you through that extra-innings nail-biter without you getting too mad at Derrek Lee for grounding into another double play. Or watching the average Oakland A's day at the plate. 1-2-3 inning? How about another beer?

Celebrities You May See Drinking This Brew: You have to strike the right balance of sophisticated and enough of the "normal guy" factor that they wouldn't demand a prissy, rich-guy beer. If they were inclined to have a beer, you would see Sean Penn, John Cusack or Nic Cage (short hair version).

Affordability ($ being chicklets in Tijuana, $$$$ being diamond encrusted braised lamb shank from a trendy cafe on the Champs d'Elysee): $$. A six-pack will set you back $7, which ain't too bad. If you can't afford that, get off the damn internets and get a job.

Overall: Not only is this a beer that will let you feel more important than you may actually be, we love to support the California breweries, especially from Northern California. This isn't the beer you'd buy for a "get drunk in college" night. If you're planning on throwing some burgers on the grill and relaxing outside, you could do a lot worse than Red Tail Ale.

As if you needed any other reason to get up immediately and grab a few (work, schmurk...), the brewery is also the official sponsor of the Mendocino Steam Donkeys Rugby Football Club.

Respect The Hawk. SQWAAA!!!!!