Lagunitas Lucky #13

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

Serve in Snifter, Trappist glass

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Bottle. Clear brown/amber with some tan head. Aroma is mostly hops and citrus along with a nice malty caramel component. Taste is more malty. Medium bodied, very smooth. Great balance between the hops and malts. Good carbonation. A very solid brew.

Rich auburn/red in colour.with decent head. this brew is more about the aromas and taste. HUGE BREW! nice pine cones, fruit aromas from this well hopped brew. Unbeleivable aromas. really exiting stuff. THere is also a wonderful balance in malts from this brew. nice roasted notes & some caramel notes. wow I say! on the palate it really doesn’t disapoint. big big hops are actually met in balance with those caramel and malted notes. I find this an amazing brew. it manages to be big & hoppy but super balanced by as much malted notes. WOW! love this brewery so much!

650ml bomber. Pours deep copper with light tan head that leaves a goodly amount of lace. Nose of roasted malt and caramel with a nice floral hop note. More of the same on the palate with a sweet entry and long hop driven finish. Superb.

From the 22 fl. oz. bottle. The pour is a reddish-amber with about a quarter inch of soapy, tan head. The aroma is full of caramel malts, molasses, dark fruit, and pine. The body is full and bold. While the aroma boasts many sensations other than hops, the hops pull up the rear in the taste quite clearly after the first sip brings forward red sweet bitterness.

Picked up a bomber bottle at Spirits of St. Germain in La Jolla, California. Pours a rich red-amber color that is fairly clear with just a slight haze. Medium-sized, fluffy beige head that leaves behind a fair amount of lacing. Aroma is very sweet, with lots of molasses, chocolate, and fruit notes. Taste is malt-forward: caramel, dark fruits, and a nice roasty nuttiness, especially in the finish. The hops are very subdued here, and there’s only a hint of bitterness. Lucky 13 is medium-to-full-bodied, and that, coupled with the fact that it has really fine fizzy carbonation makes it feel pretty smooth and velvety going down. Very good.

Draft @ County Grill, Hampton VA: Subtle orange peel and rosehip aroma, not strong. Clear copper, medium cream colored head, coats the glass like a milk shake. Full bodied, metallic. Flavor is sweet overripe orange and malt. Some caramel and nutty notes present. Triple sec at midpalate. Bitingly bitter pine finish, not resinous, but very bitter and lingering. Alcohol is noticeable but tolerable. On paper this is a pretty good beer, good complexity and balance. The problem is I just didn’t enjoy it. Maybe I have been rating beers too long, but this seemed mediochre and ordinary. I’ll just say that maybe laguntias tried to put a lot of good things in one beer and it didn’t come out as expected, bad gestalt.

Enjoyed from a 22oz bomber in an English pint glass. The beer pours a medium to slightly dark copper color, with a small to medium white head. The nose shows dark fruits and a slight touch of chocolate, devoid of hop aroma. Evidence of extensive age continues in the palate, as bitterness is essentially nonexistent, and is instead replaced by strong medium-high and high crystal malt character. The latter is certainly not unpleasant, but leaves the beer decidedly one-dimensional. Carbonation is nicely dialed in. The finish caramelly and raisony. Overall, the beer clearly would have been better if sampled fresh, although one wonders whether strong citrusy hop bitterness would have clashed with such a prevalent malt character.

Key Food, Flatbush Ave, NY, Ny 22oz ($5): Pours a brownish amber with a tan head. Really fruity aroma... some hops and earthy notes in there. Tate is dark fruits. Quite heavy on the malt. The hops are definitely in the background in this beer and the slightly sweet malts speak the loudest. Body is on the heavier side of medium. Alcohol taste is covered well by the panoply of fruity flavors. Quite good.

I really thought this beer was excellent. Had it for my birthday on tap at the mad mex in cranberry, pa. Pours a slightly hazy brown amber with really nice thick frothy manilla head. Really great sweet citrus balanced aroma. Flavor has sweet caramel base with nice citric hop resiny back end and slight booziness. Not too overpoweringly hoppy - everything is perfectly balanced. Great beer.

Poured from a 22 ounce bomber into a nonic pint glass. Bottled on June 3, 2010 according to the Julian dating code on the bottle. Appearance: Pours a clear reddish-amber color with a 2 finger fluffy light tan head. Very sticky spiderweb lacing throughout. Smell: Pine and citrus hops with sweet malt and pineapple in the background. Very sweet and fruity. Taste: Sweet citrus with a hint of pine up front followed by sweet caramel malt and a touch of grilled pineapple in the middle and ending with bitter hops at the finish. Aftertaste is mildly bitter. Delicious beer. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with a good amount of carbonation. Drinkability: Excellent drinkability. The alcohol is completely masked so this one could get you in trouble considering the elevated ABV. Overall: Excellent beer overall. I was worried it would be out of date but it was excellent. One of my new favorites. I’ll be picking up more if I see them. Another fine offering from Lagunitas. I would highly recommend this beer.