Lagunitas Decimator

Formerly brewed at Lagunitas Brewing Company
Style: American Strong Ale
Petaluma, California USA

Musty undertones, hoppy brightness. Nothing outrageous or exciting going on. Slightly sugary citrus/strawberry aroma, the best part about the beer. Cardboard in finish.

06.27.04 22oz bottle. Hazy goldenrod color with little head but decent lacing from the evident halo. Aromas remind of dry summertime flowers, lemon, a papery sweetness, and pine. Despite the hum-drum repetitiveness of the aromatic labeling, this beer has a very nice, very complimentary balance of the aromatic parts. I find the same quality in the flavors. The flavors smack of biting fragrant hops and candy sweet malts. This stuff reminds of DFH 90min IPA. Very nice finish is deceptively dry while still pils crisp and refreshing. A gulpable brew. Special thanks to Mike in CA for this trade.

Bottle shared with TAR: Slightly hazy golden hue with small frothy head and good lace. The aroma has notes of light pine, grapefruit, herbal, grassy, toasted malt biscuit, some phenols, and musty. This smells like an old ale. The taste has a basic malt and hop balance with some earthy and chalky tones (ringwood yeast?). The feel is fizzy and chalky, bland on the finish. Just an average beer. A hybrid style between English and American strong ales. Thanks for the bottle Joe.

Pale yellow color, clear with minimal white head. Aroma has lots of hops, with some balanced malts, some slightly citrusy notes. Flavor is hoppy, decently balanced with malt, slightly sweet, some alcohol notes. A nice brew.

White head with strong fresh hoppy aroma. Burnt orange in color. Starts wheaty and progresses to match the aroma's hoppiness, with a strong bitter, hoppy finish.

10th Anniversary Decimator Ale 22oz bottle And a *damn* fine beer this is! I can't believe I'm reviewing it in OR before anyone in CA found it. Hopefully there's much more where this came from. Appearance is light amber with a beautiful head that lasts through the entire beer, dissapating only to leave one of the most beautiful laces I've seen down the sides of the glass. A perfect 5 as there truly is no way it could look any better. Smell is mostly of hops (Cascade, among others) with some interesting malt scents. Very nice; even the scent is complex. Taste is very complex. Cascade hops are present. The first thing I noticed was the alcohol (keeping it from a perfect 5, perhaps unfairly), but that taste quickly faded into a remarkably well balanced hop/malt sensation. This is certainly hoppy but it's not overblown at all as some light fruits are present as well. Mouthfeel is nice and full, but a wee bit on the astringent side. Drinkability suffers *only* from the high alcohol content. Bottom line: I'm going back to the store tomorrow to see how much of this they have left. At 7.8% ABV, this will age *very* nicely. If you see this beer, grab it. You won't be disappointed.

App:Great, amberish, just off-white head, great lacing. Aro:Hops, maybe yeast fruit, perfume. Pal: Drinks just fine by me! Flav: PNW hops all the way, the malts(crystal) and the hops come together great. The complexity is there, there is much more than just Cascades and 2-row here. Can't help but think of HOTD's Fred...this is like Fred's little brother.

Very smooth, especially considering the generous amount of alchohol. Pristine flavor in the hops, mixed with just enough malt and woodiness to give it a fairly decent mouthfeel. I found myself craving something more, especially for something that is supposed to "decimate." Perhaps calling it the Lagunitas "Pacifier" may be more accurate, although then they wouldn't have any clever reference to the anniversary. Anyway, not bad, just nothing really stands out here.