Lagunitas Lucky #13

Oh gosh...not another American strong ale. This style is so overdone and the only reason this got such a high rating from me is I rated it in comparison to other American Strongs. Tastes like Arrogant Bastard with less hops and not as sweet (which is a huge plus). There is absolutely no aftertaste at all which is uncharacteristic of this style. Hides the alcohol perfectly. Good for the style...so so overall.

Bottle: The aroma consists of caramel, citrusy notes, slight piney hops. and a hint of fruit. It pours a transparent reddish-orange with a small white head. The flavor starts with caramel and some faint banana bread. Finishes with a citrus hoppiness. Decent, but rather simple and something I’ve tasted plenty of times before.

[294-20070503] 1pt6floz (c/o mds, w/ him, blankboy, GregClow, jerc). Grassy hops aroma blends nicely with citrus notes. Clear, red body with a light tan medium-lasting creamy bubbly head. Grassy hops continues in flavour with some lemon zest and fair aftertaste. Bitter dry medium-full body. Hidden alcohol, pretty hoppy, nicely blended, not bad.

Bomber.

Pours a hazy red-amber with a big, light-hued head. The aroma is strong citric hops with a caramelized-fruit richness that was pleasant, unexpected and quite interesting. The flavor doesn’t quite live up. You’d think I’d like this one more than average for Lagunitas, as I usually complain about their overly-sweet ened 8%+ brews, whereas this one is relatively dry by this brewery’s standards. And yet it doesn’t all come together. Biscuit flavors, resiny hops, detectable alcohol both in flavor and mouthfeel - it’s alright, but not something I’m in a hurry to try again. The 3.5 total seems generous though I don’t quite see where to knock it down.

Amber color with a thin off white head. Aroma is mostly hops. Flavor also has dominated by hops but balanced well with a malt backbone. Strong, but not overpowering this is quite a nice beer.

A tasty brew. Deep amber with a medium-white head with relatively fine bubbles. Big hop aromas and deep caramel notes in the nose. Slightly slick on the palate and medium bodied. Big hop flavors balanced against a strong, colored malt backbone.

Pours an amber/red color with small off-white head and decent lacing. Faint smell of hops and malts. Taste was mildly sweet malts followed by bittering hops and a dry hop finish. Mouthfeel was a bit syrupy and medium bodied. Very nicely done, sort of a red IPA, if there is such a thing.

A red style with a distinct strong alcohol, highly hopped. Smooth drinking like an IPA. IPA colkour, a reddish tinge, hoppy aroma, small head and a little lace. One dimension hops above all, but not a double or imperial hop. Well with food and refreshing at end of Summer One Day.