Waldo's Special Ale - Lagunitas Brewing Company

UCLABrewN84

California

3.99/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

On tap at Verdugo Bar in Los Angeles, CA.

Pours a clear orange with a foamy orange-tan head that settles to wisps of film on top of the beer. Small streaks of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, citrus fruit, citrus zest, and tropical fruit aromas. Taste is much the same with citrus zest and pine flavors on the finish. There is a medium amount of hop bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good beer that is tasty but pretty strong.

Serving type: on-tap

05-05-2013 06:18:18 | More by UCLABrewN84

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

4.33/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

This poured out as a really nice amber color with a very minimal head on top. No lacing or retention. The smell of the beer is loaded with hops and sweet malts. The taste is very piney, some citrus and earthy caramel malts. The mouthfeel is slick, low carbonation and resiny. Overall this is a good beer, need to try it fresh on tap or bottled to get this a proper review. Still very good.

Serving type: growler

05-04-2013 23:43:01 | More by Knapp85

Halcyondays

California

4.03/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

On-tap at Beachwood I,

A: Pours a medium red with a light white head, leaves some nice lace.

S: Sweet crystal malt with tropical fruit.

T: Pineapple and passion fruit with a green undercurrent. Malt is heavy with some definite residual sugar character.

M: Resiny and dank, medium to full-bodied, a big hop character.

O: I'll keep it real. This is Knuckle Sandwich's doppleganger. These two beers are so similar it's crazy. A big malty Double IPA, go for it.

Serving type: on-tap

04-23-2013 05:47:17 | More by Halcyondays

emerge077

Illinois

4.43/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

2012 is 8.75%. Sampled 4/20/12.

Served in a Lagunitas mason jar pint glass. Bright orange with a delicate ring of drippy lacing around the edges and a lasting skim across the surface.

Truly capital-D dank aroma of funky mango and grapefruit, similar tropical fruit flavors with a resiny, sticky feel on the lips. Aftertaste of juicyfruit gum. Some sweetness, but balanced by a light maltiness, and not cloying at all. Comes off pretty much perfect, and if not for time constraints, I would have had 3 pints on the spot.

Basically an "imperial Sucks" which is awesome in itself.

Serving type: on-tap

04-21-2012 00:58:26 | More by emerge077

barleywinefiend

Washington

4.58/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Ok, first off Arbi gave this beer a 4.25 we all know how tough he rates.

A: Poured a transparent glowing golden, orange color with great carbonation leaving a nice white cap, bubbles and a lot of lacing even as I finished the glass lacing and bubbles were clinging on to the glass for mercy

S: Tropical fruits raid the nose with a whiff of booze and breadiness. Main notes were mango, orange zest, pineapple and other light orchard fruit like apricot and peach

T: Big mango, pineapple, apricot and fruits upfront with a nice booze sting, the hops tend to be upfront and it transitions into a bready malt base. Hops are sre smooth and there is not much of a hop bite, not stinging like PtY, Hop Venom or others. Very smooth on taste.

M: Medium bodied, well carbonated, loads of flavor but the mouthfeel is a little soapy and oily

O: Fantastic, I really loved this! my only fault in this beer was the slickness on the back end

Serving type: on-tap

04-21-2012 14:38:21 | More by barleywinefiend

Billolick

New York

4.33/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Enjoyed on tap at the Birdsal House in Peekskill, NY, a few months ago (on 4/20?) and reviewed from notes...

Pours clear medium golden amber. The head is off white, with a thin tiny bubble film and fine tongues of lacing.
Hops crushing on the nose. This is a boldly flavorful and quite large DIPA. Notes of resiny pine infused hops some gin and mini flashes of yeasty phenolics. Aggressive, heady and large. Glad I was able to give it a try.

Serving type: on-tap

12-18-2012 16:27:41 | More by Billolick

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

4/5  rDev -8.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at Max's. Very surprised to see this beer here... when I saw it at the Apex in PDX, I was told this beer is very, very limited.

The beer pours an orange amber color with good head retention and lacing. The nose is attractive as well, as I pick up considerable tangerine, tropical fruit (mango, papaya and the like), light pine and underlying citrus. The flavor profile replicates the nose pretty closely, and the beer is a bit sweeter and maltier than I tend to enjoy in an IPA/DIPA. Still, the beer has a goodly dose of hoppy bitterness as well, which keeps the tropical fruit from overwhelming the flavor profile. The finish is actually fairly dry and bitter. Mouthfeel is medium bodied to full, with a long, tropical fruit and bitter finish. There's a bit of heat from alcohol in the finish as well, but for the most part, the alcohol is very well integrated into the flavor profile.

Another solid beer from Lagunitas, but for my money, I'll take Hop Stoopid every time.

Serving type: on-tap

07-03-2012 14:18:05 | More by johnmichaelsen

HopHead84

California

4.45/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

04/20/2012

On tap at the Regal Beagle in a Lagunitas mason jar.

A: Bright yellow gold with a thick white creamy head. A seemingly infinite number of bubbles ascend heavenward signaling a healthy level of carbonation.

S: Dank with lots of resin and spicy grapefruit. Restrained tropical notes accompany floral aromatics. As the beer warms up weed notes become apparent. Wow, they're pretty strong. There's a little lemon and tangerine as well. No booze is noticeable.

T: Resinous pine with a juicy tangerine and grapefruit flair. Smooth moderate bitterness with a pleasant level of sweetness that provides some balance and greatly augments the drinkability of the tincture. There's notable herbal and weedy character with a little lemon. The 9.2% is deftly hidden. Finishes smooth and firmly bitter with a final citrus pine punch.

M:  Medium body with medium carbonation. The mouthfeel is sticky and dry.

Overall: A damn good Double IPA. A bit sweeter than I normally prefer but it works very well here. The drinkability is dangerous. I would have loved to advocate this all night.

Serving type: on-tap

04-21-2012 01:30:43 | More by HopHead84

mothman

Saskatchewan (Canada)

4.13/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Beige head. Copper amber in color.

Flavors of dank hops. Tons of floral and pine. Bright citrus with grapefruit. A big caramel malt backbone. Sticky hops. Pretty solid.

Mouthfeel: bitter and sticky. Medium bodied. Good amount of carbonation. Ends sticky.

Overall, a solid dipa. Easy to drink, but one is probably enough. Massive hop profile.

Serving type: on-tap

04-21-2013 21:55:58 | More by mothman

JohnGalt1

Idaho

4.33/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Chub fill picked up this afternoon from the fine folks at Bar Gernika in downtown Boise... Poured tonight into my slim tulip... off white head has nice retention with good lacing for the entire glass... the brew is clear orange.

Nose shows tons of pithy grapefruit and almost as much piney hoppiness... slight maltiness shows bits of toast... but the malts are beat down by the hops... sweet tropical fruity hoppiness shows with warmth... loving this one.

Tropical fruit bowl hops on the palate remind me of mangoes and papaya.. tangerine zest, but still plenty of grapefruit.. the pale malts combine with some dry toast and deliver the hops nearly perfectly.. This is nearly perfect right now... fresh and wonderful.

Body is heavier than a standard West Coast DIPA.. but I honestly think it adds to the drinkability in this sense.. enjoy this one right now, because the malts will come out swinging as the hops die back.

4/4.25/4.5/4/4.25

Serving type: growler

04-21-2013 04:17:40 | More by JohnGalt1

largadeer

California

4.6/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On tap at The Rose and Crown, served in a 10 oz tulip.

Appearance: Effervescent golden-amber with a lasting head.

Smell: Incredibly fruity and citrusy, this is awesomely dank stuff. Stonefruit is at the forefront, but there's pineapple and tangerine right behind it. It's mildly sweet in a fruity way; there's little perceptible malt. Nectarine comes to mind after a while. The hop profile is great, and pretty unusual, too.

Taste & mouthfeel: Wow, Lagunitas is really stepping it up with their hoppy beers this year. This is a beautifully balanced DIPA, bursting with hop flavor that's backed by a near ideal level of malt. Ripe nectarine pops into my head again, which is followed by more citrusy grapefruit/pineapple hop flavor mid-palate. It opens sweet but ends dry, exhibiting a moderate level of bitterness that doesn't wear on the palate. There's not much malt flavor to speak of, more a raw grainy character buried beneath layers of hip flavor. Between this and Hop High, I've earned a new respect for Lagunitas. Hopefully they brew this again.

Serving type: on-tap

04-21-2011 00:47:50 | More by largadeer

tdm168

North Carolina

4.16/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

On tap at Ridgewood Wine and Beer Co.

A - opaque orange with a big, soft, off white head that has great retention

S - bready, very citrusy, faintly herbal, some alcohol

T - pine, huge citrus character, bread, very malty, alcohol in the finish

M - a bit viscous, chewy, full bodied, smooth

This is a really nice DIPA. I'm very glad I was able to try it. It had a tremendous hop character that gave it great drinkability. The malt is also very prevalent but well balanced with the hops. This is an all around pungent, delicious, hoppy DIPA that is definitely worth a try.

Serving type: on-tap

04-23-2013 23:27:53 | More by tdm168

dbrauneis

New Jersey

4.28/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Served on tap at Rattle N Hum in New York, NY

A: Pours a slightly hazy golden yellow/orange in color with some very light amounts of visible carbonation. The beer has a half finger tall white head that slowly reduces to an extremely thin film covering the entire surface of the beer with a much thicker ring at the edges of the glass. Significant lacing is observed.

S: The smell of this beer was dominated by the very intense aromas of tropical hops - specifically mango and pineapple. There were some lighter hints of peach and just the slightest hint of malt.

T: The taste very much followed the smell with tropical fruits from the hops dominating. There were huge flavors of mango and pineapple followed by some lighter notes of peach and just a hint of malt sweetness. There beer is very well balanced as there is little hop bitterness and/or bite.

M: Medium bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Coats the inside of your mouth and tongue with a slight amount of slickness.

O: I found this beer to be very refreshing, very well balanced, and very easy to drink. The alcohol was extremely well hidden but at 9.2% ABV this is not a session beer. I loved the smell and the taste and would gladly get it again.

Serving type: on-tap

04-24-2012 14:09:47 | More by dbrauneis

ArrogantB

Colorado

4.26/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On tap at Fire on the Mountain, $4.20 for a pint, nice! Color is a little darker than orange, maybe even amber but most likely tawny. Aroma is pretty dank hops, pine, pine, hint of citrus and a bit of sugar? Flavor is deep dank hops with only the slightest bit of onion. Pretty thick mouthfeel, heavy beer, most definitely a DIPA. One pint was more than enough but it was definitely worth seeking out, one of Lagunitas better brews.

Serving type: on-tap

04-22-2013 01:18:00 | More by ArrogantB

illidurit

California

3.53/5  rDev -19.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

On tap at the Parish Publick House in Santa Cruz. Poured into a nice Sierra Nevada tulip glass. Bright tangerine color with a thick off-white head. Aroma is sweet and succulent with lots of caramel, orange, and lesser notes of stone fruit. Flavor is much the same. Rather sweet and sticky with rich caramel malts along with the sweet fruitiness of the aroma. Thick and slightly boozy. A dry DIPA with this hop character would be good, and a barleywine with this malt character would be good. But I don't want both in one beer. It's not bad at all. It's just too sweet for me. A definite improvement on some of their previous unbearable IPAs though.

Serving type: on-tap

05-21-2011 07:54:07 | More by illidurit

HuskyinPDX

Washington

4.11/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

On tap at Elliot Bay Pizza.

A - Served a dark orange copper with a nice foamy light tan head with great retention and lots of lacing rings left on the glass.

S - Dank citrus and tropical fruit. Cheesy.

T - Similar to the nose. Citrus, tropical and dank cheesy hop bomb.

D - Smooth drinker with good carbonation and a medium body.

O - A big dark dank ipa. Fruity and a bit of cheese in the nose and taste.

Serving type: on-tap

04-22-2013 20:25:48 | More by HuskyinPDX

Arbitrator

California

4.25/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

On tap at the R&C.

A: Pours a clear, golden-amber body in the Allagash tulip. It's capped by a small off-white head, which is totally gone by the time I start working on the beer. A few washes of lace, but nothing remarkable.

S: Washes of stone fruit hit the nose first: apricot, peach. The aromas progress into tangerines and oranges, finally pulling out a mossy, weed-like finishing presence.

T: The taste is more defined by tangerines and oranges than the nose led me to expect. Peaches are impossible to miss, and apricots eventually follow, along with pineapple. I tend to love tropical citrus flavors, so this assortment is right up my alley. There doesn't seem to be much crystal malt, if any -- no caramel or strongly malty flavors. But there is some residual sugar cookie sweetness, though it's far less pronounced than in (say) Pliny the Younger. Bitterness is mild; it overpowers the sweetness and gives the beer the impression of dryness.

M: However, after the bitterness fades, I realize that the beer is more on the syrupy end. The carbonation falls short of being smooth; it could stand to be higher for a body of this gravity. It leaves a residual coat of sugar on the palate, which accentuates the light booze burn.

O: I liked this one quite a bit.

Serving type: on-tap

04-24-2011 00:29:39 | More by Arbitrator

scottfrie

California

4.13/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a clear bright citrus amber color with an oily off-white head that left a ton of sticky lace down the glass. I get notes of dank, herbal and citrusy hops with just a hint of malty undertone on the nose. Citrus and more dank hops follow the nose on the palate with a hint of honey and hop resin. Sweet, faintly booze, and slightly bitter finish. Medium-full body, low smooth carbonation, greasy, slick and slightly oily mouthfeel. The alcohol is hidden very well for being double digits. Solid but not their best.

Serving type: on-tap

05-08-2013 02:33:42 | More by scottfrie

AgentMunky

Alabama

4.54/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.75

Served at the brewery on 4/20 -- release day.

A: Generous head and a rich, glowing auburn body.

S: Huge, resiny, and amazing. Loads of astringent pine but also boatloads of fruit. Alcohol, hops, herbal spice, and just excellent.

T: Yes. This. Big, overwhelming, and incredibly impressive. Grapefruit, bitter hops, and a massive alcohol base. The aftertaste is lingering and smack worthy.

M: adequate, but overshadowed.

O: What great fortune to stumble upon this gem. Delicious and absolutely recommended.

Serving type: on-tap

04-21-2013 00:46:50 | More by AgentMunky

inlimbo77

Delaware

4.21/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

64oz growler
Filled, 4/23/13. Drank, 5/2/13

A: Pours out a hazy orange/amber color. Darker than I was expecting. Full finger of lacing. Leaving some sheeting. Still good carbonation. Pretty beer.

S: Dank hops, earthy hops, orange, some citrus. Some vegetal character here, more than the fruit for sure. Some sweet malts. Actually do get some booze on the nose, but it's 10.5% so to be expected.

T: Thick syrupy hop bitterness right off the bat. Smacks you in the face. Again, it's not the fruity tropical fruits of most West Coast IPAs. Certainly more of the earthy hops. Really nice balance from the malts that obviously aided in the darker color. Almost a slight nuttiness from them toward the back of the palate. Finish is dry and lots of lingering hop bitterness. The booze is there, but mostly comes at you after sipping on this a while.

M: Big medium here. This beer has some weight.

Serving type: growler

05-03-2013 14:57:18 | More by inlimbo77

DrinkSlurm

Connecticut

4.45/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On tap at Deciccos Brewster poured into tulip.
Pours a golden color. Not much head but sticky lacing. Smells of sweet fruity malts and sweet hops. Taste is like it smells but much more flavor than expected. Very fruity...mango and maybe passionfruit-like. Nice hop bite with a slightly bitter finish. This is such a great DIPA! Its not your typical over hopped brew but its so well balanced and full of flavor. Just get past the boring look and you will be pleasantly satisfied!

Serving type: on-tap

04-21-2012 21:57:34 | More by DrinkSlurm

TheBrewo

Michigan

4.3/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

This beer was served from the tap at One-Eyed Betty’s in Ferndale, MI. It arrived in a generic tulip, showing a reddish pumpkin coloring. It held a one finger head of tannish bubbles that retained nicely, leaving sheets of lacing all around the glass. A mild chill haze distorted clarity, but no sediment was noted. Carbonation appeared to be moderate. The aroma was bright, with big hops off the bat giving earthy spice and sweet and sticky nectary grapefruit. This was cut harshly by fusel booze, nail polish remover, and the most insanely floral (independent of hops) quality we’ve ever whiffed, giving bittered earthiness against a background of a cooling but spicy perfumy cloud. The malts were pushed to the back, but were nicely inclusive and varied, with pales, heavy caramels, and toasty ambers. Our first impression was that the flavoring was strongly fusel, spicy, and phenolic, while remaining pleasantly fresh. As we sipped, the taste opened with honey sweetness, toasty caramel and redder malts, big bitterness of herbal and juicy citric hops, and fruity sugars of apricot and pineapple. Moving to the peak was an enhancement of the hops to spicier note and some resiny pine, with a mix of peppery booze, crisp tannic lemony twist, sugary sweet caramel malt balance, and more lightly toasted amber malts. The finish came with a wash of extremely fusel booze and spicy plastic phenols, with those bittered herbal hops, yeasty metallics, light pales, solid lemon rind, and a revival of that pineapple fruitiness as the sole source of balance here. The aftertaste breathed of black pepper, pale and white flour maltiness, herbal hop bitterness, spicy booze, curry spiciness, earthy mineral, raw honey, and strongly plastic phenols. The body was medium, and the carbonation was the same. Each sip gave excellent pop and glug, with nice slurp and smack, and beautifully soft cream and froth. The mouth was slickly coated with thick and sticky froth, with no real dryness other than a light tannic quality. The abv was big (10.5% this year according to the brewery rep) and present, but the beer drank easily.

Overall, the best things about this beer were the flavoring and the feel. The former displayed excellent juiciness and fruitiness to start, with dark and deep spicy strength, booze, sticky hops, and big malts to balance throughout the sip, striking a solid blend. The flavor is just massive. And then there was that nose. It had such a unique floral, perfume quality that both added to the depth of spiciness, while giving an air of freshness. Really everything is just so robust about this beer, making it highly memorable. As we’ve come to expect from Lagunitas, this guy is spicy, fresh, and amazingly drinkable.

Serving type: on-tap

04-21-2013 15:31:09 | More by TheBrewo

MattyG85

Minnesota

4.38/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

On tap at The Groveland Tap in St. Paul, MN. Served in a Lagunitas Mason jar at exactly 4:20 pm on 4/20/13.

Appearance: Pours a bright copper golden orange with a moderate amount of bubbles. About one finger of white head which fades into a thin creamy layer. Leaves a decent amount of lacing.

Smell: Huge aroma of hops with lots of spicy pine and citrus fruit esters. Big scent of dank pine resin and grass. Floral and herbal hints. Big citrus presence with hints of ripe grapefruit, orange peel, tangerine, mango, apricot, pineapple, and lemon. Sweet bready malts in the background with hints of caramel, rye, wheat grains, biscuit, and yeast. Really sharp and oily aroma dominated by the big hops.

Taste: As big and dank as it smells, huge hop flavors of pine and citrus. Spicy and oily pine resin upfront giving a dank, weed like taste. Some grass in the hop mix as well as some herbal and floral notes. Big taste of citrus fruit with notes of fresh grapefruit, pulpy orange peel, mango, tangerine, pineapple, apricot, and lemon. Behind the huge hops are some sweet bready malt with notes of biscuit, wheat grains, spicy rye, caramel, and yeast. Very hop forward and good.

Mouthfeel: Big bodied with a moderate amount of carbonation. Very spicy, juicy, and oily. Very drying. Alcohol is hidden fairly well, the heat is from the hop attack.

Overall: Another great West Coast IPA from Lagunitas. A huge bath of dank and fruity hop flavors.

Serving type: on-tap

04-21-2013 03:21:00 | More by MattyG85

jzeilinger

Pennsylvania

4.36/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

A - Pours a medium to dark amber color with ridiculous dark lacing that sticks to the glass like cotton candy, light carbonation.

S - A very interesting vegetable-like dank spice, one of the most unique beers considering the nose.

T - Onion, garlic, vegetable dank, and an interesting combo between hops and malts that's hard to describe, but it really works! Ends with a grapefruit and sweet vegetable dankness that lingers on the palate.

M - Thick and viscous with an amazingly smooth, velvet-like mouthfeel.

O - This is a very unique beer that doesn't taste like most big IPA's, it's balanced, and it's not...it just works.

Serving type: on-tap

05-01-2013 03:17:10 | More by jzeilinger

Gatch

Massachusetts

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

On-tap @ Papago in Scottsdale, AZ.

A: Beautiful, clear, golden-yellow with a bubbly white head. Not much lace or retention.

S: Heavy American, fruity, and piney hops.

T: Massive American hops. Bitter and dry but refreshing and delicious.

M: Smooth and tons of flavor. Highly drinkable for a Double IPA.

O: Another incredible beer from Lagunitas. Up there with some of the best IIPA's.

Serving type: on-tap

04-28-2012 20:34:23 | More by Gatch