Lagunitas Lucky #13

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

Serve in Snifter, Trappist glass

22 oz bottle. Clear red amber pour with a 1 finger beige head. Pine resin aroma with a caramel malt background. Flavor is sweet caramel and toffee upfront followed by citrus and grapefruit hop. Maybe some citrus fruit, lemons and oranges come to mind. Full bodied, chewy palate with a bitter finish. Pretty much seems like a tamed down barlywine.

pours a cloudy deep amber color. head minimal. aroma is strong caramel malts and fruity hops. smells delicious. wow. what a beer. it borders two styles from what a i can tell. barley wine and ipa. it has the extreme caramel maltiness from the barley wine while packing a nice punch of floral and grapefruit tasting hops. an interesting beer.

Is "ambitious" too cliche to describe a beer? If not, then let me say that this beer is... ambitious. Their website describes it as "BIG on the Amarillo Hops and Rich Dark Malts for a Round and Huge, Smoky Flavor" (my apologies on the punctuation and capitalization in that quote, that’s painful to read).
I wish it tasted as good as they describe it instead of being just another average, hoppy, American strong ale.

750ml bottle thanks to I don’t remember who. Sorry. Shared with Thierry.
Appearance : Clear amber with a small foamy head. Lots of lacing.
Aroma : Lots of caramel and lots of fruits. Lots of hops too. Peachy fruits.
Taste : Lots of caramel, fruits and hops. Lots of sugar too. Nice bitterness on finish. Notes of overcooked caramel.
Overall : Nice stuff but not really my thing. Lots of stuff going on. big caramel and big hops. Almost feels balanced. Enjoyable finish. Well done overall but for my it’s just a good beer. Nothing more.

Bottle pours orange/amber with an off-white head. Aroma shows notes of caramel, orange, and pine. Flavor shows the same with additional notes of apricot and a slight earthiness. Overall body is moderate and somewhat sticky.

Presentation: It was poured from a brown 1 pint 6oz bottle into a tulip glass. The abv is listed at 8.3% on the label. There is no born on date or freshness date. Appearance: The body has a reddish orange color with good clarity. It is topped off with two fingers of thick light tan foam. The head has good retention and leaves sticky lacing all over the glass as it slowly fades. Smell: The aroma is full of citrusy and lighter pine like hops with notes of grapefruit and lemon zest. Underneath the big hop presence lays a mild malt sweetness. Taste/Palate: There are nice solid hop flavors throughout with pleasant mild malt backing. Notes of citrus and piney hops mix together on the tongue with sweet bready and lightly roasted grain before finishing with a pleasant level of hop bitterness. This seems to quickly flash off the tongue. The texture is smooth with mellow carbonation. Notes: This big red ale doesn’t disappoint. There is plenty of hop and malt complexities to satisfy both hop heads and malt lovers.

Poured from 22oz bomber in 12oz snifter. Pours a deep, ruby red with a beautiful lacey head. Aroma is of Amarillo hops with some dark fruits mixed in. Mouthfeel is creamy and thick, without being too full. Initial taste is the Amarillo hops followed by a slight roastiness of dark grains. Nice malty background. Pleasant warming from the alcohol (which is extremely well hidden). Overall this is just an outstanding beer. It will definitely be one I go back to over and over again.

22oz bottle, Deep amber pour, foamy white head. Carmel and citrus hops - some bready malts. Very smooth and drinkable. I really enjoy what the West Coast breweries do with this style.