Lagunitas Imperial Red

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

Brownish red and crystal clear with an average beige head (albiet on a rough pour) that has some decent retentsion but no lacing - slides right back down. Aroma, well, some hops and by some I mean mega hops. Tons of hops. Spicy, floral, strong hops. I also detected some ripe tropical fruit. One dimensional flavour: hops. Massive spice and a strong bitterness. No shortage of flavour, except it’s all hops...anything else present gets crushed. Beer came across suprisingly smooth and then it explodes the throat with tons of spice leaving a really heavy bitter aftertaste. Tingled the roof of my mouth. Decent body. Not sure if I want this again.

Pours redder than a fat chick’s menstruation. Deep in color, and capped off with a great head and fair lacing. Rich with sweet malt, but perfectly balanced with some bitter and citrus-infested hops. Alcohol is hidden extremely well, which is probably why my first time drinking it resulted in mexican food at 2am and a great night’s sleep on the bathroom floor.

Bottle. Pours clear amber with a one finger beige head that results in spotty lacing. The nose is sweet malt and ripe citrus. The taste is caramel, ripe dark fruits and tart grapefruit in the finish. Nice creamy mouthfeel. Good brew.

On tap @ Reggie’s. Interesting brew that redeemed Lagunitas for me after the Gnarly Wine fiasco. Ar: Lovely floral profile reminiscent of FFF brews. Candied sugar and best of all, cardamom. Ap: Copper/Golden amber color, small ivory head w/ some residual starfish lacing. Fl: Not quite as intense as the aroma, but should be a good session beer despite the abv being marginally on the higher side. Caramel malt, fruity hop tones, cotton candy and some residual sweetness that i couldn’t quite identify. Metallic aftertaste is a bit of a letdown. Finishes dry and refreshing.

notes from 4/8/09 pours copper red with a 2 finger head that left good lacing. smell is piney with strong sweet malts. taste is candy carmel malts and pine hops. a medium body with good carbonation. overall this is just too damn sweet for me.

Aroma of fruity hops and sweet malt. Dark red-brown color and a creamy tan head with strong lacing. Taste has a hoppy bite but balanced with a rich malt flavor and noticeable alcohol. Well balanced with a smooth character overall.

Pours a dark clean copper with a small head. Aroma is fantastic! Big grapefruit, piney hops, hints of floral and malt. Flavor is even bigger grapefruit. WOW!! Bitter and sticky. Pine, hops, malt. Finish is dryish and bitter. Top notch!!!!

Bottled. Great off white head that does dissapate. Reddish mahagony color with aromas of sweet malt, Earth, And hops. Taste is of solid sweet malt, piny, citrusy, hops, and a little yeast in there. Great mouth feel that tingles the tongue and finishes full.