Lagunitas Brewery India Pale Ale - My Microbrew Review

This cool looking small brown bottle with the plain aged parchment looking label caught my eye in the local six pack shop cooler this evening. What's the microbrew I'm referencing you ask? It's Lagunitas Brewery's very own special IPA (or India Pale Ale) offering that's on tap here at the house tonight.

As I mentioned, the label was cool because it was so plain (although it features a small depiction of the famous Lagunitas brewery spotted dog in the top right corner of the label. It was sort or reminiscent of one of those old Wild West "Wanted" posters.

For those of you who may not know, Lagunitas Brewing Company is a Petaluma, California-based microbrewery with a somewhat famous and storied history and a very cool and entertaining website (Lagunitas Brewery). Anyway, on to the beer at hand in in the plain, brown, cold 12 ounce bottle.

As I poured the microbrew into my 12 ounce pub glass, I took note of the awfully clear, clarity of this beer which is not out of the possibility for an IPA but in my experience somewhat rarer than most for such a chilled brew. Hues of robust burnt orange copper and bubbles bustling everywhere and mostly upwards greeted my eye blossoming into a wonderfully foamy eggshell marshmallow two finger head which stayed and lasted a good three minutes or so.

Dryed citrusy floral aroma wafted strongly off the top of the glass and surrounded my drinking vessel with a "come hither" hoppy scent. Already I'm liking what I see and smell.

The taste of Lagunitas Brewery's IPA does not disappoint, whether you are a huge fan of hops or just an adventurous microbrew and craft beer sampler alike. This beer is well put together.

The first sip went down very crisp with a pretty extreme dry hoppiness tang. Extreme but not offensive as I put it if that makes any sense. This is a beer that will not leave you guessing as to its style if you were drinking it blindfolded in some sort of blind microbrew taste test.

There's a citrus sense of grated grapefruit peels and clove in the the far background that contributes to the drinking enjoyment. As the beer warmed at about halfway through the twelve ounce mug, the swallow became stickier but still with a welling up of hoppy "kaaa-chow" at the end the crawls up the back of the roof of your mouth. The beer finished with a mild ripe peachy pine aftertaste that left me personally wanting another bottle. Unfortunately, that's not to be the case tonight unless I get the energy up (and the wife's purse change) to ride back down to the store to grab another bottle.

Overall, I'd give Lagunitas Brewery Company's India Pale Ale a 7.75 on my 1 to 10 microbrew and craft beer rating scale. I have no idea on what the alcohol by content is for this beer but there's no warming or burn effect that I could perceive during my beer session. I'd say you could have a few of these just about any time without getting too out of hand and the flavor and visual of this beer in your glass will be interesting enough to have you wanting to keep them coming. Not an out-of-the-bottle sipping beer.

If you're lucky enough to pick up California's own Lagunitas Brewery offerings any where in your neck of the woods in the continental US, I'd recommend picking up a bottle or two of the IPA whether you're an India Pale Ale fan or not, this beer's worth cracking the cap for.

If you found any enjoyment in reading this microbrew beer review and if you love craft beers in particular, you'll find more craft beer reviews of both new and old microbrews and also fun microbrew and craft beer-related info at Microbrew Review or Best Craft Beer Reviews. Click the links above and please let me know what you liked or hated and let me know any beers that you might like to see me review next time. Cheers and please drink responsibly!

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