Lagunitas India Pale Ale

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

The aroma is malty with caramel and pine/citrus hops. The appearance is amber with a good head. The flavor is like the aroma. The palate is smooth. I really like this one.

(Bottle, Ölbaren, Copenhagen, 26 July 2008) Amber colour with frothy, beige head. Fruity, malty nose with notes of caramel, orange and toasted grain. Malty, fruity taste with grain, caramel, orange and citrussy hops in a balanced finish. Nicely balanced IPA. Good beer.

(12 oz bottle: Holiday Wine Cellar in Escondido, CA) This beer features a fairly malty, somewhat bready nose for an IPA, with only a mild hoppiness. In the flavor, the hops bitterness is also pretty mild for an IPA, and the bready, mildly sweet malt is strong enough to throw the balance slightly toward the malty side initially, with the hops eventually becoming a bit more assertive for a balanced finish. Medium bodied, and the palate is balanced but average in viscosity. Chunky particles are suspended in the cloudy, light amber colored beer anc are swirled around by the very active carbonation bubbles. Off-white head pours to average size and settles to a thin layer, leaving a fair amount of lacing spread around the glass. Overall, this beer is pleasant and flavorful, but probably about average to me for an IPA. I’m not much of a hophead, but even I think this IPA needs more presence from the hops to deserve a higher rating.

“Oh yeah baby”, lots of “Little Fernies” a floatin’ in this beer, a hazy amber color the head modest, the texture frothy, the color and off white with a nice covering of lace. Sweet malt, light hop floral tone also noticed, quite sniffable, sweet malt start, the top moderate in feel. Finish has a definite acidic bite, the hops potent in their spicy bite, dry and long lasting aftertaste. A great beer from a great brewery got a couple of its bigger brother aging away, and that would be “Maximus”!

Very hoppy, citrus, woody. Very long trailing bitter palate. Orange brew, good pup, clean label. Ding for the screwoff.

Tap: Took no notes so I’m writing based on memory. Deep orange pour with a wispy off-white head. The aroma shows some mild fruitiness of oranges and a light peach touch, but the hops seem restrained. The body is light with a restrained hop character as well. Not much bitterness at all. Reminds me of a watered down, less bitter Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. It seems the wide distribution has given it a "macro IPA" feel to it.

Golden orange with nice lacing. Aroma is strongly grapefruity, wafting out of the glass. Taste starts off with a smooth hazlenut kick and quickly fades into strong hoppiness, lots of pine-sol and soapiness, finishing slightly malty again.

Fine white head, slightly hazy orange golden body. Dominating grassy and earthly aroma, not very bitter. Sweet fruity notes. Flavor is also fruity with bready notes and an underlying bitterness. Not the most interesting IPA, rather macroish and ordinary.