Lagunitas Sonoma Farmhouse Hop Stoopid

Brewed by Lagunitas Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Petaluma, California USA

Thanks to the Easter Bunny for this one (rustychiles). Pours an exceptionally clear amber-tinged pils/orange color with a slow-forming head that reaches quite an unexpected, yet significant height. Aroma is of muted American hops...some citrus/orange/pine etc. and not much else. Small drinks of this yield next to no hop flavor...about the level of a pale ale. However, when imbibing large amounts of it I get the taste I’ve been hearing about. Nice and resiny/oily with good grapefruit/orange character. Afterwards I feel like I’m breathing pine needles. This is a very good deal for the price and is extremely well balanced, but I don’t think that I would ever call it an Imperial/Double IPA or guess that it has over 100 IBU’s. I think it lost a lot by going with hop extracts over the real thing. A very nice beer (and I am no hop head so that makes this even weirder to say) but I’d like to see it hoppier. This scores highly with me, especially for an IPA, but if it had more floral aroma/character (which I think was stripped out) and had a bit bolder of a hop taste, it would have been a few points higher across the board.

Clear amber pour has sweet pineapple and bitter pine aroma. Taste is the same with an excellent body. This beer definitely used the perfect amount of malts to balance the outrageous hops.

22oz bottle from Holiday Wine Cellar (Escondido, CA). Pours a dark amber with a rather thin head that still manages to leave some nice lacing. Great aroma bright with hoppy citrus, flowers, and honey. The initial sweetness on the tip of the tongue quickly gives way to a pleasing alpha acid-inspired bitterness. First pine and then bittersweet flavors of citrus, namely grapefruit. The maltiness is there too, and creates a nice balance preventing this from going overboard (as some of the IIPA’s tend to be). Pleasant bitterness in the finish that is not overpowering and does not compromise your palate for eating food or drinking other beers. Very nice. Rating #23; for this beer #444.

Pours a light orange with a head. Aroma was nice and super-hoppy with heavy citrus tones. Flavor as well is bold and super-hopped. Flavor is very good and has a very refreshing fruitiness. Makes me miss the west coast.

Bottle from Liquor Depot (Tampa, FL). Pours a clear golden yellow with thin white head. Aroma is sweet and floral with notes of apricot, citrus, sweet honey, caramel, hints of ripe grapefruit. Flavor is sweet and floral with notes of citrus, grapefruit, apricots, pine, honey, some light caramel. Generally medium body with a pleasing floral hop finish.

Pours clear orange with nice finger head. It smells wonderful. Floral and orangey, slightly sweet. Very good beer, with residual sweetness. Bitter on the back of the tongue, but this hits all over the place. Piney and orange with a great body. This is an excellent beer.

Pours a clear golden amber, very aromatic, nice big bubbly head with decent retention, much clearer and paler than expected, much like blind pig in color... Huge C hop aroma, very citrusy, not much malt profile very aromatic, nice... Orange, pineapple and grapefruit quite distinctly in the taste, not very bitter, not sweet, remarkably balanced, very drinkable, a top notch example... a bit dry, not too bitter in the finish, nice medium mouthfeel, not watery, not heavy bodied...

Clear copper pour with white head. Overwhelming aroma of grapefruit hops. Heady taste of resinous malt with pine, grapefruit, and bitter hoppy finish. Nice hugely hoppy beer. Ok on the palate.