Lagunitas Imperial Red

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

Slightly hazy copper body, thick buff head. Fresh grapefruit rind and pine greet the senses, carried by the toasty, caramely malts which deliver just the right amount of sweetness. Long, bitter, rindy finish, but not palate-destroying. The palate is both delicate and complex. Very nice.

Lovely coppery/amber pour and rich rocky white head. the nose is caramel and toffee. the first impression of flavor is a surprisingly strong earthy hop bitterness, followed quickly by the more expected caramel and toffee malt. High ABV seems to contribute to a fairly dry finish. Quite a nice effort.

12oz bottle, courtesy of TheBeerCellar2. Thanks, Matt! Pours a medium, cloudy golden-rust color; fluffy, off-white head with good retention and lacing. Lots of candy sugar and floral hops in the aroma. Slightly dry mouthfeel: perhaps a bit more bitter than I’d like, caramel and citrusy hops; good levels of carbonation; chewy, but hard to get a lot of flavor out of this one: predominantly dry and bitter hops. Medium finish, with some hints of pine at the end.

Appearance: Pours an attractive amber copper color. Translucent. And it has a creamy beige head and loads of lacing lining the glass. Smell: Caramel and a sweet poignant grapefruit aroma, hints of earthy woodyness, and creamy sweet browned butter, a toasty brown sugar and a gently ‘delightfully’ phenolic butterscotch aroma induce the salivation. This beer is a sniffer. Taste: This beer does a beautiful dance upon the palate. The sweet sensations from the candied caramelized malt to the orange pine hop biter that prance on my taste buds with a hint of mint, lightly toasted malt and butterscotch candy flavors followed by some alcohol showing through just enough to warm the palate and ease the mind, oh yeah!!! Mmm! It finishes with a strong green pine hop bitter kick that lets you know it was there, but the aftertaste is so pleasant it is worth savoring even after the beer is gone. Spectacular! Mouthfeel: It is a velvety smooth medium – full body beer that is spicy astringent and enjoyable. Drinkabilty: I really enjoy this beer but ‘golly me’ I am done with one. I is big in IBU and sweetness and alcohol is up there too. This is an enjoyable beer in moderation. Not a sessioner by any means. Hope this is helpful. Cheers!

12 oz bottle via trade with WeeHeavySD (Thanks!). Caramel malts and strong citrus hops intermingle in a hodgepodge of aromas that are melded quite well together. Also, there are some light pine needle notes. Appearance is a clear crimson red with an off white colored head that lingers around for a while. A really big up front almost sweet candy like taste at first. Nice hop element with a creamy more subdued malt texture that really brings this brew through. A grassy texture lingers through this beers aroma and taste as well that is kind of enjoyable. Palate is a bitter, long lasting finish, that stay on your tongue like a piece of hard candy. Overall, It’s a nice Impy Red the Yulesmith Impy Red I had was better than this, but still a solid beer.

12oz - thanks Foolish_Mortal - Aroma is both malty and hoppy at the same time. Sweet chewy caramel malt and earthy hops. Pours transparent red with a small head and great lacing. Flavor is chewy caramel malt to start with a tart hop back. Palate is tart and sticky. Overall a very tasty brew for all seasons. Very sweet and easy drinking with enough sourness to make it interesting.

Classic red flavor, and this imperial version is well hopped. Accessible. Not a session brew. Not too sweet or malty. The hop/malt combination gives an almost cranberry like taste sort of like goose islands red. Retried and bumped from 3.9 to a 4.

amber-brown hue with a small white head. A malty aroma with mainly caramel notes and some hops. Flavor was sweet almost candy like a heavy hop finish.