Lagunitas Imperial Stout

Brewed by Lagunitas Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Petaluma, California USA

1 pint 6 fluid oz. bottle from Sherbrooke Liquor (Edmonton), served cool in a wine glass.

App.: Slightly reddish brown-black with a so-so light mocha head. Aroma: Lots of salty licorice, molasses and raisins, a bit of soy sauce (salty and savoury), hints of other dark dried fruits, some chocolate, some bright, vinous notes. Palate: Medium+ body, moderate effervescence. Flav.: Much liek the nose – salty licorice, molasses, some black coffee and a bit of dark chocolate, a bit of dark dried fruits, a little bright and vinous (less than nose), a touch of cardboard, a bit of green hops; somewhat sweet with fair bitterness and a little tang; leaves a bit of cardboard, some molasses and a little chocolate.

Not stellar, but fairly nice. A bit light for the style, I think.

22oz. Bottle: Sweet aroma. Smells of malts, soy sauce, Coca Cola, and nuts. Poured dark brown/ruby in color with a small beige head that disappeared immediately. Opaque. Medium sweet flavor. Tastes of chocolate, coffee, roasted malts, mellow hops, and sweet milk. Boring, average flavor. Medium body. Thin, oily texture. Soft carbonation. Sweet chocolate and roasted malt finish is lightly dry. Very average.

Bomber pours clear brown to amber with infra red edges and dark tan head. The aroma starts with a note of oxidation then becomes mild sweet molasses and faint roasty malts. The taste is much the same with oxidation, sweet mildly stale molasses, some roastiness, vanilla, faint chocolate malts and malty sweetness. Tastes like a sub par sweet stout and far from an imperial stout (I guess I’ve had just too much Expedition and Speedway lately, or not).

22 oz. bpmber. Poured a medium bodied, slightly translucent ebony-brown color. Pour produced a handsome, tight, thick light tan head. Foam retention was decent throughout the glass with a thin coating. No lacing noted. Aromas were pleasant, but very weak and muted. Faint notes of sweet roasted malts, dark chocolate, fig, raisin along with a touch of vanilla and coffee barely made their way to the olfactory nerve. Palate was on the thin side, but had a pleasant smooth, creamy texture with a fine carbonation level which helped fill out the mouthfeel. Flavors were slightly more assertive as compared to the aromas. Definitely leaned to the sweet, malty side like many Lagunitas brews. Dark, dried fruits, roasted malts, toffee, vanilla bean and dark coffee were enjoyed. However, for an Impy Stout they were fairly reserved as compared to many others widely available. Finished with just a touch of woody/hoppy bitterness to tame the sweetness a bit. The 8.2% alcohol doesn’t really make much of an appearance, so this went down real easy. An OK Impy Stout, but I doubt I would seek it out again.

Bottle, several times(this one is for strykzone)...dark brown pour and a small haed. for an imperial stout it is a tad watery and not as rich and sweet as one might expect...but it is still pretty good. coffe, chocolate, hops all present.

Nice and brown in the glass with a little ring of head. Good carbonation, this Imperial is on the lighter side. There are some souring elements at the end, where the hops in this beer show through. Chocolate cocoa, chickory, bitter coffee, orange and white bread. A pretty brew.

Dark color. Smell of coffee, malt, chocolate, caramel, brown sugar and hops. Taste of coco, malt, caramel, roasted nuts and copper. Watered down taste.

Bottle. Frothy head that dminishes. Dark brown, translucent body. Aromas of roasted malt, chocolate, licorice, grapefruit. The flavor is moderately sweet and moderately bitter through the finish. Medium body with a watery texture. Plenty of carbonation. Finishes dry with a licorice/coffee taste. I’ve had several Lagunitas beers in the last few weeks and each has a distinctive "house" taste, or rather aftertaste. I am not sure I am all that fond of it, especially in this imperial stout.