Lagunitas Sucks
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Tasting Notes
The aroma leads with a dense wave of resinous pine, citrus peel, and tropical fruit — mango and grapefruit in particular — backed by a firm biscuity malt base. On the palate, hop bitterness is assertive but not punishing, with the fruit and resin notes carrying through and a caramel sweetness keeping things grounded. The body is medium-full, with enough heft to support the hop load without feeling syrupy. The finish is long and drying, with lingering bitterness that signals how much hop matter went into the kettle.
About the Brewery
Lagunitas is based in Petaluma, California, founded in 1993 by Tony Magee. The brewery built its reputation on hop-forward ales, particularly its flagship IPA, and became one of the defining West Coast craft breweries of the 1990s and 2000s. Heineken acquired a stake and eventually full ownership by 2017, though the brand identity and brewing operations have remained largely consistent. Their beers are widely distributed nationally and internationally.
Food Pairings
Spicy Thai noodles or green curry work well here because the fruity hop character echoes the dish's citrus and lemongrass notes while standing up to the heat. A thick cheeseburger with aged cheddar pairs naturally because the malt backbone meets the fat and the bitterness cuts through it. Blue cheese or washed-rind cheeses find a good foil in the resinous bitterness, which scrubs the palate between bites. Grilled or smoked sausage — especially something with fennel or garlic — benefits from the hop bitterness acting as a counterweight to the richness.
Style Guide
American Double or Imperial IPAs push the base IPA format to higher hop quantities and higher malt content to balance them, resulting in beers that are intensely bitter and aromatic while carrying more body and residual sweetness than a standard IPA. ABVs typically range from roughly 7.5 to 10 percent. The style originated in the American craft brewing scene in the late 1990s and early 2000s, with Russian River's Pliny the Elder frequently cited as a benchmark. Compared to a standard American IPA, the double version is richer, more alcoholic, and more aggressively hopped, though the best examples maintain enough malt structure to keep the bitterness from feeling raw.