Lagunitas Sonoma Farmhouse Hop Stoopid

Brewed by Lagunitas Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Petaluma, California USA

Now this is what an impy IPA should be like! This offering from Lagunitas was absoutely outstanding. The Hop Stoopid ranks right up there with the DFH 90 Minute and the double IPA from Stoudts. Absoutely incredibly beer. It all starts out with a copper pour and an off-white head. The head leaves plenty of lacing around the glass as well. The nose is so inviting and enjoyable. I probably looked like an idiot sitting at the bar with my nose stuck in my glass the whole time. The full and rich aroma of hops, grapefruit and pine set this beer up for excellence. The body is smooth and drinkable, too. The flavors are incredibly delicious, with hoppy and spicy notes, along with balanced hints of caramel malt, more grapefruit and pine and a touch of bread. The finish was spicy, dry and extremely hoppy. This is definitely one of the best impy IPAs out there. I will have fun tracking down more of this. At the very least, I’ll find myself back at the Craft Ale House again after the holiday to have more! I’ll kick the keg myself! Damn was this a great beer!

bottle. Pours a clear golden with a nice, fluffy, off-white head. Nose is big on grapefruit and pine. Taste is grapefruit with some malt balance. Mouthfeel is medium with sweetness and a nice bitter finish. Good carbonation.

Throws off a huge head that takes too much time to recede. I spy it’s sheen, tis’ a faint golden copper color. Funny, I smell underarm b.o. with a splash of malty sweetness. I gleefully imbibe and discover what the hype is all about. This is absolutely delicious. Thick malty goodness renders a sweetness to clobber the hopsy razors edge into submission. Flavors are fresh with a honeysuckle sweetness. Turns to heavy cream on the palate. The finish lingers like the scent of a beautiful woman in an elevator. Awesome

Sonoma Farmhouse eh? The Sonoma is found in the clear burnished brass of the beers hue and sheer brightness of fresh humulus aromas leaping out of the glass. Farmhouse speaks in a light voice of earthy spice, although the hop extraction method is more akin a Sonoma Valley lab. Hop Stoopid? Well put. Fresh, sweet grapefruit juice abounds, from the nose to the mouth. Hop bitterness is not on the stage here, no astringency or green bite. A very plush and polished mouthfeel give the Cascades a slip and slide to personify their namesake. I wouldn’t say that the beer in singular, rather one solid vision that begins and finishes flawlessly and provides ultimate hop refreshment. Well done and very well priced.

bottle: Poured orange with medium diminishing head. Smells very citrusy with a small piney note. Flavor was slighty sweet with a very bitter end, but smooth. Strong grapefruit flavor and a lingering taste with the bitterness. I liked this very much, well balanced and very flavorful

Solid orange colour, with a very surprising clarity for an Imperial IPA. A very very slight green hue to the beer as well. Huge hops right off the nose, clearly in the Cascade/Centennial/Stryrian Goldings family, with loads of lemon, grapefruit, spruce, and pine. The palate is wonderfully well-balanced, and stands up to the aggressive hopping just fine. I have tasted more complex IPAs, but few that were so well balanced.

Pours a golden orange with a tan head that has green highlights. Head laces beautifully. Nose is just loads of citrus (lemon, orange, grapefruit), and pine, resin, apricot. Cascade hops up the ass! Tastes fantastic! Citrus and pine. Not overly complex but great none the less. Great palate and really good beer!