Lagunitas Sonoma Farmhouse Hop Stoopid

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

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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Pours with a three-finger thick head that was poured a touch too vigorously as it over-flows the top of my glass. The beer is a brilliantly clear, reddish tinged, copper color. Luckily a heavenly nectar of hop concentrate greets my nose as I pour this; it is a mix of orange blossoms, intensely sweet aromatic notes of ruby red grapefruit, tangelo and lychee. I may be a bit tipsy right now, but this aroma is just so freshly vibrant, intoxicating and freshly hoppy that I just have to spend some dedicated time enjoying the aromatics wafting from this tipple. Hints of pine, and a certain rank hop character form the secondary wave of the hop attack, while not quite reminiscent of its closest cousin, it certainly has a certain dank quality that is at least evocative of it. Wait, there it is; there towards the end, notes of hemp seeds, menthols and a certain, easily placed, aromatic, essential oil. Egad, the aroma is perfectly exquisite; so much so that I am almost certain that the flavor cannot live up to the odoriferous emanations from the surface of this brew. So what do I do, well I’ll just have to spend a few moments more enjoying the aroma. It is really interesting, at first the fruity citrus hop notes were what dominated the aromatics, but now the rank, herbaceously, pernicious weed character is what is most distinctive, though the citrus character still plays a prominent role. You really can’t ask more from the aroma of a hop focused beer.

The first sip is creamy up front, it is quite smooth; after all this time smelling the brew a lot of the carbonation has mellowed. It is not quite as hoppy as the aroma suggest, but it is darn near there. The hop flavor is a mix of citrus notes and green, herbal notes. I get flavors of bergamot, ruby-red grapefruit, tangelo, lychee, apricot and other-sort-of tropical fruit like notes, plus I also get notes of basil, menthol and some savory herbal notes reminiscent of its persnickety cousin. At times the herbal notes take on characteristics of garlic, green onions, freshly cut savory herbs. The beer is quite drinkable, light, but with enough heft to carry the ample hop character. There is enough malt sweetness that the citrus notes stick to the palate in the finish. A solid bitterness runs throughout this beer; strangely enough it never gets astringent and is quite clean for a beer that has been obviously been hopped this much. The particulary rank almost garlic-like character must come from Summit hops.

While the flavor of this brew does not quite live up to the aromatics emanating from this beer, this is certainly the most enjoyable brew I have ever had from Lagunitas (though I should warn you that it may take a particular breed, a hop head certainly, to enjoy the characteristics of this brew. I wonder how much of my enjoyment of this brew is situational? I’ll definitely have to try this again, but it is really hitting the spot right now; this is the last beer after a night of drinking malt focused brews. While my head may certainly be feeling the effects of the alcohol content, the aroma and flavor hide it amazingly well and make me think that I could quaff this brew pints at a time; a dangerous situation I might almost feel lucky enough to experience until the next morning. I am quite pleased; it is rare that the beer I end up with at the end of a night of a rating marathon (anything over three beers qualifies for me), is the best brew of the night. In fact I better score this beer now, as the longer I drink this and the more the alcohol effects me, the higher it score is going to rise. Actually on that note, this makes me think that I need to revist a lot of beers from my ratings past so that I can down-grade them.

Bottle pours an orange nice head. Tastes smells of pine heavy malt citrus. Pretty good beer sweet yet bitter. Great for price.

Pours a clear bright orange color with a slight reddish tint. Huge head off the pour but that faded leaving a nice small amount for the rest of the drink. Big hop aroma even though I think this bottle is about 2 years old. The hop aroma is mostly citrus, floral, and pine but there is also a good amount of malt coming through. Taste is very good, just enough sweetness to balance the strong bitterness. Still taste the fresh hops throughout and there is a strong malt backbone to hold it together. Very nice refreshing finish making you want to drink more. Great Imperial IPA.

22 oz. Bottle. Great tasting, affordable, DIPA. Fain sweet citrus scent. Pale yellow, copper, slightly cloudy appearance with a foamy head. Light/med body with a slightly sticky texture. Caramel sweet fronted taste that turned to citrus hop and a bold bitter finish. Delicious!

Bottle. Clear pale orange, not too dark. Decent head, nothing crazy. Aroma is minty and earthy, not overpowering. The taste is where it shines. Follows the nose with a blast of mint, pine, and fresh hoppy bite which finishes nicely. Almost feels like your tongue is coated in hops. Not much of a malt presence. If you're in the mood for this beer, it's excellent. A hop lovers dream.

Deep golden amber color. Cherries, caramel, pine nut and a touch of floral in the nose. Mouth is thick, rounded, excellent balance. The malt really shines, but hops are there just as much. Not an over the top IPA, but simply lovely balance with moderate bitter finish. Although I generally prefer hoppier ipas, this is perfect.

Poured from a bottle at the Burger Bar in Mandalay Bay, a golden color with a white head. Dominant sweet citrus aroma. Medium sweet taste with a light body and average carbonation. A very nice beer!

Serving temp was off so I didn’t get much aroma, however what did come through was very citrusy. Clear light gold amber body. Little to no head off bottle pour. Incredible hop body balanced with a stlight roasted maltyness. Hops are citrus in note, and slightly herbal. The malt and hop balance works well to hide the alcohol however it is present on a long after taste.

The notes here make it seem like they want you to drink this in the morming after a "big night." That is a little weird - does it have anti-hangover properties. Amber pour. Hop Stoopid is a dry and resiny IPA, full flavored and nicely astringent. There is lots of pine/grapefruit hop flavor. Lightly oily on the tongue. An excellent example of a West Coast IPA, and offered at a price that made me want to grab a few of them.

I get quite a bit of salty, briney characteristics from the initial taste. It then blends into a more creamy long finish. I quite enjoyed this beer.

The lens of a snifter reveals the crystal clear, amber orange hue that forms the body of this selection. Micro bubbles dance their way to the surface, gathering to create a subtle and creamy smooth head that lingers just long enough. With each sip, hints of grapefruit tempt the nose. A sweet, medium malt, with notes of artisan bread always present, not just for the nose, but also for the palate. A gentle tingling effervescence gives texture. No overwhelming shock of bitterness from the hops on the back of the tongue, just a balanced union of roasted barley, hops, and thoughtful brewing. IPA, as nature intended it to be. Be Hop Stoopid.