Lagunita Love/Like Story

Jimmy

Anyone who knows me personally can tell you I have a certain infatuation for ales. There is something about the flavors brought through in a good ale that tells your brain "this is what beer should taste like". I have noticed a certain trend in the ales I tend to favor and come to a very certain critique. California brews the best ales in the world.

As a native of the east coast and a huge fan of mostly every east coast brewer it is hard to say that out loud. The proof is in any Lagunitas beer you will purchase. I can not remember the exact Lagunitas brew that I first tried but, I do know it was my brother Danny who introduced me to the brand. I have purchased just about everything I find and have yet to be disappointed. 

But this love story is about a limited release by the name of Undercover Investigation Shut Down Ale. The label reads 9.6% alcohol so you assume the beer is hot. 666 IBUs make the hooligan in me smile, and expected as the label also reads very bitter. My favorite part of all Lagunitas labels has to be there ingredients. Instead of giving you an exact diagram breakdown vomited onto the side of the bottle they keep it simple...hops, malt, hops, hops, yeast, hops, water, hops. Gotta' love it. This bitter ale has a roasted smell on the top of the beer and that is the first characteristic you can taste on the initial sip. The bitter finish does not take anything away from a strong hoppy presence. The hops used in this beer compliment every part of the beer. It is noticed well on the nose as well as the body and finish. It is very difficult to balance bitterness and hoppiness. Even with a hoppy flavor, a bitter finish and a hot percentage this ale does not totally wreck the pallet.

                                                                                             

Kathy

Bittersweet.. Bitter. My love for Lagunitas is bittersweet, and this beer puts my feelings into literal reality in my mouth. The hop bitterness beginnings is won over by a nice roasty-toasty caramel, and with such a nice smoothness to the tongue. But the bitter bite returns and thats what I'm left with in the end. Overall, I'd say the layers in this beer balance and compliment each other well enough, and the ABV makes it an awesome one-and-done.

Much Ado About Beer

And it starts with a lot of change. You take your "BEER MONEY" jar to one of those change counting machines, because you don't want to be embarrassed with all that change at the counter even though that's what you've been saving it for anyway. Sometimes, you barely put enough change in there to get a six pack of Pabst, which nobody's knocking (well, lots of people are, but nobody here). Then there are those times where you stopped at the hot dog stand more times than you should've, or you started drinking that medium coffee again,  and all that change adds up to be enough for some craft and you feel like the luckiest person alive. Seriously. So you take that $14.67 and go get whatever you can afford.

We ventured to Wegman's with our converted cash and picked up a Mix-A-Six, mainly because most of the time, we can't agree on anything. Except for Troegs Nugget Nectar. Neither one of us can deny the Nectar, but we've been drinking it forever, and a lot of 2013 release (went to the brewery in Hersey that very week, and our neighborhood bar right across the street from our place has it on tap). Back to the Mix though, we each picked three, and it went a little something like this:

Jimmy's Picks
Tommyknocker Pick Axe IPA- Bittersweet, with a light caramel malty start to a little hoppy citrus finish. I thought it kind of tasted like a homebrew, and I can taste the difference in extract recipes and all grain recipes...
Left Hand Brewing Stranger- American Pale Ale, subtle, good nose on it. Refreshing with a light hop character. Not overpowering but what an American pale ale should be.
Left Hand Brewing 400lb. Monkey- English Style IPA. Smell was hoppingly decieving. Very malty and bitter, but a big IPA nonetheless. If you're looking for that hoppy taste though, look elsewhere.
My notes: Don't follow your nose, it can be misleading.
Kathy's Picks
Southern Tier Eurotrash Pilz- Seasonal summer Pilsner Lager, lightly hopped, just all around light. It was really nothing special. Honestly, I'd rather go American style, go cheaper, and go with the Pabst.
Weyerbacher Verboten- Belgian Style Pale Ale. And it tastes just like that. Love the lacing on the pint, tasting the grain, yeasty breadiness of this decent Belgian with a little hop to it.
Flying Fish Abbey Dubbel- Belgian Style Dubbel, well -bodied. Smells hot(strong in alcohol at 7.2%), I got that little warmth in my chest, but it still taste great, and finishes like a nice nutty brown ale.
My notes: Jimmy doesn't like Toucan Sam.

We both are adventurous when it comes to tasting new beers, but just from reading our picks, it's obvious what our preferences in styles can be. And it's not always the Mix for us. More than not, it's just trying something new. The difference of opinion on the same beer can make for some entertaining arguments, so keep up, if you can hang.