Lagunitas Freak Out

Formerly brewed at Lagunitas Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Petaluma, California USA

On tap @ coles Buffalo NY. Prefer this to their regular IPA. Lots of grapefruit in the nose. Orange copper in color & nice but not over bearing hop presence.

Tap at the Drafting Room. Hazy amber-orange. Aroma of citrus (grapefruit), pine and biscuit. Fruity taste; apricot. Fair malt backbone. Slightly bitter finish. Very enjoyable.

Draught: Piney hop aroma. Poured amber in color. Clear. Not sparkling. Looks kinda thin. Very good lacing. Flavor is heavily bitter. Tastes of piney hops and a little citrus. Dry finish. Soft carbonation. Medium body, but still kinda watery.

Pours with an ever so lightly hazy, beautiful, orangish tinged, copper color. It is topped by a frothy, initially three finger thick, pale tan colored head that leaves some lacing as it slowly falls back into the beer. The aroma is certainly hop driven with ample sweet citrus notes noticeable. Ruby red grapefruit, candied orange peel, tangerine, apricot and lychee are found up front. Towards the end, and especially if you dig around a bit, there is a biscuit like, even cracker malt character that can never quite shake the dominant citrus character. Some pine like notes form a backdrop to these other aromatic notes as well.

My first sip confirms that yes, this is definitely a hop driven beer. It has a medium body to it that provides a bit of palate fullness that even tends to lingeringly coat the tongue ever so lightly with a malt character that doesn’t entirely peek out from behind the hop character. Citrus notes of candied orange peel and tangerine play a big part of the flavor profile, but a solid hop character of menthol, pine and a biting bitterness finish each sip off. The malt plays a secondary supporting role here, perhaps there is a hint of caramel character, but along with the malt sweetness this really serves to accentuated the citrus hop components rather than be noticeable in their own right. The mouthfeel of this beer almost has a soft buttery note to it that provides a smooth easy drinking character to this brew.

This beer has all the components of a great IPA, but for some reason it just does not quite gel. Somehow I think the palate gets in the way. It seems a bit astringent at times, though I would not say that the hops are over the top in any way. Still this is an enjoyable quaff, and I would be happy to sip my way through a couple pints if I had no other better options.

22 oz Botlle. Aquired in a trade with zathrus13. Pine and citrus aroma on the nose. Copper body with off white head. Some lacing present also. Flavor had that good ipa citrus with some sweetness and bitterness decently balanced. Little dry on the palate, but a good refreshment to come home to after a busy day. Thanks Jeff.

Aquired via Shigadeyo. Thanks. Pours a medium golden color with a nice fluffy white head. Aroma is light hops, pine, and malts. Flavor is bitter hops, quite piney, and mild malts. Sort of a dry finish. Not too shabby.

pours golden in color with a small white head aroma of caramel and toffee with a bit of citrus taste is very smooth with a nice malt back to balance pretty enjoyable

tall, thick, creamy, and rocky off-white head, lots of clingy lacing overhangs. color is mostly clear and light orangey-amber. aroma is citrusy honey hop, pretty sweet and mild. flavor is also citrusy hops, some sweet grapefruit and a bit of kumkuat. some pale malts, then more bitterness in the finish. reminds me I gotta score this CD, have been derelict in looking up Frank’s greatest. and some Captain Beefheart while I’m at it.