2 July 2016

Lagunitas IPA Review (Waitrose) [By @SpectreUK]




The Lagunitas Brewing Company in California, USA, brewed this Lagunitas India Pale Ale. Picking up the bottle in my local supermarket I was impressed that Adnams imported this 6.2% volume ale, which is a favourite brewery of mine in the UK. If Adnams import it then it must be really good, I thought. The label describes this as hoppy ale; “raging hoppy character engages with the imperial qualities of the malt foundation in mortal combat on the battlefield of your palate.” These descriptions made me want to crack open the bottle there and then. Waiting until I arrived home though I popped the cap of the squat 355ml bottle. There was a sharp hoppy smell on opening with a strong yeasty and malted barley smell pushing through wishing to be noticed. This golden almost amber pale ale had a practically fiery hoppy bitterness on first taste. Full of flavour, full of floral and citric bitterness that collided on my tongue and bashed against the pale malt and caramel malt which all washed around my mouth in a tumultuous cacophony of flavours, making me instantly want another sip to start the fights of flavours all over again. This is definitely not dull pale ale, and I can see what they mean about the battlefield of my palate. Lagunitas is an excellent pale ale that I’m sure would complement fishy meals and spicy oriental dishes. Great stuff, no wonder Adnams import it!
By Spectre

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