Lagunitas Imperial Red Ale - Lagunitas Brewing Company

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BA SCORE
92
exceptional
-
1,185 Ratings

THE BROS
91
exceptional
-
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rAvg: 4.14
pDev: 9.9%
Reviews: 682
Hads: 503

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Brewed by:
Lagunitas Brewing Company

California, United States

Style | ABV
American Amber / Red Ale | 7.80% ABV

Availability: Rotating. bottle (627), on-tap (52), cask (2), growler (1).

Notes:
54.2 IBU

View: Beers (56) | Reviews (44) | Events (0)

Reviews

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Reviews by Tupperwolf:

Tupperwolf

Washington

4.9/5 rDev +18.4%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

I've had a couple of Lagunitas bombers, both of which were forgettable. However, this one caught my eye recently, looking like a standard Lagunitas 'dog's head over a very large capitalized block letter name' - except that the block letter name was splashed over with hasty graffiti-like writing, Imperial Red.

I think it was the words "muscular malty thorax" on the bottle that really perked my interest, and I started laughing aloud as I read Lagunitas' usual sneering rant in tiny letters on the side. I had to buy it.

All the pint glasses were warm after coming out of the dishwasher, so I opted for a bulbousy Gulden Draak tulip to savor this "Imperial Red". It pours a deep, rich ruby brown which is clear in color and alight with rising bubbles. A thin, liquidy head clings to the surface for a little while, then fades, leaving behind soapy lacing from the ring that remains.

The scent is all hops, baby - Burly, beefy, grapefruity hops! Da-yum! I haven't had this much grapefruit in the nose since Ruination a few months ago. Serious, serious grapefruit. it stings the eyes!

The flavor hits with a rumbling, metallic alcohol blended into a roaring yank of hops, a bitter, bitter, grassy, floral jerk on the tongue. Hops dominate the beginning of each mouthful, sending your tongue shrivelling from the bitterness as though it were a salted slug - then, suddenly, a wonderful thing happens. Rosy, caramelly malts come out to play! From behind, the formerly no-show malts rise to the fore upon swallowing, sending the hop bitters on their way, and the tongue is coated with a sticky, sweet, almost rye-like layer of malt.

The mouthfeel begins as what I - and this is a word I've never even thought of to describe a mouthfeel - would consider 'bright'. It's not zippy - it's not oily. It's bright. it's light. The carbonation is of such quantity and bubble size that it draws out all of the flavors and contributes a tingling sensation without being obnoxious. Alcohol is present; bitterness and some saltiness assault the tongue's regious. Swallowing leaves a sticky, mucousy (mmmm) layer of malty goodness on the tongue and throat.

Final thoughts - Lagunitas' other beers may have been forgettable - this is a smack outta' the freakin' ballpark for any self-respecting, hop-adoring American. It takes a seriously good beer to get me to write reviews like this one these days! :)

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2006 04:13:07 | More by Tupperwolf