Lagunitas India Pale Ale

Brewed by Lagunitas Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Petaluma, California USA

I don’t understand the low ratings for this beer. It is my favorite beer period. Assertive hops taste, but still balanced withthe malt. The low ratings may be the result of what seemed to be bad bottles several years ago. I just wish it was available in the part of SoCal where I live.

Draught. Medium amber pour with a nice, creamy white head. You could mistake this for a cask or nitro beer if you didn’t know better just by looking at the head. Excellent retention and some lacing. Nose is all hops, big grapefruit hops, with a ton of pine there as well. Don’t really get much malt backing on the nose. You don’t get much in the taste either, except for a faint sweetness. This is a pretty straightforward IPA, tons of citrus and pine. If you like that, this is your beer. Medium bodied, very slick and resinous mouthfeel. Finish is super long, lingering pine, grapefruit and grass. Excellent.

This beer pours nicely out of the bottle a golden straw color. IT has a good amount of bubbles in it. The aroma is good, and smells like the hop flower. Its got that great IPA bitter taste and finishes smooth, literally.

If you are a hop guy like me, this is an awesome beer. I like it a lot more than the dogtown pale. The initial taste is sweet and the bang of hops is nearly instant and will stick to your mouth for a long time. The head on the beer is decent and stays, although a little thin, throughout. I need to try this one back to back with Sierra Nevada and see which one I like better, I think I like this better. I have to say, to be fair, that i’m only an hour from the brewery so I’m sure I’m getting a fresh batch everytime. I’m waiting for a beer that tastes this good to compete with the MBC. The labels these guys make are classic. One of the best beers around and on tap all over the bay area. LOVE

Pours golden amber, medium off-white head, with decent lacing. Sharp Hoppy aroma, packed with an intensely sharp & bitter (almost acidic) taste. Kind of a watery palate. Great beer, but not balanced enough (too bitter) to be excellent.

Taste: Bitter, oakey taste with some sweetness. Watery pallet. Tastes like Killian’s Irish Red. The first taste is good, but the aftertaste is bad. I don’t like it. Appearance: No head, no head retention, golden amber color.

Bottle. TIny white head on top of a hazy golden orange beer with a little bit of "stuff" floating in it. Floral hoppy nose, similar taste. Nice bit of spice, complicated hops flavors blend nicely. Not a lot of malt, but not overly bitter. Quite drinkable, rather interesting, and one I’d love to find again.

Bottle. Clear orange-copper with a medium-sized and lasting head. Spicy tea leaf and floral-honey aroma. Initial flavor is earthy-spiced honey and pekoe tea, turns more to a toasted bitter nut and dried wood. Finally finishes with a pleasant woody, earthy, dry cocoa aftertaste. Palate is smooth and nearly medium-bodied with a dry finish. Not your typical West Coast IPA.