Lagunitas Cruising With Ruben & The Jets
December 31st, 2008 beckelToday we have another creative ale from the inventive minds of Lagunitas Brewing to enjoy on this Happy New Years Eve! This beer was brewed to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the release of Frank Zappa and Mothers of Invention’s album of the same name and apparently Lagunitas plans to continue to release one special beer in honor of the 40th anniversary of every studio album by Zappa. A very nice concept and wonderful tribute, it will be interesting to see what they come up with next time. Though Lagunitas insists this is a “DoppaDooAyDoo Style Ale” the word on the street is that it is an Imperial Stout with a solid 8.6% ABV and that’s good enough for me to be curious. I’ll have to determine who I agree with after giving it a shot, so on we go. This beer pours with a solid three fingers of wonderful frothy head that tastes quite sweet and is a solid, relatively dark tan color. After settling for a few minutes there is still a nice fine layer present and plenty of lacing on the glass. Color is very black with only a little bit of a red hue shining through when brought to light. Aroma is of malt, malt and more malt. Some sweet creamy smells, others slightly roasted, all dark. Not bad at all, upon my first sip I thought there wasn’t too much to the flavor until I started swallowing and noticed all of the interesting roasted flavors, reminding me of charcoal and making me wish I’d cooked up my steak first. The initial taste is simple and on the sweet side but not overbearing in any way. As it finishes you are left with a much drier and unique roasted malt flavor. The body is medium and the mouthfeel is a bit on the dry side for a brew but it is very easy to drink so long as you don’t mind dark stouts. For the lack of intense flavors other than toasted malt this beer does a darn good job covering up the alcohol, you can tell it’s there but it doesn’t taste like ethanol at all. After drinking close to half a bottle I am noticing an almost fruity characteristic but it is hard to pinpoint, more in the pitted fruits category and certainly not dominate at all. Definitely an interesting brew and something that should be very approachable for someone wanting to try an Imperial Stout. Unfortunately I only have one bottle because a stout would go lovely with the meal I plan to cook up momentarily, oh well. To all a good new year, and be safe out there. As always give it a shot and ride your bike, even if it is snowy out there and only getting colder.
