Lagunitas Freak Out

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

I’m a huge Zappa and IPA fan. So, I gotta say, I love it. Big grapefruit hops upfront. Light copper color with almost no head. Flavor is bordering IIPA bitterness. Very citrusy, and a hunk of malt to balance it out. Light to medium body. It reminds me a lot of Avery IPA, I believe. Anyone know why it says, "Not available in TX!" on it?

Amber orange, moderate head, decent lacing. Aroma is American hops = grapefruit, pine, tropical fruits. Flavor brings all of this with a light caramel malt backing. Not extremely bitter, somewhat sweet. A solid example.

A little lighter than optimal golden color, fast-dissipating white head with some nice lacing. Maybe it makes sense that a Zappa beer is a little bit more bitter than you’d expect! Classic citrusy hop aroma and then WHAM, a strangely precise and on-point peppery taste in the middle, then it smooths out and ends a little thin with some alcohol. Really interesting beer, I’m going to grab a few of them.

Bottle pours a deep golden with an off white thin head and thin persistant lacing. Hoppy citrusy aroma. PLenty of bitterness in the flavor but thin otherwise. Fairly light palate and a dry quick finish. Thanks to Buck Dich for sharing this one.

Bomber. God, you can’t beat that label. It’s tempting to try to write the whole review to the cadence of the lyrics of Trouble Every Day, but that would be really annoying even if you were loaded. This pours a nice surging medium amber--really close to the true gem color. Luscious looking sudsy white head that gets bored and leaves quick fast like a bunny. This one seems to have Simcoe hitting right at the very finish--there’s nice pine and resin on the nose and on the mid-palate, and the attack is pretty mild. But the finish is crisp and fruity and tastes like nice sticky fresh leaves. This is just a super drinkable, nicely restrained and satisfying IPA. The body’s rich, the carb is perfectly modulated (slightly above medium, sweet spot for an IPA). The flavor profile’s actually low-key and tough to dissect, at least for the sake of discussion. Great stuff.

I’m really liking this one. The best of the Lagunitas hoppy beers. Ok, I’m not local so who knows what HopMonsters they’ve had on tap, but this one is deep. Lots of layers in this one as much as there are hops to compliment it. The aroma was strong early on but has blown off...too bad. The first taste to come accross is a slight numbing bitternes followed by a sweet cascade of two row malt and then hop flavor (not sure the variety) and then a more agressive but not offesnive bitterness. Well done!!

Bomber. Clear amber color with a thick mostly lasting white head, leaving spotty lacing. Aroma of floral hops, like a very clean, light and subtle perfume in the breeze, with some light pine and citrus scents as well. Wonderful grassy hop flavor- like black tea and sassafras (birch beer/bubblegum). A touch of light citrus hops as well in the flavor, almost lemony like you’d find in a pilsner. These subtle hop flavors are balanced very well against the light malts. Palate is also light and very drinkable, but in no way watery. I was expecting something similar to the big flavored and bodied Maximus, but I’m pleasantly surpirsed by this awesome ’precision’ brew. Frank would definitely approve.

This offering from Lagunitas pours a light tangerine color followed by a crystal clear body that leaves a thin off-white head that is spotchy and weak. The aroma is nice, it starts piney with a background of sweetness that is faint but apparent. It smells like honey and def pine cone, not very complex but it also has a lemon citrus feel to round it out. The brew sits on your palate very lightly, it is thin in consistancy but packs a nice hoppy punch. As you let this brew sit on your tongue the oily citrus, bitter pine feel becomes even more present. The finish is a bitter bite that has you wanting for more. This is a nice version of an American IPA, and very drinkable at 7% abv.