DOCUMENT AND ENTITY INFORMATION	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012	May 07, 2012
Entity Registrant Name	MENDOCINO BREWING CO INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000919134
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Smaller Reporting Company
Trading Symbol	menb
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		12,611,133
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012