The Beer Critic

The Beer Critic TV – Episode 09 – Christmas Beers from Scott on Vimeo.

This is the fifth episode of The Beer Critic TV. On this special episode we sample some amazing beer from Lagunitas Brewery. We try their GnarleyWine and a little bottle of their Hairy Eyeball. Two extremely flavorful beers. Also we are giving away a FREE beer to the first person who can answer the quiz question at the end of the review. Happy viewing! Cheers!

Brewery Website: http://www.lagunitas.com/

Type of Beer: American Pale Wheat Ale

Alcohol Content: 7.3%

Beer Review -

Appearance: Pours a clear, golden orange with a bright white one finger head. The head quickly  falls to a film leaving behind some scattered lacing on the glass. There is also quite a bit of visual carbonation.

Smell: Hops, hops and oh…hops! For being a wheat beer this sucker smells like it is loaded with hops. Lagunitas claims it has every hop starting with the letter “c”. Certainly smells like. With scents of pine, apricots, grapefruits, peaches and some pale malts climbing into your nose all at once, this is one powerfully scented beer. The mind immediately expects an IPA style taste to follow.

Initial Taste: Surprise, the initial flavor that comes racing across the mouth is ….Hops! Just like the smell, the flavor is big on the hop spiciness but not nearly as heavy as the smell leads on. A bold yet complex potpourri of wheat, grapefruit, citrus and pine coat the mouth in a flavorful and slightly bitter flavor. While this is indeed a wheat beer (brewed with 50% wheat) the flavor profile is much more that of an IPA. Yet unlike an IPA this has a nice grainy sweetness on the end that helps balance out the hops. Little to no alcohol taste even with an abv of 7.3%.

Thoughts: Lagunitas has always been known for quirky and unique beers but this one takes the cake. The name alone gives the reader a hint that this beer is more than meets the eye. Being labeled as a wheat beer due to being brewed with 50% wheat, Lagunitas decided to change things up and toss in a score of hops. Not just a score but every hop starting with the letter ‘C’! I’ll let you count how may that actually is. What you end up with is an IPA with a wheat beer base…Delicious. Lots of complex hop spiciness with a good pale wheat malt backbone. And good news for hop-heads, in the fight for power between the hops and pale malts the hops certainly win out. This is now one of my favorite beers from Lagunitas and I’m not even that big of a hop lover! I highly recommend this little sumpin’ sumpin’, but you better hurry because this is a summer seasonal and it won’t last long. Cheers!

Brewery Website: http://www.lagunitas.com

Type of Beer: American Amber Ale

Alcohol Content: 5.9%

Beer Review -

Appearance: Color is a beautiful copper, rich and bright with a slightly hazy complexion. Poured with a two finger head that receded quickly leaving good lacing.

Smell: Talk about a sweet smelling beer, this puppy is bursting with malty goodness. The dark malts give a nice toasted brown sugar and chocolate sweetness and we can thank thse crystal malts for the delicious toffee smell. I also noticed there was a bit of a spicy raisin finish. One of the best smelling beers I’ve reviewed.

Initial Taste: While not as intensely sweet as you might expect from the smell, the malts certainly make themselves present. On the first sip, toasted brown sugar and caramel flavors cover the taste buds. The sticky sweetness slowly slides off the tongue making way for the hops with a touch of lemon and pine. The finish is well balanced (a little on the sweet side) and a bit dry giving this beer good drinkability.

Thoughts: After smelling this beer you almost half expect to taste a heath bar when trying this copper style beer for the first time. However, this beer does not disappoint. Lagunitas has a great reputation for delivering quality full flavored beers and Censored Ale is just that. With only 25 IBU’s the hop presence is pretty low. And even though this is probably the sweetest beer that Lagunitas has brewed they have done a good job with building the sweetness and still keeping the drinkability of a lighter beer. I highly recommend to sweet lovers and hop-heads alike.