Lagunitas Imperial Stout

Smitty's picture
Thu, 09/17/2015 - 19:16 -- Smitty
Container: 
Bomber
Looks: 
5
Smell: 
5
Taste: 
4
Mouthfeel: 
5
Overall: 
4

Poured out of a bomber at about 40 degrees.

This beer pours out of the bottle basically pitch black. If you catch the light just right you can occasionally get a dark brown, almost reddish hue, but that may be just a trick of the light. The head, which, with a vigorous pour, tops out at around 4 to 5 fingers, is a medium to light tan in color. The head dissipates over the course of about a minute to about a finger or so down to very firm and finely textured bubbles.

Big dark roasted and burnt malt aromas are very strong, as you would expect from an Imperial Stout. The usual suspects are all there - coffee, dark chocolate, as well as a slight nuttiness and some hints of caramel. What I didn't quite expect were some strong notes of smokiness and a dark richness - almost raisin-y in character. The alcohol is there, but only on the periphery - most of it is fairly well hidden in the aroma.

The taste is a different story, however. Whatever magic Lagunitas worked to hide the alcohol from an olfactory examination they either didn't want (or didn't care) to do where taste is concerned. The initial flavors are, unsurprisingly, a variety of strong and bitter dark malt flavors. The subtle sweetness of the dark fruit and the smokiness are gone, and in its place are lots of the dark and bitter flavors. At the end, both to help cut down on what could be a drawn out aftertaste and to remind you that you are drinking an Imperial Stout is an almost-bracing hit of alcohol heat. It doesn't burn like a Bourbon or whiskey, but it's surprisingly strong and up-front for a beer. Even so, the second and third (and fourth, and fifth...) sips really do explain its presence. The darker flavors in this beer are strong, and in order to have some chance of tasting anything else while drinking this beer you really do need the strong alcohol to sweep away those flavors. It also helps during repeated sips - it functions as a little bit of a palate-cleanser, and after the initial surprise, it allows you to notice some of the fruity flavors that were detectable in the aroma. The after taste is still long for a beer, but it's relatively short considering all the flavors that are packed into this one.

The nice thing about the long-lasting head is that the slight creaminess also helps take a little bit off of the finish of the previous sip (err, gulp), which kind of encourages you not to take too long between drinks. While this "feature" may not work if you consume this beer away from home (9.9 ABV, remember!), but it is a very easy rhythm to fall into. The body of the beer itself pleasingly full - not too chewy, but a beer this strong does need to be able to stand up for itself.

A few days before I drank this beer and wrote this review, it was announced that Heineken bought a 50% stake in Lagunitas. I don't know if they will change anything as far as the beer recipes and production are concerned, but I really hope not. Lagunitas beers, although the styles may not appeal to everyone, just about always have a unique character and their Imperial Stout is no exception. A nice parallel to this can be found on the bottle, where they have a little story about Rasputin (although they never name him specifically) and his love of this style. Much like the mythical Russian mystic, no matter whether you love it or hate this beer, it never apologizes for what it is.