Lagunitas Lucky 13.alt

Brewed By: Lagunitas Brewing Company in Petaluma, California

Purchased: 1 Pint, 6oz (22oz) bomber from Binny's in Chicago, IL; 2012

Style/ABV: American Strong Ale, 8.8%

Tonight I'm cracking open the Lucky 13.alt, a twist on the Lucky 13 Imperial Red Ale release from Lagunitas (pronounced: LAH-GOO-KNEE-TUS).

Lagunitas is a brewery I first experienced when I tried their controversially named "Kronik" (Lagunitas Censored) back in November 2010. The Lagunitas website has some cool info on the brewery and the beer, and can be found here. The brewery was founded in 1993 out in Lagunitas, California, and has since moved to Petaluma in California. It seems like Lagunitas is run by a bunch of deviant madmen geniuses, and the brewery appears to be a true grassroots movement, if you catch my drift.

I'm not finding a ton of info on today's beer. For example, my bottle states the beer clocks in at 8.8% ABV, and packs 60 IBUs. BeerAdvocate and Ratebeer have this at 77 IBUs and 8.9% ABV. The Lagunitas beer page says this thing clocks at 8.3% ABV. So what's the deal with the ABV? I'm going to trust the bottle...I do know this beer is a twist on the regular Lucky 13, which is an Imperial Red Ale. According to Lagunitas, this beer is "BIG on the Amarillo hops but lightened up on the malt side."

There is a "Virtual Tasting Video" on this beer...describing this beer as a Strong Pale Ale with a "tremendous hop presence." This beer uses specialty roasted malts (roasted malts that contribute roasted flavor, but do not give the beer a dark color), and Amarillo hops (which add citrus and fruity/flowery notes). I'm just gonna roll with the American Strong Ale thing, especially given the addition of the roasted malts. But we'll see if this thing drinks like an Imperial IPA... So with that said, let's pop this open and get on with the review.

Lagunitas Lucky 13.alt

The pour reveals an orange/golden/amber/pale looking Ale, with 2-fingers of IPA looking head. The head is whiter in bright light, but looks to be a bit off-white. There is very little carbonation noticeable in this mostly transparent beer. There is a slight murkiness to the beer...I can't tell if it's just a chill haze or if it's the beer. There are some nice legs on this beer, and lots of lacing as the head tugs on the glass. There's a sexy cauldron effect atop the beer as the head dissolves. 

Right away when I opened this I got hit with huge ass hop aromas, and this nose is dominated with hops. This mostly hoppy, with just a hint of bready spice. I'm getting orange, grapefruit, peach, kiwi, melon, tropical fruits, floral notes, and just a hint of sugary/candy esters. Maybe caramel?

Wow, this is HUGE. This has a full body, and huge palate depth. This beer just dominates your mouth. Aside from the huge hop notes, I'm getting some caramel, some sugary/candy esters, some honey, and big bready notes. This is definitely not an Imperial IPA, just based on the huge malty backbone. I'm tasting pungent citrus; orange, sweeter grapefruit, tangerines. I'm pulling out tropical fruit: mango, peach, and some apricots. There are huge malt notes, with sweet caramel/bread, and honey/candy. The whole thing finishes incredibly balanced, with a hint of dryness and bitterness. This definitely has some bitterness, but it's not an overwhelmingly bitter beer at all.

Bravo, Lagunitas. You genius madmen, you. This beer is super complex, has giant palate depth, has the perfect amount of moderate/supportive carbonation, and has a HUGE/full mouthfeel. And for a beer clocking in at 8.8% and around 60 IBUs? This shit is super balanced, and incredibly drinkable. This is one of the best beers I've had from Lagunitas. Up front you get sweet malts and hops; this rolls into big citrus/fruit hops; the back end is malty and hoppy, and so balanced. The finish leaves lingering bready and sweet malt notes, and that slightly drying hop finish. 

Rating: Divine Brew

I gotta go with a strong Divine Brew rating on this thing. The interplay of the malts with the hops on this thing is fantabulous. You get huge bready/caramel/honey/candy notes playing off these huge citrus and tropical fruit notes. The bitterness is perfect: drying, bitter, but not overwhelming. And the palate depth is HUGE. This beer just fills your mouth, like biting into a piece of bread. I would not hesitate to pick this beer. If you like Lagunitas, or if you enjoy extreme beers...seek this beer out immediately. So until next time, don't drink and rye.