Equinox Ale - Lagunitas Brewing Company

elmocoso

Nebraska

3.25/5  rDev -14.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

whoa! hard to keep the head down on this one. 2-fingers, hangs. Craggy surface - lunar landscape. Cloudy, gauzy yellow. max carb. Looks good.
Nose is winy malt. Grape-fruity smell? Not a fruit beer smell, though. Man i want a drink. Wow, this is exceptionally tart. That is really all i can taste. kind of disappointing. Mouthfeel is decent but drinkability suffers.

Serving type: bottle

08-04-2004 01:11:54 | More by elmocoso

Zorro

California

3.5/5  rDev -7.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a cloudy yellow brew.

Smells mildly sweet with a distinct tea scent to it.

Taste is mildly sweet with a wheat grain flavor. Mild perfume of hops gives more flavor and a slight bitterness.

Mouthfeel is OK.

A mild drinkable brew, similar to an American wheat beer in flavor and body.

Serving type: bottle

05-25-2004 03:54:55 | More by Zorro

chriscolby

Texas

3.85/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This has been sitting in my fridge for a little while, but doesn't seem any worse for wear.

The beer pours a light golden shade and is nearly clear. A moderate head with fine bubbles remains for a good, long while. It gives off a light malty/estery aroma with an almost bready character. The beer has a nice pale malt graininess with just enough hops for balance. There is a mild creaminess to the mouthfeel -- presumably from the oats and the somewhat light carbonation -- and the beer is full bodied. The mild aftertaste clings for awhile without really resolving itself pleasantly.

To me, this beer would benefit from a little extra crispness. As is, it seems a bit "blah" on the tongue. This, however, is a small criticism of a very good beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2004 02:34:23 | More by chriscolby

BeerAngel

Texas

3.6/5  rDev -5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a pale brass color and requires a vigorous pour to produce a modest white multi-size bubbled head. The smell is pretty nice revealing an almost woody smell with fresh baked bread and light hops and there is a faint smell of oatmeal in the background. The taste is unique revealing a light pine hop flavor sliding into a malt and oatmeal smoothness and finally making it's way back to an astringent pine finish. This is a medium bodied beer and finishes just lightly dry.

Notes:It is definitely unique and it's not bad, but it leaves you wondering. Much like the feeling you have after watching 'Lost in Translation' which is appropriate here. An interesting experience indeed. A multi-dimensional brew that skips a few dimensions. Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

03-22-2004 04:00:57 | More by BeerAngel

arizcards

Arizona

3.88/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This hazy yellow pale ale poured a nice head and is leaving a nice lacing down the side of my pint. I was confused pouring this beer as I thought man this smells like Cheerios. This is the first brew I have had that has used oats as a primary ingridient. The taste grows on you with each sip. It starts with a strong oat overtone and has a dry hop finish with a hint of lemon woven in. Nice mouthfeel for a pale. The different ingridients offer a new kind of complexity that makes it worth picking up another bomber. This is a nice quench your thirst on a warm summer day kind of brew!

Serving type: bottle

02-29-2004 02:06:22 | More by arizcards

Boilermaker88

California

4.1/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I found a bomber of this spring seasonal at a liquor store just down the street from my house. With no vintage or freshness date listed anywhere, I wasn't too sure if I was purchasing something that was going on a year or not. Turned out, if it was, it didn't matter.
Poured into one of my favorite tasting glasses, this "pale-imitation bock-style ale" had a hazy yellow color and a large, enduring eggshell white head that left streaky lace behind. The nose was highly malted and had essences of hay and oats against a backdrop of lightly floral and herbal hops notes. This is referred to on the label as a "pale oat ale" and the oats are noticeable in the smoothness imparted on the palate. Up front is a grassy maltiness and light fruit taste that is countered by a moderate dose of citric hoppiness in a dry finish.
This was pretty tasty and a nice mid-afternoon refresher. Definitely one worth looking for in the warm summer months to come.

Serving type: bottle

02-15-2004 00:58:23 | More by Boilermaker88

BierReise

Florida

3.78/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Sligtly hazy golden ale with thick head that laces the glass. Has a sweet grainy aroma and a subtle hop presance. Don't get the Strong Ale classification here, this is more of a pale ale in my opinion. Oats really come out in the flavor making this a deliciously refreshing ale. Hop bitterness is way in the background letting the malt stand out in flavor. Nice enjoyable ale and worth trying once or twice.

Serving type: bottle

11-19-2003 02:55:51 | More by BierReise

beerguy101

California

3.35/5  rDev -11.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Gold color, large head. Mildly hopped, mild malts. Oat malts results in a banana like slightly sweet flavor. Subtle, slightly sweet mild malt taste. Finish is clean. Aftertaste is slightly sweet, not bitter. An interesting beer, very different taste with the oat malts. Taste grows on you.

Serving type: bottle

08-29-2003 03:33:13 | More by beerguy101

mzwolinski

California

4.08/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Hugely carbonated, pale gold in color with a massive white head. Aroma is oaty, with a hint of floral hops. Flavor is clean, light, with a lightly spicy finish flavored with citric hops. The malt is sweetish and a bit grainy, and there seems to be a hint of vanilla as well. Almost creamy in mouthfeel, but the ample carbonation gives it a crisp and refreshing feel. Easy to quaff this one all day at a baseball game.

Serving type: bottle

08-27-2003 15:58:42 | More by mzwolinski

HardTarget

Texas

3/5  rDev -20.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

1 pint 6 oz. brown bottle with a nice dog picture on it and some mildly amusing readings on the side. Lists: IBU 16.42, O.G. 1.065 and ABV 6.4%.
Aroma: Extremely mild smell with some muted malt.
Appearance: Very clear, pale, very light blonde with a good head and active carbonation. Head lasts and leaves a nice thick lace.
Flavor: As with the smell, very mild. Balance is on the hop side, which only comes through with any gusto on the aftertaste, and even then, it’s a subdued gusto. The flavor is mild, but pretty deep into the beer I started noting some of the more subtle flavors.
Mouthfeel: For the lack of intensity, the mouthfeel is fairly rich. Has a creamy feel to it. Guessing it's the oats.
Overall Impression: Eh. This is a good crossover beer to give your Coors drinking friends. Taste is mild enough not to offend, would be a good lawnmower but with a fair alcohol punch. A well made beer, but as for drinkability, it neither invited nor repelled a follow-up.

Serving type: bottle

08-04-2003 03:31:35 | More by HardTarget

Rumrunner

California

3.78/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22oz. bottle

A different ale. Interesting. The lable says, "New and improved" and "Now with more beer flavor!!" ? Did the earlier versions of this ale get bad reviews and Lagunitas went back and changed everything? I like the dog on the lable. If I owned a brewery a picture of my dog would adorn every bottle.

An unclear light golden color. Great foamy head. Blast of carbonation that slows down right away. Good lacing. The scents are primarily oat and wheat. There is some yeast and a hint of fruit.

Big oat flavor with a grainy rye taste as well. There are some fruity hops to balance out the roasted malts. Alot of flavors happening with this ale. A negative for me is there is a slight cola or soda like after taste. It is bizarre.

It drinks very dry. Light on the mouth and not heavy on the stomach. A well crafted if not somewhat confused ale. I enjoyed this ale but I do not know if the ale knows what flavor it wants to be. It is a seasonal ale. Maybe next year it will be double new and improved.

Serving type: bottle

08-03-2003 08:47:03 | More by Rumrunner

TheLongBeachBum

California

3.98/5  rDev +5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Whenever I see a Lagunitas beer that I have never tried – it is always plucked from the Shelf and loaded into the usually groaning beer cart. This is one such purchase…

Presentation: 22 ounce Bomber. The usual Lagunitas label, resplendent with a picture of a black-eyed dog and the word ‘Equinox’. It also has the trademark Lagunitas descriptive diatribe monologue that is just complete bollocks and makes no sense whatsoever – I love it!! Described as a ‘Spring Seasonal Ale’, with “New & Improved” plastered in the top left hand corner in red overprint. Described as a ‘Pale Oat Ale’.

Appearance: At first it was a clear golden-straw color, this was given the addition a light milky haze when the yeast was finally poured into the glass from the dregs of the bottle bottom. All the way through the huge head that wrestles with the side of the glass as you drink the beer laces it with tide marks.

Nose: Lightly roasted malts with a whole-wheat grain odor. Some fruit aspects when deeply inhaled, but they are feint.

Taste: Definitely a grainy oat feel in the front end, tops out with a smooth gel-like sweet malt in the middle, which surprisingly finishes with a sandpaper dry ending. The beer appears to change with each mouthful.

Mouthfeel: Average carbonation still lends a contribution to the mouthfeel. Dry, light and spritzy - yet wholesome. A puzzle as to how it successfully pulls off this juxta-pose stance.

Drinkability: This beer is rather quirky, which is a good thing, as the envelope should always be pushed. Yet this beer twists and turns as you drink it making it hard to develop a loyalty. Drinkability is good, but you really have to work at it. It took me 2/3rd’s of the bottle before I got it.

Overall: Kind of a strange beer this one, non-descript but certainly well above average in quality. A bit of a mish-mash of styles, complex but well worth a try. Can you work this one out?

Serving type: bottle

07-18-2003 04:45:07 | More by TheLongBeachBum

mickeymac

California

4/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

It comes in a brown bomber with the trademark dog and nonsensical story on the label. It pours a yellowish-gold that's in line with most pale ales. A smell similar to hefe comes through: just a hint of banana maybe. Unfortunately, the smell reminded my of Pyramid Hefe, which is one of my least favorite beers. Fortunately, it tastes much better and more interesting than that. The taste is distinctly dry and light, with the influence of the oats making for a nice mellow flavor. Beyond that the taste is hard to categorize. Nothing about it is offensive or off-putting in any way, but nothing really sets it apart from the pack either. It's eminently drinkable for a 6.5% beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-25-2003 19:37:30 | More by mickeymac

kbub6f

New York

3.48/5  rDev -8.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bought locally (Grapevine refrigerated shelves), a couple of days in my fridge, reviewed 45F-70F.

Thick lacing hangs around from the big, coarse, cream-colored head. The beer is clear gold with lots of carbonation.

The smell is sweetish, a little bitter-fresh. A nutty front turns malty in the middle. A sour note starts to creep in toward the finish, which is just as dry as bones. Nice grainsy aftertaste. This is not bad, but I'm just not really turned on by this one. I can't really say what the character of this beer is.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2003 14:09:55 | More by kbub6f

TPoling

Texas

3.48/5  rDev -8.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

The nice, lasting head and deep golden color caused much anticipation, especially since my experience is that Lagunitas has more hits than misses. But the aroma never delivered quite the notes I was looking for and the flavor fell slightly flat in its indecision. The biscuit-like flavor imparted by the oats was evident, but none of things I like most about pale ales was present. Except for a slightly heavier mouthfeel, Equinox came across like a pilsner that aspired to aledom.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2003 21:57:13 | More by TPoling

Morris729

Texas

4.13/5  rDev +9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Story on the side of the bottle reads as follows:
“Qan you imagine a world without Beer? Everything ewe gnoe would be different. Phish might phly, daugs might uze power touls. Pfriedae nights mite be spent building treez out of the day after tomorrow’s pstale sour qreem and cheaze leavings. And then their’d bea the speling iszuues. Thingss wood bee just plane wierd, eye meene weird. Sum won once said that ‘Beer is prooph that God loves us and wantz us too bee happy’. Come two thinq of itt, Eye think aye cood stand beain a liddl bit happier write gnau… (glug, glug, glug… gulp.) Mmm, aah! Once again all is right with the world, the fish are in their ocean, the dog will not maim me, I’ll have a date for Friday night, and I know for sure that in fact God loves me. Beer. You only borrow it.”

Pours a bright hazy golden color with a tall pillowy white head that dissipates in chunks leaving a thick and rocky lace that sticks all over the glass. Very aromatic as the nose is apparent as soon as you begin to pour the beer with notes of tropical fruit, hay, and floral hops. Moderate in body and quite smooth and creamy in texture. Taste is sweet malts and oat grains at first followed by creamy and fruity oatmeal. This is followed by some biscuity flavors and some drying grain husks and hop leaf notes in the finish. A very unusual beer (no surprise coming from Lagunitas) that makes for a great spring seasonal!

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2003 19:57:04 | More by Morris729

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

3.73/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Big, fluffy white head, solid amber color. Aroma is fresh, floral, fruity, notes of peach, mango, tangerine. Smooth, easy-drinking, rather light in body. An "oat ale", huh? Maybe they contribute to the lightness in texture. A decent "extra pale ale", but not outstanding. And this oat business still has me stumped

Serving type: bottle

01-16-2003 15:23:43 | More by feloniousmonk

Gusler

Arizona

4.28/5  rDev +12.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Slightly hazy golden yellow with an extravagant head that is frothy in texture and as it erodes, leaves a nice coating of lace. Hop floral, with malt and hints of oatmeal and bananas? A very interesting nose and the start nicely malted, sweet as it leads you to the middling top. The carbonation moderate with the hops biting in their spiciness, very dry aftertaste, and a hearty brew, for those like me that love “Hops”.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2003 11:33:26 | More by Gusler

ZAP

Minnesota

4.33/5  rDev +14.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Sweet, maibock type smell...sweet on the nose...pours a frothy headf...hazy golden in color...definitely a sweet texture in the mouth with a bit of a dry finish..very unique taste..I never heard of a pale oat ale but I like the flavor...some hints of vanilla, along with I guess it must be oats...distinctive...different...delicious....a great session beer

Serving type: bottle

07-18-2002 22:06:10 | More by ZAP

Bighuge

Minnesota

4.15/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This clear light golden ale throws out a nice medium white head with fair lacing ability. This has a nice raw oat aroma. A bit husky. The taste is really nice. This beer is labeled as a Pale Oat Ale. I've never had one of this style before. There must be something about oats in a beer that I like since I love Oatmeal stouts as well. This, too, has a nice creamy mouthfeel. Very easy drinking. There's a nicely subdued husky and grainy quality. Not a lot of bitterness but a touch of dryness. Very unique and very good.

Serving type: bottle

05-23-2002 21:23:51 | More by Bighuge