Lagunitas Nuevo Noir

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

An amber beer with a nice brown head. The aroma is sour with notes of caramel, toffee, and herbs, while the flavor is sweet buttery with light notes of caramel and herbs. I’d call this a "New Stout" - it resembles the New Stout from Skands, more than any Belgian I’ve had.

(Bottle 65 cl) Beautiful, clear ruby red beer with a small, off-white head. Sweetish, malty aroma with a touch of yeast. Fairly full-bodied with lots of roasted malt and plenty of sweet caramel. Somewhat odd notes of overripe fruit make this unbalanced and flakey. Almost no bitterness. 160106

Bottled. Clear orange coloured with a beige head. Aroma of malts, caramel, fruits and herbs. Flavour of herbs, malts and caramel with spicy notes. Spicy finish.

Light brown colour. Aroma leads with woodsy American hops before proceeding to light bubblegum, floral esters and a light toffeeish malts. Soft, fairly light body. Nothing especially Belgian about this - it occupies a geographical No Man’s Land that befits Lagunitas’ innovative outlook. However, it’s rather restrained. I’d go so far as to say timid. It’s a decent product in terms of craftsmanship but lacks a sense of purpose. It’s defining element is not having a defining element and that’s not good.

(22oz bottle) Fluffy off-white head atop a crystal clear copper body. Aroma is medium sweet, caramel, some nutty, herbal, raisin. Taste is moderately sweet, brown sugar, caramel, herbal, some raisin, light orange peel. Clean medium body. On paper it looks to be fantastic beer, but the taste is a notch below that -- still good, just not great.

Bottle. Red brown colour with a small tan head. Caramel, fruity, sour, butter aroma and a sweet fruity sugar taste. Medium body and a sweet bad finish.

22oz bottle acquired in trade with DarkElf (thanks!). Poured a dark orange / copper color with a large sized off white head. Aromas of caramel, yeast, spices and very light dark fruits.Tastes of caramel, brown sugar, toffee, and light spices. On the sweet side (but not cloying).

Draft at Barcade. Cola colored, hazy, but the head fades quickly. Rather complex aroma, lagunitas seems to be doing a lot of that “more ingredients is better” stuff, but it makes for an interestingly complex brew here. Bready and peppery yeast character meets the cerealic and chocolatey malt to form a rather desserty aroma. Heavy anise notes, corianger, ginger, pear, fig and the likes contribute to maintaining the momentum. Aptly chosen hops bring floral tones into the pot with more verve than I expected, but the sweetness level remains tolerable. Woody, cigary finish with small tea-like tannins and tart edges. Interesting, possibly a new lagunitas’ favourite, but nothing to break my mind and make me write a 10-liner.