Lagunitas Imperial Stout

It’s pretty obvious I’ve been in the mood for Imperial Stouts lately. I ended up liking Ballast Point’s Sea Monster so much that now I’ve been trying other Imperial Stouts just to see if they match up to the Sea Monster.

The Lagunitas Imperial Stout was the next one on the list.

Nothing more fitting than busting out my trusty Lagunitas’ own mason jar. You can see this brew pours dark, almost completely opaque. Good looking tan head with a mix of bigger and smaller bubbles. The head retention is ok, you’ll see in the next picture that in about 3 minutes, the head was almost completely gone.

And here’s the picture of what was left of the head.

I could definitely  smell some of the alcohol, specially because 9.90% of the liquid in this glass is actually alcohol. After I got through the alcohol smell, I could enjoy the nice nutty chocolate scents. The burnt nut smell is also predominant in the taste, with nice traces of hops and, of course, some more chocolate flavors. This beer finishes nice with a touch of bitterness – smooth bitterness actually, that goes well with the alcohol taste. I also liked the smoky taste that came out after a few sips. I enjoyed this brew on a hot summer afternoon and the smokiness reminded me of when the strong sun comes out after a quick downpour. Yes, wet logs in the sun, that’s what it reminds me of.

This beer carries some weight on the tongue and is very smooth. I wish the head was a little bit creamier, but oh well, I won’t let the disappearing head upset me.

There you go, I have been enjoying Lagunitas’ brews lately, and I’ll definitely look into trying some more of their beers.