Lagunitas Nuevo Noir

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

Reddish brown color. Sweet raisiny nose with a touch of caramel, and alcohol. Light bodied and watery with a mish mash of flavors consisting of raisins, alcohol, caramel, and brown sugar. The heavy duty sweetness combined with a strong presence of alcohol didn’t work for me. Most of my Lagunitas experiences have been great but this one I’ll pass on.

Clear deep ruby brown with a nice aroma that’s mostly caramel. Malty flavours that finish with a bit of nuttyness. Little bitterness. There’s a slight metallic taste to it which isn’t so great.

Deep reddish colour with a tan head. Malty and caramel sweet aroma with notes of dark fruit and yeast. Malty and sweet flavor with notes of prune and plum. Light caramel sweet finish with weak notes of caramel.

Nut-brown, big head, moderate retention. Aromas of butterscotch, sweet spices, and something vaguely fruity. Moderately heavy mouthfeel, very smooth, flavours of sweet toffee, marzipan, vanilla, and again something vaguely fruity. Contrary to some of the other raters, I did find this similar to some of the belgian ales I’ve tried, but not as heavy on the alcohol and without the yeast. I thought it was quite good, but a little on the sweet side.

This beer offers the nose a nutty/yeasty aroma. The color resides somewhere between cherry and mahogany. It pours a good light brown head that fades fast leaving only a trace of lacing behind in its wake. This sweet smooth beer flows through the mouth depositing a nice nutty caramel taste on the palate. It fades smooth leaving a nice sweet malt flavor lingering.

22oz. bottle. Clear reddish brown color with a small off white head. Caramel malt aroma with raisins, vanilla and brown sugar. Mildly sweet flavor of raisin bread, brown sugar and some spices. A bit of alcohol comes through on the finish.

Cherry wood coloring with a fairly small off-white head. Aromas of caramel and roasted malts; there is far less yeast and fruitiness in the bouquet than I originially had anticipated. Some light chocolate lingers as well, but in a blandness like the store bought chewy chocolate chip cookies, not as in the rich delicious aroma of fresh cookie. Body is relatively thin and slightly creamy. Initial nuttiness is almost like a poor nut brown ale, but the Belgian yeasts quickly drown out that negative impression and are actually quite pleasant. Finish is clean with a small bit of quad-like yeastiness and raisin nut bread. This is the brew’s most appealing trait for me.

22 oz. bottle. Pours walnut brown with a small head that diminishes into an edgy off-white film. Aroma is malt (baked cookie) and brown sugar, milk chocolate powder, yeast (wheat dough) and light berries. Flavor is yeasty dough, caramel malt, medium sweetness, moderate acidity, low bitterness with maple, buttery and toffee notes. Medium bodied and dark, slightly fizzy and creamy palate.