Lagunitas Cruising with Ruben and The Jets

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

(br-btl rd/bk-lbl, 22oz, "cocoa nibs and white peppercorns", 8.6%, $4, 18¢/oz)

opq-br, ^dense-tan-hd, med-low-fine-co2, ^full-^velvety-body.

^chclt-malt silage §smokey-roast-malt aroma.

awesome Ts, sweet-smokey-malt §silage bright-fruit T1, ^chclt-malt T2 sweet-§chrcl T3, astringent Tf, nothing peppery.

hops never quite punch through but it is only slightly malt-centric.
maybe not quite as complex or peppery as i expected, but my expectations were pretty high. great beer.

a nice brown ale with sweet molasses and sugary candy nose. comes with brown sugar and molasses and raisen nose with roast and sweet candy sugar taste with lingering sweetness and raisen finish,. nice, but i’d choose something different, like hebrew 12 or 13.

Bottle. Pours a dark black with a large tan head that fades fast. Lots of sediment when it is all poured out. Taste is of roasted malt, caramel, chocolate, spice, over ripe or rotten fruit, some alcohol and some hops. Rather sweet. Similar aroma. Kind of offensive tasting and smelling. Thin body. I was expecting more from this beer. This one is definitely not for me.

22oz bottle, purchased at Ledgers. Pours a slightly murky, chocolate-brown color; light-tan head with patchy fine-bubbled lacing. Solid malty sweetness, charred malts, and cola in the aroma; smooth, sweet, tempered, and nice. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: lots of chewy caramel, cola, and dried dark fruits; very malty, smooth, lightly carbonated, and soft; almost like a doppelbock at this point, honestly, oddly: smooth, caramel, clean. Medium finish: soft caramel, sweet maltiness; balanced.

In short: A spicy roasted stout. It is what it is…
How: Bottle 22oz. Consumed about 6 months after its release.
The look: Dark brown body topped by a small tan head
In long: The nose is roasted and very spicy (grounded black pepper, more). Taste is roasted dry, sensation of roasted wood. Cacao notes. Strong spicy character, a little too much spices for my palette. Grounded black pepper, coriander, nutmeg, liquorice… Not bad but the spicy character becomes tiresome before the end of the bottle. Yet Lagunitas beer to celebrate a Zappa album. So it looks like Lagunitas have their mind set on making a new beer for each Frank Zappa album. They have their work cut out because Zappa more prolific than a rabbit on Viagra.

solid chocolate taste, milky palate inky black with ringy head. Draft at uber

Pours from the bottle a very dense, semi-murky, brown color with a deep ruby red coloring when the light is shown through, topped with a big off-white tan head. Aroma has a large amount of toasted notes, raisin really comes through, light peppery note, dark fruity note and ends with a modest amount of chocolate and caramel malt. Flavor has a great bitter chocolate bite, light smokey note in the middle, some great raisin and dark fruit notes come through early, very light peppery flavor in the middle and finishes with a semi-dry, smooth toasted and caramel malt note. Body of the brew is heavy with a smooth creamy feeling. Low carbonation but a modest amount of lacing is left on the glass. Overall a great, heavy brew where the chocolate really tastes perfect for a beer.

The pour was dark brown, no where near black. A short cap of almost tan foam formed. Flecks of lacing. The aroma was roasted malts and light chocolate and you could definitely detect pepper. The flavor was a nice blend of bakers chocolate and pepper with roasted malts. The mouthfeel was medium bodied, yet creamy. Not too heavy. A nice, subtle twist on the style.