Lagunitas Lucky #13

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

How can you go wrong when you are going down the ailes of a standard grocery store and you’re staring down "Coors, Bud, Henry, Corona" and then that girl looks at you. No, you perv, not that girl. The girl on the bottle of Lucky 13. You see her giving you that look like, c’mon you wanna try me. At least once you do. And when you do, you’ll want to go back. The girl is that good.

OK, so it’s the beer that’s good and not the chick on the label (although that’s a nice label). Lagunitas pumps out beer after beer. Some good, others not so good. This one, thankfully, lands squarely in the land of good. The beer pours out a whiskey colored reddish brown, with a really nice thick tan head. Aromas are...hmm...caramel. Definitely lots of that, and a nice heaping dose of grapefruity hops. The grapefruity and the caramel mesh really well, with the aroma but there’s also a touch of iced tea character to the beer. Each harmonious yet quite independant of one another. Flavors have a nice toasted malt angle, perhaps a bit of scorched marshmallows is more like it. Combining with the malts is a really user-friendly hop profile that’s easy to enjoy. Piney resinous hops are quite the eye opener and to say this beer is enjoyable is spot on.

Bottle Pours a clear goldenrod with an off white head. The head last well and produces okay lacing. The aroma is a good mix of sweet malts and some hops. Has a good carbination and a good mouthfeel. The flavors are good with a nice touch of spices ina ddition to the malts and hops. Has a medium body. The texture is between watery and oily. Has a good finish with an okay aftertaste. Overall this is a pretty good beer.

A thin head that doesn’t go away. Nice red hue with a dark caramel brown color. Looks really good. You have to excuse me due to my drinking situation. Anyways, a deep malty smell. I am wanting more hops, but what can I do? It is pungent to me in the wrong way. More towards a barley wine aroma, if you ask me.Slight hop taste, but jeez this beer is heading towards a barley wine in taste. Completely misses out on the hops. A slight bittering hop at the end, but other than that I would say, no hops.

Bomber. A cloudy dark amber with a little white head. Aroma is pleasant caramelly malt and citrus/pine hops in the background. Smells a lot like an English Barleywine, really. Flavor is very rich and creamy malt with hops throughout, though they’re never the dominant flavor. Finish is rather sharp and somewhat astringent, though. Pretty smooth palate. Overall, a good brew.

bottle, sampled 4/5/07. Bottle shows the usual Lagunitas label style... good fun. Pours a deep clear amber color, vigorous pour yields a thick, 2 inch head of off white head. Aroma starts with a tight, sharp hop profile- some sharp citrus and smooth pine. Sharp bitterness up front in the nose. Smooth caramel notes in the background. Flavor follows the nose,- aggressive bitterness up front, with a full hop profile of grapefruit, lemons, and fresh cut pine needles. Smooth sweet caramel malt making up the backbone. Palate is full but crisp, with a mildly oily finish. Solid beer.

poured deep amber with a very light tan head that lingers tastes of sweet malt with a nice balance of hops overall pretty good beer

Bomber: Pours a reddish/amber with a thick off white/ slightly tan head that lingers. Aroma is fruity, with the lagunitas hard candy scent that I don’t really like, caramel, and grainy. Taste has got a strange caramel tinge to it. Some definite discernible hop characteristic with a decent malt backing. Fruit, hard candy, and grain round out the taste. Overall, Lagunitas brew. I usually are not real fond of. They make find beer, but I find their taste to be a little off. Cheers!

Pours a hazy amber with thick off-white head. Aroma is very pleasant of hops and nuts. Taste is of caramel, slightly sweet fruit, and a hops combination that doesn’t appear to work too well. Aftertaste at first slightly metallic and then turns to a pleasant hops.