It started off innocently enough with a simple purchase of a simple IPA, but that absolutely shocked the heck out of me with how good it was. I finished that six pack, and each beer got better than the previous one. Then, I discovered the Pale Ale, and I decided that they can do some great things out there in Petaluma.
That's a simple sip. It tastes of bready malt with a splash of citrus. Not a whole heap of hops, even though it is really expected in this type of beer and other Lagunitas featured their hops fairly predominantly. Not sure what to make of that, but I suppose they really wanted to differentiate the pilsner from the hoppier brethren.
Time for a big gulp.
That was crisp and clean. I could definitely taste the hops in there that time. It had more citrus in the beginning, all loaded up and waiting for the malt and hops to hit about the middle. The carbonation added a bit of bite at the back of the tongue. That is added to the hoppy bitterness that remains on the lips after the beverage goes down. The whole thing is sweeter than I would have expected. I hate to say that it's not as good as at least one other pilsner I've had recently.
I had high expectations for this beer, and I may have set the sights too high. The beer itself is not bad at all, but it's not as special as I had hoped. Really, I blame them for having put together such good beers to set this one up, and it might have been set up just to be a disappointment. But, it's still a good beer. Nothing will take that away from them.
3.0/5