Bought this at Wine House in West LA while they wait for RRBC to get the next shipment of Pliny out...
Appearance: Golden like a light teak or cherry finish, lacey head that licks the edge of the glass like a premier DIPA should.
Smell: Though it smells like it should, it's like there's a barrier between the intensity of how a premier DIPA should hit you - probably due to a lack of the use of actual hops. Oh yeah - I guess I should explain that. Instead of adding hop cones or pellets into the brew kettle, Lagunitas uses hop extracts. The result is (apparently) a smaller nose than most in this genre.
Taste: Sweet flavor up front, bitters in the back, this beer draws a line down the center of your tongue and fires all cylinders as it goes. This is the category that weighs strongest on me, and it wins. 8% is about perfect for a DIPA in my opinion as alcohol is never really tasted.
Mouthfeel: Spiky and sticky - here's where using the hop oils does not deviate from a typical DIPA. The hop oils coat your mouth is saturated w/ what you typically get from a topline brew.
Drinkability: Again, the relative low alcohol content really makes this beer a big hit. I'd like to add that its pricetag doesn't hurt - $3.99 for a bomber? No problem.
Pliny is the gold standard of DIPAs for me, the perfect balance of all DIPAs - so among my social circles, I rate beers in terms of it. If Pliny is 100, I rate Hop Stoopid as a 97. Phenomenal brew.
Serving type: bottle
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