Midnight Sun Brewing Co.: XXX Black Double IPA

I don't really know anything about Alsaka's brewing tradition. I don't even know if it has a brewing tradition. But apparently there is at least one beer from Alaska in addition to Alaskan Amber--Midnight Sun Brewing Co.'s Black IPA. And I have to say, it kicks Alaskan Amber's ass.

I am very hit and miss with IPAs. I like the big bold hop flavors, but too often, I think, brewers are content to rest on a tastebud-obliterating dose of the stuff and give the other flavors short shrift. Not so here. Midnight Sun's Black IPA is actually very reminiscent of a traditional porter--a sweet/smoky malt flavor that maybe has some sort of dark fruit flavors in there. But whereas porters are generally not all that hoppy, this Black IPA follows on with a wallop of hops. Fortunately, the hops do not approach Ruination levels, leaving your tastebuds alive to enjoy the next sip.

It's always a pleasure to try a new brewery and be impressed with their very first offering that you sample. Based on first impressions, I'm expecting a lot more good stuff from Midnight Sun.

Harpoon Brewery: Big Bohemian Pilsner

Summer just might be my favorite season. The sun feels great on the skin, plenty of baseball on the diamonds, attire is minimal, and a beer tastes mighty refreshing.

Ever summer I make the trek out to the East Coast to engage in a number of relaxing activities including soaking up sun, salt, seafood, sand, and suds. I really enjoy drinking beer in Massachusetts (irrespective of the month) because I have the opportunity to sample a few beers I can’t seem to find on the opposite coast. Over the years I have been imbibing my way through a number of quality craft beers and I have found myself enjoying a bunch of fine breweries. One such brewery is Harpoon out of Boston, Mass.

Over the years I’ve just about sampled every Harpoon, so like many microbrewers, I have to wait until this brewery comes out with a ‘limited release’ to try something new. According to the packaging, Harpoon started the Leviathan series in 2008 to roll out a number of ‘big beers’ for ‘adventurous pallates’. This summer I snagged Harpoon’s Big Bohemian Pilsner. While, I normally wouldn’t recommend an imperial pilsner in the summer heat (this beer hits 9% abv) this is still a refreshing brew. The beer starts with a classic European pilsner aroma which further encourages a big gulp. While this beer does have a strong alcohol flavor once it hits the tongue, the malt content fights with the ethanol to provide a nice balance. The pilsner has a dry finish and a few light flowery notes even though it's not that hoppy. Considering this beer is stronger than most double IPAs, it’s quite drinkable and probably can be downed by even the causal beer drinker.

While Harpoon has a number of other brews which might have cooled me down and refreshed my pallate a little more thoroughly than the Big Bohemian Pilsner (Harpoon’s UFOs come to mind) half the fun of visiting a state is trying out something new you can’t get at home. And on a hot day on the dock or at the beach, you really can’t go wrong with a Harpoon in your hand and a little more booze in your system than anticipated. Cheers.

Stoudts Brewing Co.: Double IPA

The double IPA is a dangerous beast. IPAs are already quite bold tasting. Try to double down on anything and you risk pushing the beer over the edge. A lot of double IPAs are just unadulterated hop monsters. Stoudt's take is a little different.

This unimaginatively titled brew does not seem to have any more hops

than a "regular" IPA. Instead, presumably in an effort to increase the ABV, Stoudts has put a lot more malt into this beer. The taste has an almost honey-like sweetness to it at first, and while you'd expect the hops to come in and wipe that out, the sweetness turns out to be quite persistent. Still, the flavors are overall pretty well balanced--the sweetness, while persistent, is not overdone and there are plenty of hops to give your tastebuds something else to focus on. It's sort of like a scaled-back version of Dogfish Head's 180 minute IPA.

This beer is a little bit too sugary for my tastes. It's not a "sweet" beer by any means, but I would definitely have preferred a little bit drier flavor. Definitely an interesting take on the genre, and probably a boon for those that really dig malted-up IPAs.

North Coast Brewing Co.: Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

It's been dropping into the 40s at night. While that's not really all that cold for Philadelphia, for a thin-blooded Californian, it's definitely chillier than I'd like. So for me, it's officially open season on porters and stouts.

North Coast has put together a pretty solid brew here. It definitely tends toward the sweeter end of the taste-scale, but there's enough hops in there to keep the sweetness from becoming unpleasant and which come through strong in the finish. A smoky malt taste persists throughout the whole drinking experience as well. Between the intense flavors and the thick mouthfeel, this is a beer that really does a number on your tastebuds. But if you're a fan of stouts, that's not necessarily a bad thing.

This is definitely a quality brew. I don't think I like it quite as much as Stone's or Lagunitas's versions, but that's not to say that North Coast didn't do a fine job on this one. And Rasputin has the distinct advantage of being available in six-pack form. So if you're looking for a quality imperial stout but don't feel like plowing through a 22 oz bomber, Rasputin is your man.

Lagunitas Brewing Co: a Little Sumpin' Sumpin' ale

It seems these days like people's tastes shift as often as do the winds...

If you've been reading my posts for awhile you may have guessed that I didn't create that last sentence. Laguintas Brewing Company spawned that proverb. While, I didn't write it, I generally agree with the sentiment. People's preferences these days seem to change on a whim. Beer preferences included. And I'm not immune to this global phenomem. I find myself obsessed with pale ales and then a week later won't drink anything but an amber lager.

And then shortly after, I'll drive 'cross town just to get my hands on a good American blond ale. Why? I'm not really sure. But breweries understand the concept.

Lagunitas Brewing Co, is one of the best California breweries at producing a wide variety of 'seasonal' and 'limited relase' beers. To match the tastes of the season and simply to mix up the traditional tastes they provide for the consumers, Laguintas always, and I mean always, has a seasonal beer on the shelves. On my latest beer run I noticed, "a Little Sumpin' Sumpin' ale", "Hop Stoopid", and "Undercover Investigation Shutdown ale" all in the beer aisle complimenting the traditional Laguinitas offerings. And I gotta say, I'm a fan of this trend. While it can be annoying to grow attached to a seasonal beer that is only available for 4 months outta the year, the anticipation of waiting for that brew and the ability to sample new creations far outweighs the cons.

As for "a Little Sumpin' Sumpin' ale", I picked up this brew because I had simply never tried it before. Not surprising, I enjoy sampling and reviewing new beers. I'll pretty much try any offering from Lagunitas as I love most of their beer. Sumpin' Sumpin' is a pale wheat with a ton of bite. While the wheat flavors are present, Lagunitas manages to work in incredible amounts of pine flavors and alcohol tastes. To be quite honest, it wasn't what I was expecting from this wheat based brew. Most American wheats are thin, mellow, and weak and this is anything but. On a blind taste test you could easily convince the drinker that it was a double IPA. Even with all the pine resin and booze bite there are some candied sugar flavors and a prominent wheat aroma to cut the strong kick.

While I'm not sure I agree with Lagunitas' decision to make this 7.3% ale a summer seasonal, it's a nice change of pace. And seeing how my beer tastes change frequently I might grab another sometime in future. Cheers.

Mendocino Brewing Co.: Eye of the Hawk Special Ale

I've been familiar with Mendocino Brewing Company for a while now. Their Red Tail Ale has long been one of my favorites (a post will be forthcoming, I promise), and they make a decent pale as well. But today I went with a six pack of one of their other brews--The Eye of the Hawk. Here's the scoop.

Mendocino bills this one as a "Special Ale." I have no clue what that is supposed to mean. And, as I'll get to later, it's not all that special. Beer Advocate labels it as a Strong Ale. I'm not sure that really fits either. Arrogant Bastard would--quite credibly I think--excoriate this beer mercilessly for claiming to stand in the same genre as itself. This beer is malty enough that I am tempted to label it a Scotch Ale, but I'm not nearly familiar enough with that particular genre to be so bold. So I'll stick with Strong Ale, arrogant bastards notwithstanding.

As I mentioned, Eye of the Hawk is malty. Really malty. And a sweet malt at that. From start to finish, this beer is malt malt malt. There is a little hint of bitter earthy hoppiness, and a good amount of carbonation, which in combination manage to take the edge off of the malts ever so slightly. And if there's more flavoring than that going on in here, it's way too subtle for my tastebuds.

Mattie posted earlier on a combination of Eye of the Hawk with another of Mendocino's brews. He gave it a lukewarm review. Lukewarm is about as good as I can do too. It's certainly not a bad beer. And with the big bold flavor and increased alcohol content, it's not boring either. But in the end, it left me looking for a little bit more.

Dogfish Head: 120 Minute IPA

Your typical run of the mill lager is 5% alcohol-by-volume. Grab yourself an ale, and 5.5-6% is the usual. Move on up the ladder to Belgian dubbels, Strong Ales (e.g. Arrogant Bastard), and malt liqour, where 7-8% is more typical. Then you get to your imperials: Double IPAs, Russian stouts, and Belgian trippels and quads, which weigh in around 10 or 11%. And that's pretty much as alcoholic as beer gets.

Which is why--despite the $12 for a 12 oz bottle--I could not possibly pass up Dogfish Head's 120 Minute IPA, weighing in at an ostentateous, unbelievable, and thoroughly unncessary 21% ABV.

How do you get so much alcohol in a beer? You develop a special strain of extra-resilient yeast and feed it generous quantities of sugar. As a result, the 120 Minute is sweet--really sweet. Despite all the hops they throw at it, this beer is not really all that bitter. It's sugary and carmelly and finishes with a little bit of orange zest of all things. All the hops really manage to do is take the edge of the sweetness, which is crucial because otherwise it would probably have a pretty gross aftertaste. It's also a little bit syrupy. You can taste the alcohol, but it's nowhere near as bad as I expected. Considering the fact that this beer has more alcohol than certain hard liquors, that's pretty remarkable.

I guess I have to give Dogfish credit for boldly going where no beer has gone before. But having been there once, I doubt I'll be back. 120 Minute is an impressive specimen of alcoholic engineering, but taste-wise it just doesn't offer much. It's kind of absurd that one of these little bottles has almost as much alcohol as a pitcher of Coors Light, but--all things considered--I'll take the pitcher.

Weyerbacher Brewing Co.: Heresy

I have to get in at least one more stout before the season's over. Soon the warm weather will be here and I'll be on a steady diet of Coppers, Pales, Wits, and Czech Pilsners. So it's time for one last hurrah, and we might as go out with a bang. Here's another Pennsylvania brewery for you: Weyerbacher. They call their imperial stout "Heresy," which seems like a fitting name for any imperial stout you'd consume on Easter weekend.

Imperial stouts are without a doubt the biggest and baddest of beers. In terms of raw flavor power, they are unmatched (except perhaps by Ruination-esque IPAs). And Heresy does not disappoint on this front. Right away you get blasted by an overload of roasted malts and a slight alcohol kick to boot. As the alcohol and malts begin to fade, a collection of other flavors begin to emerge: There's some dark fruit (cherries and blackberries I think), a little bit of vanilla, some black licorice, as well as some mild hoppiness that lingers on after the rest of the flavors have subsided. The mouthfeel is pretty thick, though not as thick as some of the truly devastating Russian stouts (Stone and Lagunitas come to mind).

I'm a big fan of imperial stouts, and Heresy certainly didn't disappoint. It's a little bit sweeter than I would have preferred, though the benefit of the mild hoppiness is that you can really start to pick up on all the other flavors that are hiding in the pitch blackness of this brew (no joke--this beer is an alcoholic black hole). A solid offering--better than most, though not quite up to competing with the likes of Stone and Bell's.

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery: 90 Minute Imperial IPA

Following Hofer's lead, tonight I went out of my price range and outside my locality to enjoy a fine beer . Now omnipresent at liquor stores on the west coast, I could no longer resist picking up some more bottles of Dogfish Head. Hof introduced the readership to this Delaware brewery a ways back and even let the people out west know when Dogfish Head beers started popping up in select bars and stores up and down the left coast (see older posts). Recently I began seeing Dogfish Head so often in liquor stores but continued to purchase in moderation because it's a pricey brew ( a four-pack going for as much as $13). After months of enticement and continued expansion, I finally broke down and picked up a few of their beers that I had yet to try.

Reaching back into the wallet, I decided to pick up some of Dogfish Head's 90 Minute Imperial IPA. This beer is a double india pale ale with a 'single constant 90 minute hop addition'. Throw in an extra dry hopping stage and you have one hoppy beer. The hops provide an excellent lacing to the brew and a thick head. After you pull some liquid through the foam, believe it or not the taste starts out with a strong malt splash and then eventually changes into a sweet hop flavor. As the beer warms you begin to taste woody and butter hop flavors and a slight alcohol taste. It's a really tasty imperial IPA and not nearly as boozy as some other 9% offerings.

Overall this brewery makes some interesting and fun craft beer. I have been sending this article about the brewery to all my friends . Even if you're not into Dogfish Head's strange brewing tactics and unique recipes it's a great read and will add to your beer knowledge. So while, I don't often stray from my west coast brews, Dogfish Head is a welcomed change of pace. Cheers.

Speakeasy Ales & Lagers: Double Daddy Imperial IPA

It's been about six months since I've lasted lived in San Francisco, one month since I've last partied in The City, and far too long since I've had local SF brew. It was time to grab some familiar looking local craft. I decided to grab Speakeasy's Double Daddy Imperial IPA. Accustomed to most of this brewery's selection I choose to finally snag 'double daddy' because it is one of the few Speakeasy Ales & Lagers that I have yet to enjoy.

"Doubling down on malts and hops" this imperial india pale ale is not messing around. Proudly sporting a 9.5% alcohol by volume content this brew will kick your mouth off. The alcohol flavor is by far the most prominent flavor and with an abv over 9% I wouldn't expect anything different. By letting the ale rest on your tongue you can sufficiently dull most of your taste buds.

Despite a quick dulling of the face and warming of the stomach, this beer has an incredibly smooth mouthfeel. The ale is almost buttery and drinks pretty easy if you don't mind the alcohol flavors. A hop present hits on the back of the tongue slightly after a clean swig, but since the brew is so smooth it's hard to detect. Unless you're in the mood for something boozy, I wouldn't recommend this monster. But if you don't mind some alcohol in your beer it's a smooth way to get a good buzz.

This brew would be a great way to get any party going. Very strong and surprisingly easy to drink. Next time I'm in San Francisco I might 'double down' on my pre-party. Hopefully it's sooner rather than later. Cheers.

Victory Brewing Co.: Storm King Imperial Stout

Now that I'm finally reunited with my computer, it's time to get posting again. As we're still in the depths of winter, it's still prime time for stouts and porters. So I decided to go local with another Pennsylvanian brewery.

Victory's Storm King is a quality stout. It's a definite flavor overload: the roasted malts and pronounced hops fight a veritable death match on your palette. On the malt side the prime contenders are hints of coffee and chocolate. The hops are primarily earthy, but you can taste a little bit of citrus coming through too. It's got a medium-thick mouthfeel, but for a stout it's pretty well carbonated. This tends to accentuate the bitter aspects of the flavor. Finally, there is a slight alcohol taste, which is to be expected, given the imperial label.

I'm a little bit of a snob when it comes to stouts, so I can't really pretend that this is a truly top shelf stout. But it is certainly one of the better stouts I've come across. So if you're in Pennsylvania, give it a try.

Sly Fox Brewing Co: Odyssey Imperial IPA

I made my trek to Tria, the local beer and wine bar, tonight to sample their weekly featured brew. What they had on tap was a local imperial IPA. It being a cold winter night (snow is on the ground), a strong beer was exactly what the doctor ordered.

Odyssey is one of the IPAs that feature a distinctive "piney" taste to them. This taste compliments the extreme hoppiness of an IPA quite nicely. What sets Odyssey apart is that--unlike many IPAs--it doesn't write off the malt flavors entirely. There's an almost sugary malt sweetness that comes through in this beer, and while sugar isn't generally a flavor you'd like to see in a beer, in this case it works out quite nicely. There is also a faint citrusy taste at play in here somewhere, and as you'd expect, the taste of alcohol is also present (though not too strongly).

It seems that in most cases, IPA brewers ignore the malt aspects of their beer entirely to focus on pleasing their hophead constituency. But for those of us that are not extreme hopheads, having a secondary flavor to balance out the hops works out great. But IPA devotees shouldn't worry about this--this is an Imperial IPA through and through, with plenty of hops to go around. In sum, if you are into the India Pale Ale genre, this is definitely a brew worth seeking out.

Mendocino Brewing Co: Winter Seasonal Imperial IPA

I have to say, I love the new trend of breweries making IPAs as their winter releases. While dark and malty winter warmers are a nice change of pace for the cold months, as a hop head, I always enjoy a great IPA. No matter the season.

Mendocino Brewing Company is a solid brewery that makes a great red ale. Hofer, the other main contributor to this blog, hooked me on this brewery's flagship Red Tail Ale many years ago. As a result I always give their seasonal releases a shot.

In the winter months MBC brews a strong IPA. As an imperial ale this brew tops out at 7.5% alcohol by volume. Thus this beer functions just like any other winter warmer in the fact it heats up any cold December night. As for the taste: there is a quick hop hit to the pallate with a touch of a boozy aftertaste. In addition, there is also an orange citrus flavor floating around which compliments a light sweet malt flavor to top everything off.

Overall it's not as hoppy as expected. Especially because 'Imperial IPA' is printed in ginormous letters on the front of the bottle. But a good beer and a welcomed imperial IPA to add the rotation in the winter. Cheers.

Stoudts Fat Dog: Imperial Oatmeal Stout

Only a couple hours left in the week, so I better make good on my promise to review a new beer from a new brewery every week for the last five weeks of class. Week 3: Stoudts Fat Dog Oatmeal Stout. Stoudts is a Pennsylvania brewery, and a well-known one at that, so I've been a bit remiss ignoring them up to this point. I figured I'd give them a fair shake on their first review by choosing a variety of beer that I generally enjoy.

This ale is quite unique. Lots of different flavors going on. It's got a peculiar sweetness to it that is a bit like cola or licorice, though there's also some smoky coffee notes and a dry finish that hints of a red wine. Mouthfeel is about par for the course so far as stouts go--it's fairly thick but not milk-stout thick. It finishes with a dry hoppiness that manages to take the edge off the sweetness, though in the end it's still a little sweeter than I'd like.

Nevertheless I have to give credit to Stoudts for packing so many different flavors into a single brew and making them all work together pretty well. For an imperial, this one goes down pretty smooth too--there's just a hint of the alcohol in the aftertaste. All in all, a respectable stout, but certainly not on the order of Barney Flats or Bell's Double Cream.

Flying Fish: Imperial Espresso Porter

My last coffee/porter hybrid try (see Rogue's Mocha Porter) was such a success that I figured I should make my way back into the genre. Deciding I'd stay local this time (Flying Fish is out of New Jersey), I grabbed Flying Fish's offering, notwithstanding the "Imperial" tag.

If I had to pick one word here, it would be "sweet." This is definitely one of the sweetest beers I've had outside the fruit/lambic category. Caramel and vanilla are the principal flavors; they are there from the moment it hits your tastebuds, and they linger well into the aftertaste phase. The coffee is there too, showing up somewhat late in the taste, though they don't do much to knock out the sweetness. Hops come through just barely at the very end.

Fortunately, the carbonation and light mouthfeel keep the sweetness from becoming cloying, though all in all this is definitely sweeter than I prefer. I will give this beer props for masking the alcohol content though: while it's listed at 8% ABV, you can't taste the alcohol anywhere.

Brooklyn Brewery: Black Chocolate Stout

It's 82 degrees outside. This isn't really proper "stout" weather. But I'm moving out tomorrow, so all beer must be disposed of, and there's no way in hell I'm giving away the last bottle that's hiding in the back of my fridge, so here's one last east coast post: Brooklyn Brewery's Chocolate Stout.

The stout pours out an almost entirely opaque black with a touch of redness around the edges, and minimal head. The taste is predominantly chocolate-smoky malts. It starts off very very sweet, though it's really more of a straight up malt flavor than chocolate. The hops aren't very strong in this one, but there is enough there to balance out the sweetness as the beer rolls off your tongue.

Overall a solid brew, but not my favorite stout. It's a bit sweeter than I'd like, and the aftertaste lingers too long. On the plus side, Brooklyn has managed to mask the 10.6% ABV pretty well, so you get a pleasant buzz without the accompanying taste of an alcohol kick. Probably best for those who like big malt flavors and don't mind a sweet aftertaste.

Stone Brewing Co: Ruination IPA

Wow. Stone is not kidding around with this one. Known for their strong ales, all Stone brews pack a real punch. But I can't remember the last time I was physically shocked by an initial sip of a beer. Ruination IPA does just that.

This feeling is of course is what Stone wants to do with this imperial ale. Hitting at 7.7% alcohol and proudly declaring a mark over 100 international bitter units, this SoCal brew gives you a swift kick to the mouth. With this beer, I feel Stone is proudly staking their claim in the 'extreme beer' category.

This beer is incredibly hoppy. The hoppy flavors are more woody than floral and there is a ton of hops to go around. Bitter yes. Very bitter, leaving a strong aftertaste along with an alcohol falvor. In fact the reason Stone names this beer Ruination is because of "the immediate ruinous effect on your palate." I figured I'd put Stone's classic witty back bottle description to the test. I tried a average strength beer after consumption and boy were they right. I felt as if I was still drinking the IPA while sipping on a subsequent lager. The taste really does stick with you and 'ruins your palate' for any other beer.

I thought I was a hop head. I mean, I love Stone's Arrogant Bastard (see Hof's post), I like Stone's IPA, Pale Ale, and even their Old Guardian (which has a higher alcohol content than Ruination). But Ruination, I must say, might be too much for me. Prepare yourself if you gonna grab this beer. Consider yourself warned. Cheers.

Flying Dog: Gonzo Imperial Porter

First the story about how I got this beer. So a few months back I reviewed Flying Dog's K9 Winter Ale. It was a decent brew, but nothing exceptional, so that's essentially what I wrote. Then, to my surprise, I get a comment posted by a rep from the Flying Dog brewery saying that they were sorry I didn't like the K9 all that much and that they'd send me some more beer to try. Well that pretty much obligates me to blog another one of their brews, so here you are: Flying Dog's Gonzo Imperial Porter.

Spring is coming. In California, that means bouts of warm weather. Here in Philly, it means that riding to school in the morning I no longer worry about whether my ears will freeze and break off. But it's still cold enough to indulge in dark, alcohol-heavy brews. So Flying Dog's porter is still quite in season.

The verdict? Well this time Flying Dog delivers up a solid brew. The beer is full bodied and packed full of flavor. The predominant taste is sweet and super-smoky malts, though for a porter it's also quite hoppy. That means a full scale assault on your tastebuds beginning the moment it his your lips and a long-lasting (though fortunately not unpleasant) aftertaste. In the case of an imperial strength brew, this is probably a good thing, since the beer manages to mask the taste of alcohol pretty much completely. You'd never know you were drinking an imperial unless you looked at the label... until the alcohol kick hits and you walk over to the thermostat to see if the room just warmed up.

All in all this is a beer I definitely recommend to other dark-beer lovers. It's also definitely one of the better high-alcohol beers I've had (though at 7.8%, some might quibble that it's not truly "imperial"). Cheers!

Stone Brewing Co: Arrogant Bastard Ale

I considered letting someone else write about this, since I know most of us have had it before, but then I decided that none of you could possibly do it justice.

Stone is, after Sierra Nevada, probably the best known of California microbrews. And like most West Coast breweries, their specialties are ales. And they make a point of big ales: big on flavor, big on volume, and big on alcohol content. And while their flagship beer is probably their IPA, their Arrogant Bastard Ale is probably the best known and most widely available high-alcohol ale in the U.S.

Arrogant Bastard's taste is a little bit complicated. It has bite to it, but for the most part that isn't hops you're tasting--its alcohol. The beer is mildly hoppy, but in terms of actual beer flavor what you are tasting is is malt. The maltiness actually gives the beer a bit of a sweeter flavor, similar to what you might taste in a belgian ale, but then the alcohol comes in and wipes out your palette. The beer actually gets a little better once you have a mild buzz. Once that kicks in it dulls a little bit of the alcohol kick and you can taste the malts coming through more strongly.

I like to think that Arrogant Bastard is what beer snobs start off their nights with when it's going to be a drinking night. It's definitely a quality brew, but there's no way I'd climb behind the wheel after polishing one off. It's a quality beer that's guaranteed to give you a buzz after you've finished the first bottle. Assuming, of course, you don't wuss out and take an hour and a half to drink it.

So if you know it's gonna be a big night, but you don't want to have to choke through 5 nattie lights before you're tastebuds are sufficiently dulled, have yourself an Arrogant Bastard. That is, if you can handle it.

Lagunitas Brewing Co: Kill Ugly Radio

Word.

That's the last printed sentence on the bottle's label.
And that's the last sentence you'll mumble after finishing this beer.

Kill Ugly Radio is an IPA similar to the Maximus Rojazz posted on earlier. But since I was gonna do it anyway, and Rojas made a follow up request, here we go:

Technically, Kill Ugly Radio is a double IPA or imperial IPA since it's over 7% alcohol (7.8%) but it by no means has that alcohol flavor you get from 9% beers. Which is doubly cool with the fact you can get it at most northern CA safeways for cheap and it will be more than an apt pre preparty and still taste delicious.

The color is a light pumpkin organish and fits into what you'd expect color-wise for most double IPAs. The most overwhelming taste is grapefruit citrus, I kid you not. Thus making this Lagunitas distinct from the Maximus, pale ale, and the traditional IPA. And obviously there is a ton of hops.

While in the midst first sip, I thought to myself 'this beer is amazing'. I pondered why all beers didn't taste like that. Kill Ugly Radio only comes in 22oz bottles, and on further drinking I backed off from my initial reaction. Still spectacular beer, but didn't keep up its initial shock value. Also, I thought they could have carbonated it a little less. That kept me from ranking it super high. But that could be my bias towards cask conditioned ales speaking. Unfortunately its a limited release that only comes in 22s.

Also what's kinda cool is that the beer label is the old record cover of a Frank Zappa Album. Which you don't see that often. This beer is the second in a series of tributes to FZ (I missed the first). Although not the biggest fan of his music, the idea of getting his family trust to allow Lagunitas to use an album cover for a beer label is pretty sweet.

Anyway, Beer Speaks, People Mumble. Dirnk Lagunitas. No matter what brew you grab it'll be good. Word.