What’s that smell? Smells like success!

I’m sure a lot of you, especially in our neighborhood, know about our recent problems with our Wastewater Treatment Plant here at the brewery.

In case you haven’t heard about it, or don’t live around here, we had a serious upset of the treatment process of our Waste Water Treatment Plant.

The upset was caused by a malfunctioning probe system of newly installed automatic pH balancing system. This pH system was installed to upgrade our operations, but instead, it actually created a major odor problem. We immediately contacted reputed consultants and brought the situation under control by using appropriate products.

Automatic Spray System

We also had special automatic spraying equipment flown in to disperse the proper application of products for better and quicker results.

Bio-Reactor

In order to avoid this happening again, we decided to expand and upgrade our treatment plant by adding a Bio-Reactor, in addition to other upgrades.

This project was taken very seriously by all involved, and in a record time of three weeks, Phase-I was completed and commissioned. Everything is under control now and we feel very confident that Phase-II will be completed by April 15th of this year.

Chemical Dosing System

 

Mendocino Brewing wants to say a big thank you to everyone involved in the project.  You know who you are. We couldn’t have solved this problem nearly as well without you all. We also want to thank our neighbors for their understanding and patience while we were resolving this problem.

This whole smelly episode just goes to show that even when you do the right thing, stuff happens. The real measure of a company’s worth is how you deal with problems that crop up. Yeah, it was a big problem for sure, but by attacking it as a team we were able to overcome this and be a better and stronger company because of it.

Thanks!

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Super Bowl Red Tail Chili

Red Tail Ale Superbowl ChiliSuperbowl is fast approaching and we wanted to find a great and easy dish for the big weekend. Our sites are set on Turkey chili, a delicious blend of meat, beer and spices. What more could you ask for? It’s a perfect dish to start the kickoff right with friends and family. It takes about ten minutes of prep time and an hour and fifteen minutes to cook. This recipe serves eight people.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 5 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 small green bell peppers, seeded and chopped
  • 1 habanero pepper, seeded and chopped
  • 2 pounds lean ground turkey
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
  • 1 tablespoon paprika
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 (1 ounce) envelope instant hot chocolate mix
  • 2 teaspoons seasoned salt
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring
  • 2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chile peppers, drained
  • 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
  • 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
  • 1/2 cup Red Tail Ale
  • 1/2 cup canned whole kernel corn
  • 1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce

Cooking Directions

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, green peppers and habanero pepper; cook and stir until the onion is transparent. Push these to one side of the pot, and crumble in the ground turkey. Cover, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the meat is no longer pink. Stir everything together so the garlic doesn’t burn.
  2. Season with chili powder, red pepper flakes, paprika, cumin, oregano, pepper, hot cocoa mix and seasoned salt. Stir in Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, diced tomatoes with green chilies, tomato sauce and kidney beans. Crack open the Red Tail, and pour in about 1/3, drink the rest. Partially cover the pan, and simmer over medium heat for about 50 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Mix in the corn and hot pepper sauce, and simmer for about 10 more minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.

Open a bag of tortilla chips, add a little cheese, grab a cold Red Tail, and root for your favorite team. Bon appetit!

 

This great recipe was brought to our attention by JIMBOLYA from New Jersey. Thank you!

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Raptors of the Year for 2011

Buzz - A serious father

We recently came across a beautiful story documenting the lives of two red tail hawks named Buzz and Ruby. This feathery couple has developed a large and dedicated following of people over the last two years.

On February 12, 2010 Ernie Sarro spotted two red tail hawks perched on a light post in the downtown Fresh Pond Mall area of Cambridge, Massachusetts. These two hawks had made a nest on the 7th floor of 185 Alewife Brook Parkway and were expecting three chicks. Ernie has faithfully video documented the lives of Buzz and Ruby and their adorable off-spring ever since. Since their first discovery, Ruby and Buzz have drawn crowds of “hawk stalkers”  to their doorstep to watch the couple raise, care for, and teach their chicks how to fly. This great series really gives a different meaning to the saying, “flying the coop”!

For the full length documentaries of the amazing lives of Buzz and Ruby visit

http://www.theexpertseries.tv/ or check out Ernie’s blog at http://www.gotoernie.com/

(Here’s the first video created about Buzz and Ruby)

Buzz and Ruby's kids. The Three Amigos!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Check Out this Video of some Early Flight Training

Enjoy!

 

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Top Five Tips for Cooking with Beer

Pour it on!

1. Beer brings out more flavors than wine on the BBQ

Beer adds an excellent flavor to BBQ sauces and marinades. It is a lot less acidic than wine, citrus juices, and vinegar commonly used in marinades and BBQ sauces. Moreover, beer is less expensive than wine. You can make more than a quart of marinade with a fine quality ale for less than five dollars.

Beer tenderizes meats without breaking down texture as rapidly as more powerful acids like vinegar and citrus juices. Furthermore, the mellow and balanced flavors in beer brings out the flavors of cooking spices and herbs compared to its more acidic counterparts that overwhelm the meats with acetic  notes.

2. Delicate aromas of your favorite beer will be lost if you boil it for too long
Most beers are appreciated for the hops in the nose. A beer’s signature aroma comes from the oils in the hops cone. These oils dissipate quickly when they are boiled.

Here is the rule of thumb, if you want an aroma type finish in a soup, try a splash of your favorite IPA after reducing the heat. For the deep rich flavors of a darker beer in a stew add it at the beginning and boil it with the rest of the ingredients that you normally would. The roasted and sweet flavors of the barely will stay with the stew and blend well with the other ingredients’ flavors.

3. Experiment, Experiment, Experiment
There is always a flavor that matches the dish. The different flavors of beer are practically endless, sweet, bitter, roasted, honey, floral, nutty, etc. Don’t be afraid to experiment when cooking with beer. Think outside the box, replace some or all of the liquid in a bread recipe with beer, try deglazing with beer, add it to a stew or soup, use it as part of a marinade or make a gravy using beer instead of broth or water. Experimenting is key, use your favorite brew and try something different next time you’re in the kitchen.

Pale ale is considered very versatile for cooking. It has a balance of rich flavors, hops, and fruity overtones. Stout beer is also a great choice for cooking. It’s made with dark roasted barley and malt. Its fermentation makes it a good substitute for yeast in breads and its full bodied taste adds a unique flavor to stews and soups. If you are experimenting with beer and desserts, a Stout or Porter will help to intensify the flavor of chocolate with its slightly bitter finish and chocolaty notes. India Pales Ales (IPA’s) are excellent for drinking but can be too bitter for cooking.

When you cook beer it concentrates the flavors, so a bitter beer will become even bitterer when cooked. It all depends on your tastes and preferences and the dish being prepared.

4. Match intensities and take advantage of similarities
The food and the beer should be in harmony. Don’t cover up the flavor of the food with an intense beer. The beer is used to enhance the food and add subtle flavors. Overdoing it defeats the purpose of using the beer. Also, if a dish has a natural flavor, such as a citrusy flavor from a lime in a Mexican dish, use a beer with a citrusy flavor. Take advantage of the similarities while cooking and you won’t be disappointed with the results.

5. Never cook with a beer that you wouldn’t drink
If a beer does not appeal to you as a beverage, then it most likely will not appeal to you in a recipe. Really think about what a beer will bring to the table. Don’t add beer just for the sake of adding it. Think it through first. Figure out what natural flavors your dish has to begin with and choose your beer and flavors accordingly.

Let us know what you came up with in the kitchen. We would love to hear about your favorite recipes or any cooking tips you might have.

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Raptor of the Month – Kestrel Falcon

Bird of the Month – Kestrel Falcon

October’s bird of the month is the small but powerful kestrel falcon commonly known as the sparrow hawk. It is the smallest falcon in North America and the only kestrel found in the Americas. The kestrel’s primary location ranges across North and South America. They are found in central Mexico and the Caribbean during the winter and migrate to Canada and Nova Scotia in the summertime for their peak breeding season.

Plumage

The male kestrel has blue-grey wings with black spots and white undersides. The belly and flanks are white with black spotting and the tail is a reddish-brown with a black band. The wings and back of the female kestrel is reddish-brown with dark brown barring. The undersides of the female are creamy with heavy brown streaking and the tail is reddish-brown with dark black bars. Both males and females have distinctive black lines under their eyes that are used to cut down on glare while hunting.

Size and Diet

The kestrel grows between 7 and 8 inches in length with a wingspan between 20 and 24 inches. Females are typically larger than males weighing in between 4 to 6 ounces. Despite their small size, kestrels are known to eat other small birds along with their staple diet of grasshoppers, dragonflies, lizards, mice, and voles. They have also been reported to have killed larger animals such as bats, squirrels, and snakes.

A Unique Ability

The eyesight of a kestrel falcon is only slightly better than a human’s. However, due to specialized cone receptors in their eyes a kestrel can see ultraviolet light. This unique ability helps the bird find one of its favorite meals, a mouse like creature called a vole. Voles feed during the day, hidden in the grass they are difficult to see. But they have one weakness, their bladder. They leave a trail of urine wherever they go. Urine reflects ultraviolet light which leads the high flying hunter right to its meal.

Breeding and Hatching

Kestrels are sexually mature by their first spring and often mate with one individual for life. Males will perform intricate climb and dive displays to show off their territory and attract a mate. Once a pair finds each other they build their nests in tight fitting natural cavities for greatest protection for the eggs and young. Primarily the female is responsible for the 30 days of incubation that it takes before the eggs hatch, although the male incubates some of the time. The chicks grow very quickly reaching an adult weight after 16 to 17 days. Between 28 through 31 days after hatching the wings are developed and they are able to leave the nest.

The kestrel falcon is a beautiful bird of prey that shows off bright plumage and amazing aerial displays. It is the most abundant falcon in North America with an estimation of 1.2 million pairs.

Check out this video of a hovering Kestrel. This is amazing! The head never seems to move at all. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hzyu-PotSD4&feature=related

See ya next time. What’s your favorite raptor? and why?

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Great Blue Heron – Raptor? of the Month

August’s bird of the month is the majestic Great Blue Heron. They are the largest and most widespread heron in North America. They can be spotted along the ocean shore line, on the edges of small inland ponds, streams, lakes and marshes. They can be identified by their blue and gray plumage, long legs, yellow bill, and a long “S” shaped neck. These birds are quite a sight to see when they are flying overhead. With a wingspan of up to seven feet wide and three to four feet tall they are hard to miss.

 

Skilled Fisher

The Blue Heron is a wader and expert fisher. They will patiently stand still for hours stalking their aquatic prey waiting until fish come within range of their long necks and blade like bill. Rapidly striking, the heron delivers a deathblow with a quick thrust of its sharp bill spearing its prey and then swallowing it whole. They have been known to choke to death by attempting to swallow fish too large for their long S-shaped necks. Although fish mainly comprises a blue heron’s diet, mice, insects, amphibians and other small creatures are a staple part as well.

Caring Parents

The Great Heron prefers to hunt alone but typically nest in colonies. Tall trees or low shrubs are the choice nesting areas. During mating season, the female produces between two and seven pale blue eggs in a large nest made from sticks, lined with pine needles, moss, reeds, twigs, and dry grass. Both parents incubate and protect the chicks from the time they hatch to when they can survive on their own after about two months of age.

 

These beautiful and highly skilled hunters are a pleasure to observe on a day out at the beach or the lake. Although the Great Blue Heron is technically not a raptor, you wouldn’t want to be a small creature around when it’s hungry! There’s no doubt about why we choose this amazing bird as our mascot to one of our favorite craft brews.

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Red Tail Ale Lime Grilled Chicken

Red Tail Ale Lime Grilled Chicken

Red Tail Ale Lime Grilled Chicken

Summer is a time for barbeques and picnics with friends and family. We wanted to share some of our favorite beer enriched recipes with you to enjoy this summer.  Try this one out and tell us what you think of the recipe!

Serves:           4 people
Prep Time:       10 to 15 minutes
Cook Time:     15 minutes
Ready to Eat:  55 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 fresh lime, juiced or store bought lime juice works fine
  • 1 bottle of Red Tail Ale
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
  • Salt and pepper
  • 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Directions

  1. In a bowl, mix the lime juice, Red Tail Ale, honey, garlic, cilantro, and salt and pepper until the honey dissolves. Pour the mixture over the chicken, cover and marinate for at least one hour or overnight for a deeper marinade.
  2. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat and lightly oil the grate.
  3. Remove chicken from marinade and shake off excess; discard remaining marinade. Grill chicken until tender and juices run clear, about 7 minutes per side.
  4. Serve with your desired side dishes such as rice, potatoes, or couscous, with a fresh green salad, garlic bread and of course a cold Red Tail Ale or two…!

Additional Options

  • For garlic lovers try adding extra garlic cloves to the marinade mix or extra honey for a sweeter overall flavor.

This is also a great recipe to make chicken and veggie kabobs. Grill up some thick slices of unions, green and red peppers along with the chicken. They’re perfect to bring to the summer swim party!

Click here for a printable copy of this and more recipes.

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Leadership in the Craft Brewing World

Leadership in the Craft Brewing World

Mendocino Brewing Company, the first brewpub in California and the second in the United States since Prohibition has stood the test of time and leadership in the craft brewing world. Company President and CEO, Yashpal Singh, has kept Mendocino Brewing relevant in the competitive craft beer market.

“You have a brewery in wine country and you are competing as a business with wine,” says Singh. “You have to be more than 100 percent to be in this place. It builds up the spirit of reaching perfection.”

“I do think being in the wine country is a plus,” he adds, “in the sense that the area is known for producing quality wines. The emphasis on quality is engrained into the people of the area. It’s an attitude that we get in the people who work for us. They are very quality conscious.”

This emphasis on quality Singh feels has greatly helped the Mendocino brand keep its edge. In addition, Singh believes that craft beers are benefitting from wine drinkers who are including craft beers among their beverage favorites.

A Shift From Wine to Beer

In the last few years Singh has noticed a significant shift of wine drinkers moving to craft beer. “There are many wine drinkers who have graduated into craft beer,” he observes. “And because they are used to higher alcohol, they tend to gravitate toward the bigger beers that are still a lot less expensive than good wine. There is a shift in the craft brewing industry toward stronger beers, and they are becoming reasonably popular.”

As a result to this new demand, Singh introduced a line of Imperial-strength Mendocino beers that have become popular in the market. This new line complements the popular Eye of the Hawk (8.0% abv) which is a beer that wine enthusiasts will love.

Valued Local Support

According to Singh, Mendocino brewing receives a lot of support from locals including those in the wine industry. As a way to give back to the community, the new larger Mendocino Brewing Ale House was recently created and opened just up the road from its Ukiah brewery.

“The sense of competition is not to run down each other,” Singh states thoughtfully. “The sense of competition is to do better than the other.”

This philosophy goes a long way toward explaining why Mendocino Brewing Company is both an industry pioneer and a popular brand today in this ever evolving industry.

Go here to read more about us on the Wine Country Beer website

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Raptor of the Month – The Red Tail Hawk

Our company takes great pride in its birds of prey mascots. They are majestic, fierce, and beautiful, each with their own unique qualities and attributes. We could not decide on one particular bird while creating our brews so we decided on choosing a variety of feathered friends to help give life and uniqueness to our craft beers. In honor of our regal birds, each month we will post a Bird of the Month article describing the exceptional qualities and interesting facts of the chosen. What better way to start off than with the Red Tail Hawk?

Buteo Jamaicensis – Red Tail Hawk

The most common hawk in North America, the red tail is often seen on telephone poles or fence posts in open country watching for potential prey. The red tail was first scientifically studied in Jamaica hence its scientific name Buteo jamaicensis. Buteo is a genus describing medium to fairly large, wide-ranging raptors with a robust body and broad wings. The red tail can be found all over the continent ranging from Alaska and Canada to south of Panama. This hawk is comfortable in living in just about every type of environment from open country, roadsides, woodlands, farmlands, prairies, mountains, to deserts and are even found in the tropical rainforests of Mexico.

Aerial Acrobats – The Courtship Dance

Red tails have a unique courtship dance that is quite impressive to watch. Soaring in wide circles at high altitudes the male goes into a vertical dive and shoots up again at an angle nearly as steep. After several dives he approaches the female from above and lightly touches her as he passes by. Often times the courting pair will lock on to one another by seizing talons and plummet in circles towards the ground, breaking off at the last moment.

Nesting

Red-tailed hawks are monogamous and often mate for life. In preparation for a clutch of chicks the couple will create a nest of sticks, bark, fresh foliage, and dry vegetation that can range from three feet across to a height of six feet high. The female will lay a clutch ranging from one to five eggs once a year. Both hawks will incubate the eggs for four to five weeks and will care for and feed the young from the time they hatch to the time they leave the nest six weeks later. Nearly half the red tails that are born every year do not survive but the ones that do average a lifespan of 21 years and can boast a wingspan of nearly five feet.

Squirrel – It’s What’s For Dinner

The typical diet of the red tail consists of small mammals. Common prey includes mice, rabbits, squirrels, snakes, blackbirds, pheasants, and rats. Mature hawks have been known to dive-bomb smaller birds and bats right out of the sky. With eyesight eight times as powerful as a human’s, the hawk spots its prey at high altitude and dive-bombs the unaware victim using its sharp talons as the finishing move.

The red-tailed hawk is both majestic and beautiful with a unique and chilling cry. In fact the signature call of the Red-tailed hawk is widely used in movies to represent an eagle or other bird of prey soaring through the sky. Hollywood believes that the cry of the red-tail is more regal and “eagle-like” than the actual call of the eagle itself.

Have you taken any photos of the Red Tail (the brew OR the bird) and would like to share? We would love to see them.

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It’s Red Tail Rally Time!

Eye of the HawkThe Mendocino Red Tail Rally
Reviving a Tradition

The year was 1976, the revving engines from forty rally cars itching to fly could be heard in the late afternoon air. Three hundred exciting and treacherous miles lay ahead for the contestants that would test their mettle and racing experience throughout the evening. The rally progressed throughout the night even with a forest fire raging just miles away from the course. The race began with 40 starters and completed with 26 finishers.

The original Mendocino Forest Rally ran from 1975 through 1982 in Lucerne, CA. Nearly 30 years later Mendocino Brewing is reviving the tradition with the August 6th 2011 Mendocino Red Tail Rally. The rally begins and ends in Ukiah at the Mendocino Brewing Ale House. The 40 contestants will traverse to South Cow Mountain where sixty miles of twisting dirt roads await with another forty miles of transits. Nearly half the roads are wide enough to allow easy passing and a good selection of approaches into the next turn. The abundant twists and turns in this highly technical course will demand both the driver’s and co-driver’s full attention and expertise.   

With help from sponsors Mendocino Brewing Company and Parducci Wine Cellars, the Mendocino Red Tail Rally organizers have built this event with the idea of “simple, fun and low cost” in mind. The track is ideal for amateur and professional drivers alike with the thought that the smooth, twisty roads will be a great proving ground for beginner drivers and co-drivers alike.

The Mendocino Red Tail Rally is sanctioned by RallyCar, and is part of the California Rally Series, the Bilstein Southwest RallyCup Series, the Joshua A. Norton Rally Championship, and the Vintage Rally Car Championship. Visit their website at Vintage Rally Car Championship

To learn more about the rally visit their site at Mendocino Red Tail Rally

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