Lagunitas The Hairy Eyeball Ale

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

Hmmmm......this one threw me for a loop. Is this really Lagunitas we’re talking about here? The pour yields an attractive, dark, translucent crimson body. A minimal, off-white film crowns the body and leaves behind little to no lacing. The aroma shows sweet, dark fruits like cherries, figs, and plums over a caramel and brown sugar malt base. Very faint floral hops are present in the background, though they appear to be an afterthought. The flavor is again very sweet and malty, with dark caramel and fruits again dominating. The smooth, medium body is overly sticky and sweet. Decent brew, but lacking hop character and depth. Where is the well balanced Lagunitas hop bomb I was expecting? Not one of their best efforts.

Pours dark amber color with thin white head.Malty caramel aroma with just a hint of hops. Has a medium body. Very malt driven, tastes like caramel malt, roasted malt and then a splash of some nice hops to bitter the palate after it goes down. A nice little winter warmer, as the alcohol starts popping towards the end. I see this smoothing out over time. Rerate after having on Cask at Redlight. Served at room temp. Every thing is pretty much the same except that the hops give it an additional hint fruit and citrus that make this even better.

Deep amber in color when sunlight passes through the glass with a thin, single-layer head of tiny bubbles. The nose gives off scents of citric hops, plum, cherry, caramel, raisins and some yeast. In the mouth it is medium to full-bodied with good density and palate presence. The palate begins with sweet malt, plum and raisins before fading to the hoppy citric finish. The alcohol just barely poking through in the middle. I wish the finish was a bit more powerful but overall it is a nice sipping beer that should balance out over the next couple years.

12 ounce bottle in pint glass. Deep garnet reddish brown with small ring head and some lace. Pours like thick dirty motor oil (which is nice). Very sweet aroma of brown sugar, earth, and overripe cherries or raisins. Very sweet brown sugar flavor with almost no hop balance, and very little complexity. Very drinkable, but not in a good way and not in a lightweight way. Just not very exciting. Full body and very low carbo, which is pretty nice for a heavy beer. Hmmm…I guess I expected more.

Minimal head,medium brown pour.Tastes of watery coffee with a mid caramel thing and a semi dark roast hoppy finish. Interesting. ABV WELL hidden. Worth every penny of the $9-$10 price.

Bottle. Pours a clear dark amber with a small light tan head that fades to a ring and leaves good lacing. Aroma of caramel, sweet malt, and a touch of floral hops. Taste is the same as aroma with a hint of roasted malt. Medium full mouthfeel with a moderate amount of bitterness and a hint of warm alcohol. Very Good.

12oz bottle from BevMo. Pours deep ruby in color. Aroma consists mostly of hops with an alcoholic aroma. Smells fairly sweet. Rather rich malty/hoppy flavor. Flavor has a bit of a fruity quality. Aftertaste has a little bit of alcohol in there. Balanced flavors.

Pours a dark caramel color with a head that quickly fades. The nose is extremely hoppy yet better. Theis beer has a lot of malt to it which actually balances everything very well it finishes pretty bitter but the maltiness balances everything out.