Lagunitas Cruising with Ruben and The Jets

Brewed by Lagunitas Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Petaluma, California USA

At 3.99 Lagunitas definitely offers a bargain for a bomber. It doesn’t come on very strong and it ends with a slight fruit taste. It pours with minimum head and lacks carbonation. It’s good but it seems to lack something that would make it GREAT. I would say that it falls in line with the rest of the line of Zappa beers.

Bottle purchases at the Friendly Mini Mart. The nice thing about Lagnitas beers is that they are actually pretty reasonably priced. This bottle was about $5 for a bomber, not like 8 or 9 which is pretty nice. The beer flavor is a little odd. The addition of peppercorns makes the finish linger on the tongue just a bit. The is a pretty nice chocolaty flavor that is a pretty nicely roasted, and melds well with the peppery finish. Not a bad stout, quite enjoyable.

Poured from a 22oz bomber and served in a pint glass. Thick, syrupy, dark brown pour with virtually no head at all, but some oily legs. The aroma included caramel, dark fruit, and cocoa. The flavor had thick caramel, chocolate syrup, molasses, along with a moderate peppery spiciness that lingered on the tongue. Heavy, full-bodied mouthfeel. Low carbonation. Very syrupy and sticky. Not executed very well. A bit of a challange to drink.

Poured from bomber. Great label! Kinda of a dirt brown color with med. tannish head. Hot and spicy, but not overly. The pepper overpowers the chocolat in the taste, but it is present in the nose. Nice dry finish and the hops are nicely balanced. Overall good.

Update 3/26: Presents very much like a Baltic Porter, I was thinking Duck Rabbit almost. Ridiculously underrated, I hope Lagunitas can turn this into a regular release.

Ridiculously sweet, definitely presents like a winter-seasonal ale with very dark opaque presentation. Very sugary. Tasty. Lovely.

22oz bottle-pours a patchy light brown head and dark brown color. Aroma is licorice/chocolate/molasses-dark malt, dark fruit. Taste is licorice nibs, dark fruit-raisin/prunes, molasses/chocolate-dark malt, some balancing earthy hops, slight sour, alcohol.

Bottle. Pours a murky brown body with a coffee head. Sweet malty caramel, vanilla oak and dark fruit, and etoh latent fruit. Lightly spiced with hints of coco and chocolate. A somewhat roasty and cloying finish but overall a great offering.

Wow, a twistoff bomber. Never seen that! I guess I can’t recycle this for homebrew... Appearance: A deep black colored 2 finger light brown head. Not very viscous for a big stout. Smell: a spicy hop, roasty malts. Taste: chocolatey, slight bitterness. kind of sweet also. Pretty tasty, like a chocolate shake. Alcohol warms the tummy in a delayed way. Mouthfeel: medium. a little thinner than I like for an RIS. Drinkability: pretty good. I’ll have no problem downing this bomber myself. Overall, not a bad beer, considering these were less than $4 a bomber. Not my fav stout, though.