Lagunitas El Chupalupalo

Brewed by Lagunitas Brewing Company
Style: American Pale Ale
Petaluma, California USA

Twist-top bomber from the Sam’s in Downers Grove, Illinois: This pours a clear, light amber body with a tall, foamy head. Nicely balanced APA. The aroma is hoppy with grapefruit, citrus zest, and sharp grassy notes, and occasional whiff of sweet grainy malt coming through. The flavor is much the same, but the balance tips slightly towards the hop side. The finish is dry and moderately bitter. Pretty decent beer.

Not really expecting much from this one. Dark golden to light amber in color. Moderate, fairly lasting off-white head. Fresh, green hops dominate the aromas. Some fresh mowed grass, light pine and citric zest in the mix. Quite volatile as the scent changes over time and the base sees pale malt and grain, along with nectarines. An interesting progression, but as it settles, it does seem to be more pedestrian. Light sweet, toasted malt in the front. Middle is joined with citric zest and cedar. Again a green hops flavor come into play. The malt base is lost three-quarters of the way through this brew, but for some reason I don’t seem to care. I’m left chewing on a fresh picked hop cone. While I tend to be a malt-head, I’m happy chewing on my fresh picked hops. Look forward to picking some more of this up when I visit next week. Nicely done. Perhaps I’m swayed by my lack of expectation, but I’m equally impressed that this is labeled a pale ale verses an IPA.

22 oz. bottle in a shaker glass. Starts with a great smell. Citrusy pine, then a bit of mango. Cloudy orange pale ale body, fluffy head turns a bit rocky after a minute. Taste is no hop bomb, but there is plenty of citrus, especially grapefruit, and a faint pepper burn. I do detect a bit of a soapy aftertaste, but not too distracting. Once there’s room in the glass for my nose, I get a grainy smell like when I walk into a brewpub on brewday and the door to the works is wide open. Pretty nice. Malts to the edge of chewy. Great Lagunitas price of $4.99/bottle, often sale at Sam’s for even less.

light fruitiness, some pineapple and hop salad .. good foam level ..medium sized .. . very easy to drink .. kitten mitten? ... good bitterness level .. would be a dream on cask .. . had while at MsCoops making bisque .. peanut is crazy ... Way to easy to drink .. .. 3:15pm - 3/26/09 - Thursday - Rockhaven - ..ya!

22oz bottle 2/11/09 (Sam’s Wine & Spirits-Downers Grove)-Pours a dark golden with a nice white covering for a head. Aroma of hops, grass, citrus, and a little malt. Taste of the same with some moe hops present. It finishes with a nice dryness. This medium bodied brew is well balanced and quite tasty. Another quality brew from Lagunitas.

22oz bomber. Pours a clear glowing golden with a foamy off-white sudsy froth 3.5. Aroma is quite peachy, sweet and slightly tart, faint resin/pine. Wow, flavor is a surprise, slightly lactic, nice sharp tartness and hard-candy sweetness with lots of softer peachy hops on top and some light distant pine. Reminds me closely of FFF Apocalypse Cow. Medium bodied, nice hard candy feel without much stickiness, really nice, softer fizzy carbonation.

Orangish pour with sticky, spotty white head. Citrus, fruity aroma. Thin flavor of tropical fruits and citrus and light toasted malt. Light mouthfeel with malty finish. Can’t beat the price.

Bought at Sam’s in Chicago. Nice sweet almost Hop Stoopid aroma. Citrus. Fruit. Pretty sweet overall. Lots of hops. A kind of toned down a tiny bit Alpha King/Hop Stoopid. Much love. Very nice.