Beer: Lagunitas IPA (bottle from Hough’s)
Posted by mike | Filed under Beer
Talk about a long week. I was at PD’s Pub for dinner on Monday night (and on Saturday, actually) and started writing up a review the next day. I’ve been so busy with work that I haven’t had much of a chance to get back to it since then, but the good news is I took good notes and a few pictures. Hopefully that will make it’s way to the site tomorrow. It’s a little late to finish tonight, but I did want to share a little taste of my first exposure to the Lagunitas IPA.
Over on the Brewing Network’s “Can you brew it?” podcast, Jamil Zainasheff did a good job talking up Lagunitas and their flagship IPA. He did such a good job, that I looked past the extremely overdone hoppity-hop-hop theme of the American craft beer scene and decided to give it a try. After all, I think the industry is finally pulling back just a little from hops for hops sake and explore some different styles and flavors. From my perspective, the IPA is just a little less of a cliche than it was 2 years ago (though still cliche).
Lagunitas IPA
Lagunitas Brewing Company
/ 5.7% ABV / 36 IBU
[see what BeerAdvocate thinks]
From the description on the BN, I got the feeling that this was a particularly we balanced IPA; that’s a trend I could definitely embrace. I don’t see much from Lagunitas out this way—just the Censored Ale and the IPA if I see anything, so giving them a try made for a fun adventure. It was just the right reason to go pick up a mix-and-match 4 pack at Hough’s to stock my fridge with something interesting to sample.
What did I think? I liked it. The first thing that hit me was the powerful hop aroma. This is clearly a dry-hopped beer with a very fresh hoppy nose. The first sip then demonstrated some of the balance suggested over on the BN. I could actually taste some of the non-cascade flavors in the beer. In fact, the level of hop bitterness was pretty manageable and as balanced as an IPA could be with a nice malty background. After all, 36 IBU doesn’t even come close to hop extremism.
I can’t say I’ll go back to this beer, but I’m glad I tried it. If I ever find myself in the mood for an IPA, it would likely be one of the first that I try. Go Lagunitas.
