Lagunitas Imperial Red

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

12 oz bottle. Pours a nice ruby color with a nice cream colored head that has nice retention and lacing. Nose is very hoppy. You get a nice face full of piny hops when you stick your nose in the glass. Very nice. Wow, this beer tastes nothing like I would have expected from the nose. There are nice mellow fruity notes to it but there isn’t a ton of bitterness you might think there is from the nose. I like it!

<i>A Mes rate: bottle thanks to either Harry or Chad, whoever it is you both f**king rock.</i>
Rich dark amber with a good creamy off white head. Big cheesy American hoppage on the nose with hints of charred wood and liquorice. Faint orange and spice back it up well. Noseable and chunky. Flavour is similar with the burnt toasty notes coming to the fore. Some oatmeal and maybe a little cardboard. Not as good as the aroma but nice enough. Interesting finish with a hefty dose of bitterness and minerals. Decent beer.

11/11/08 notes: bottle, from Bob’s Package in CT. Pours surprisingly light in color, and perfectly clear. Not was I was expecting given the reddish tones of Lagunitas IPA as well as most of their ASAs. Aroma is full of estery notes, along with some sugar and citrus. Initial flavor was hoppy, floral, and fruity, which then transitioned into its finish of intense sweet malt and caramel. Overall, a tasty beer that almost had me thinking that Lagunitas was about to try something different for a change. However, the addition of the sweet finish, syrupy mouthfeel, and fruitiness snatched away a higher ranking from Imperial Red.

Yet another solid beer from Lagunitas that is well hopped. Aroma is caramel malty with a whiff of pine and floral hops following. Amber colored with a thin off-white frothy head. The hops at first seem mostly piney and resinous with then some grapefruit kicking in. Nice malt content too, caramel and toffee flavors and a bit sweet tasting. This is very good right across the board.

Tap. Nice pour, amber in color with a nice tint to the head. Aroma pine hops, caramel malts. Medium to light medium body. Not overpoweringly bitter, but enough hops to know they’re hanging out there. Really nice, really drinkable.

12oz. Bottle: Pungent hop aroma. Smells of hops, pine, grapefruit, light pineapple, and caramel malts. Really nice spicy hop scent. Poured deep amber with a hint of ruby in color and a small, rocky, beige head that diminished into a thin film. Clear. Lightly sparkling. Full of tiny particles throughout. Small lacing. Flavor is lightly sweet and light to medium bitter. Tastes of hops, grapefruit, pine, pale malts, and resin. Medium body. Chalky texture. Average carbonation. Bitter, hoppy, lightly dry finish.

On tap at Stone Deep copper color with dense ivory head. Sticky ring around the glass and stubborn lace. Scent was malty, sweet, and nutty. Taste is smooth and sweet. There is a way later malt flavor that comes through. A tease of raisins in there too. It was overall smooth, with nothing that jumped out as a specific, overly noticable flavor. Love how it left a filthy dirty glass.

Bottle. An amber pour with a smallish tan head. A pungent, resiny aroma with lots of grapefruits and pine needles. Caramel shows up in the aroma as it warms up a bit. Medium to thin-bodied. A surprisingly fruity sweetness upfront. A bit of cocoa in the transition. Finishes up with the expected citrusy bitterness. Decent balance throughout.