Lagunitas Hop Stoopid

Brewed By: Lagunitas Brewing Company in Petaluma, California

Purchased: Big Ass 22oz Bomber from Jewel in Chicago, IL; 2012

Style/ABV: Imperial IPA, 8.0%

I'm in the mood for some hops, and nothing says hops like 102 "I.B.U.4.U." I fucking love Lagunitas, so I figure I can do no wrong tonight by cracking open their Hop Stoopid.

Lagunitas is a brewery I dabbled with when I hit up 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.

In all seriousness, Lagunitas is one of America's most impressive breweries right now. I have yet to have a bad Lagunitas experience. Today's beer, Hop Stoopid, is a big ol' American Imperial IPA. This is a burly beer, clocking in at 8% ABV and packing a huge ass 102 IBUs. This beer is a whole 1 IBU more bitter than the Green Flash Imperial IPA I reviewed a while back. Lagunitas doesn't list a whole lot of ingredient information or tasting notes on the Hop Stoopid page, but they do say this about the beer:

 "For those mornings when you have to cut right to the chase, this is the one. Sure to blast through just about anything still lingering from the night before, this mouthful of Hops and huge rich Malt has a gaurantee built right into the name!" 

With that said...let's get into this review. If you are unfamiliar with Imperial IPAs, brush up on the style at the BJCP Imperial IPA page. These are fruity, bitter, hoppy beers. Medium malt flavors are supposed to support and balance the insane amount of hops. These range in bitterness from 60-120 IBUs, clock in between 7.5% and 10% ABV, and feature complex flavors and a big hop punch. My mouth is already watering (and puckering).

Lagunitas Hop Stoopid

Wow! Let me just say, I was blasted with super pungent tropical fruit just from opening the bottle. It's always a good sign when you smell huge aromas before actually pouring the beer. That's impressive in and of itself. When held to bright light this is a golden/orange/bronze beer, with a super white head, moderate carbonation in the form of small bubbles, and a transparent and filtered body. In lower light the body is a bit more amber/bronze. The beer poured with one-finger of head made up of fine bubbles. The head is tugging on the glass and leaving some lacing. Overall, a really nice looking Imperial IPA.

The aroma on this is super resiny and bitter. There is no mistaking the 102 IBUs worth of hops in this beer. I'm pulling out resiny grapefruit, sweet mango, sweet/candied fruits, a hint of sweet candied malts, kiwi, apricot, peach, hints of sweet orange, and some alcohol. The nose is very sweet, fruity, maybe slightly floral, and with a hint of booze.

If you've never had an Imperial IPA, I urge you to go try one. These are fun beers to work your way through. Initially, you don't feel the 102 IBUs. But then you get this incredibly pungent hop finish, and a super dry back end. This actually reminds me a bit of Stone's 15th Anniversary Ale, with really earthy and pungent hop notes. I'm tasting peach, mango, orange rind, grapefruit, earthy hop notes, and towards the back end you get a hint of wood or tobacco, and then the hops just blast your palate. As I swish the beer on my tongue, I'm feeling that pulling bitterness, and that hugely drying back end. This is very sweet, with a touch of candy notes, hints of sweet bready malts soaked in booze, and lots of bitter hop notes and tropical fruits.

This beer has moderate complexity and good palate depth. This actually has a soft mouthfeel that is supported by moderate carbonation...still, at 102 IBUs, this is a ultra-bitter and a very sweet beer. I would say this has a medium-full or full-light mouthfeel, with moderate drinkability overall. For the style, I'm having no problem drinking this, and at 8% ABV, this isn't all that heavy for an extreme beer. I might venture to say this is actually on the lighter end as far as the style goes.

Up front you get sweet notes, hints of malt, carbonation, and burgeoning hops; the middle is a blast of hops ranging from citrus to tropical fruits; the back end finishes with those hops, and then the bitterness sets in; the back-back end is earthy and woody, super bitter, dry, and full of lingering, pungent hops.

Rating: Above-Average

Score: 86%

 

There's not much to say about this beer. Lagunitas is a big league brewing company, and this is a big league Imperial IPA. There's some alcohol warming, which is nice, and the lingering bitterness is also very nice. But then, I'm a masochist for these super hoppy beers. I think the biggest thing that strikes me is how cheap this beer is. I've seen this on shelves ranging from 4 to 7 bucks. For a bomber of an Imperial IPA, that's not a bad deal. All-in-all, this is really impressive stuff, and it worth your time checking out if you are interested in big hoppy beers. So until next time, cheers.