Lagunitas Imperial Red

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

Pours dark brown with a medium quickly disappearing tan head and a little lacing. Aroma is of sweet caramel malt and hops. Flavor is similar, definitely on the malty side but some citrus hop balance. Nice full body. Overall a good American Strong Ale.

Pours dark, dark amber (almost brown) from the 12oz. bottle into a plastic cup at Zeke’s Roadhouse (Miami Beach, FL): I can smell the faintest hint of chocolate in the aroma, I swear. Hops overload with a caramel backing straight up. With more sips I can taste some molasses, grapefruit, pine, golden raisins, and herbs. Nutty characteristics. Drinkability: Think IPA, but not quite there. Rebuy: Sure. #224 on 28112009, DG.

Very sticky. nice red color with a cool off white head. super sweet. made me want to put it on pancakes. tons of caramel and toffee with some oak backing. hops seemed a little in the back, probably an older bottle. nice rounded mouthfeel though. i wish lagunitas would put a bottle date on their labels.... the verdict: too sweet for me but nice enough!

12oz. botte. Pours a great deep dark mahogany body with a ruby tint. Small quick biege head. Aroma is spices, hops, bready, something like roasted potatoes with some nice floral and grapefruit scents. Flavor is a bit toned down in comparison to the aroma. Still very nice caramel, spices, hops and grapefruit. Medium bodied, low mellow carbonation. Warming sweet finish. Good beer.

Pours mahogany brown with a moderate, well retained off-white head. Has a sweet caramel, brown sugar, and tangerine aroma. Flavor is malty and sweet in an almost molasses like way up front. There’s some dried cherry and prune fruitiness as well, and the whole thing winds up to a warm, bitter citrus hop finish. Has a medium mouthfeel. This is interesting and complex tasting, if a little sweeter than I would prefer.

A: Poured an awesome dark amber color, with a slightly hazy body. The head is small, but the beer leaves some decent lacing behind. S: Wow, there’s a lot going on here. Malt is definitely present with hints of caramel, but the hops win out here. Heavily hopped with citrus (mainly lemon) coming out. T: You can always count on Lagunitas to make some interesting beers. They don’t disappoint here. Sweetness from the malts (again with the caramel) with some fruitiness as well. Finishes light-moderately bitter, but not quite as hoppy as you’d expect from the aroma. Can hardly detect any alcohol at all. Average duration... very, very nice. M: Medium-bodied and creamy, with average carbonation. D: This is truly a great beer; not one you could drink all evening, but an awesome example of a style that’s hard to put your finger on, and great for sipping.

12 oz. bottle. Colour... dark brown with a 1/4 inch ecru head. Nose... very hoppy and malty, all at once, with some dried stone fruits thrown in. Palate... light CO2, SWEET, with brooks prunes, dried zante currants, golden raisins, caramel, Lyle’s golden sirup, dark brown sugar, dark fruitcake (yes, I admit that I eat fruitcake!), and of course, the hops. But, there’s so much flavour complexity going on, that the hops seem quite tamed. Damn nice stuff! Wish I had tried it sooner.

Bottle. It lives up to its name. It pours brownish red color with a light off-white head. Aromas of hops, caramel, maybe a tinge of molasses? Medium bodied. A definite bitter edge. Slight alcoholic burn. Pretty decent stuff.