22 oz bottle from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA.
(Potentially) excellent value for money as usual from Lagunitas, the usual presentation.
Pour is a very nice red-brown with nice clarity in the body. Off-white head that produces some sticky lace; retention not great.
The nose has a surprising level of green hop presence. Really quite strong.
Tastes are a little mixed where the hops fade from their aroma level but still hang around, and then the malt bill kicks in. It still remains quite “organic” and green in its’ feel. The beer definitely drinks MUCH more like an American Brown Ale than an American Strong to me, and that’s my problem. I want Brown Ales to be sweet and malty and I don’t like the hop presence to be high. It doesn’t still all that well with me.
I don’t like this beer very much as there is an odd, unhappy marriage of a beer that basically should have a low hop-profile, with a huge, green hop note – odd and unbalanced for me. It’s NOT actually a very hoppy beer, but the combo just doesn’t work for me.