Lagunitas Sonoma Farmhouse Hop Stoopid

THOUGHTS: Wow. I didn’t even know they bottled this when I saw it in the store. And boy was it ever hoppy, but not overly bitter. There was enough malt backbone to make all those IBUs tolerable. It was like Weyerbacher Double Simcoe when it comes to the intensity of hop flavors without being overly bitter. Not that the too taste the same. One of the most unique hop aromas I’ve ever come across. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a clear, medium to dark orangey amber with an average off-white head that mostly diminished and left excellent lacing. The aroma was light to moderate caramel malt, moderate to heavy pine resin, grapefruit, orange and almost slightly minty hops, honey and sort of a Pine Sol aroma. The initial flavor was sweet and bitter; while the finish was lightly sweet and a little more bitter with a long duration. There was caramel, honey, lemon, grapefruit, orange, pine and resinous hops. Great balance. The medium to full body was sort of creamy, but also oily and then dry with fizzy carbonation and a light astringent and light alcoholic finish.

22oz bomber. Filtered with a dark golden hue. Off whitehead. Citrus and piney aromas. Resinous hops. Medium to full bodied with a bright pronounced hop bitterness. Mildly woody and earthy with a big grapefruit note. This is really good!

This is quite the hop bomb. It pours a brilliant amber color with a large, frothy off white head. The aroma is peachy, and grapefruit. No sweet flavors detected in the aroma. Little florals. Big piney, floral taste. Very bitter, with a surprisingly light body. Just a touch of caramel sweetness helps it go down, but this one is all about the palate clobbering hops. You can still taste it hours after its done. Wow.

Label is very similiar, but lacks the words "Sonoma Farmhouse by Lagunitas" and the circle...colors and pic are identical though.....hmm. Well, this appears to be the same brew. 22 oz. bomber. Clear, honey colored pour with a thin white head. Lacing was good. Piney, resiny aroma. Hops throughout, which I’ve come to expect from a IIPA. Crisp on the palate. A good example of the style.

Bomber. Pours orange-golden with a smallish white head. Aroma is a nice combination of floral, grapefruit, and pine hops, with fruit notes and honey sweetness and a bit of yeast. For an 100+ IBU beer, flavor is nicely focused on the hop flavors (citrus and pine), which come across as fresh and mix nicely with with fruit notes. A little sweet up front, moving towards a more bitter and dryer finish that then pulls back and leaves a flavorful but not too bitter aftertaste. Nice example of a high-hop beer that’s complex and actually subtle at times, with an interesting mix of the fruit and yeast character into the hop mix.

22 oz bomber into duvel tulip. Pours a orange with medium white head that quickly fades away. minimal lacing. Aroma is full of floral notes, pine and citrus. Taste is orange peels, some sweet malts. Nice and balanced dipa easy drinker.

Nice golden color. Then the aroma, bright grapefruit, pine a crisp linen telegraph that this is something special. The flavor just slides into you, wraps around your tongue and the roof of your mouth, making you happy to be alive and know that such wonders exist. The wonderful dryness at the end invites another taste. And so it goes . . .

Okay, I guess I’m in the minority on this one. Pour was golden honey with smallish head. Some citrus flavor and a lot of pine. An unpleasant bitter aftertaste...yes, I like hoppy beers, but something about this one turned me off. It almost tasted like a beer would taste immediately after brushing your teeth, although I didn’t eat or drink anything (or brush my teeth) prior to drinking. Meh.