Beer Review: Lagunitas Maximus

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 8.2 percent

Appearance: Maximus had a chroma of a very vivid orange/amber color. There was also a bit of sediment that stirred up as soon as I poured it. So, I'm not sure how long this sat in the cooler where I purchased the bottle. There also wasn't much carbonation at this point, but the bubbles did appear and slowly rise a little while after. The head was a bit volatile at first because the foam funneled over the rim of the glass, but once it settled it was fluffy and bright white. It was also quite sticky.

Smell: In the aroma department, this beer seemed very potent. There were generous amounts of both pine and resin. These two aspects seemed to drown out anything else that might have been present. The scents were on levels of sinus destruction for me, but this is a double IPA.

Taste: I was once again bombarded with the pine and resin flavors. Both of these were really intense for me. I thought for a second that a touch of sweetness was on the front tip of my tongue, but once again I couldn't tell entirely due to the intensity of the piney hop bitterness. This all lead to an intensely bitter aftertaste.  Still, everything did ease a bit as the beer warmed. The resin flavor actually drove itself to the forefront at this point which I enjoyed. This brew was also a very sticky experience. Lips, fingers and table top. Kind of like that annoying syrup bottle that we all have somewhere in our kitchen.

Overall Rating: 

I love the regular lineup by Lagfunitas, but I've been severely disappointed with two of their bolder offererings. It doesn't help that I'm not Mr. Imperial/Double either. Not exactly my thing. I don't want all hops. I want multiple aspects in a good beer. The stickiness of this also just made it more of an annoyance. This might be a hop head's delight, but I'll stick to the regular Lagunitas IPA.

Beer Review: Boulder Mojo Risin'

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 10.5 percent

Appearance: Mojo Risin' looked very similar in color to its IPA brother, Boulder Mojo. It was a vivid orange. Instantly looked like an IPA, to me. It had a slight fogginess to it, but didn't appear dreadfully saturated in hop oil as some IPA's appear to me. I know I'm not Mr. IPA, but I really like a vivid orange IPA in terms of appearance. There were a few carbonation bubbles. The brightly-white head was somewhat thin, weak and eventually lead to much weaker retention.

Smell: The aroma was very peppery, initially. I expected an overload of hops, but the hop presence was a little subdued as I'd usually prefer. This was also a little citrusy.

Taste: The citrus was very pungent and was ever so present on the front. It was a combination of both orange and grapefruit. The hop presence in the taste wasn't as strong as I would have thought for a Double IPA. It was also a little weak here, but for me that's not anything bad. Not really boozy at first sip, but be ready for a little warm sensation when it goes down once the brew has a chance to get closer to room temperature.

Overall Rating: 

For a Double IPA, I actually enjoyed this. It plays quite mellow. I also enjoyed getting another citrus flavor other than grapefruit. The orange was a plus for me. That was backed by a nice piney bitterness that even a staunch Hop Nazi like me would enjoy. I wish i got a few more layers and complexity in the taste, though. Maybe some caramel or creaminess from the beer's head (which wasn't really present to begin with)?

Monday Rant: Let Their Lips Sizzle, Too

As if there wasn't enough about the hop mania adrift in this sea of a craft beer world, I come across something that (in the words of comedian Lewis Black) caused me to remind myself to breathe. I ever so slightly recall catching a glimpse of this, but this weekend was the first time I saw visual evidence of hop chap stick via Atlantic Farms.


I drink a lot of beer, but I wouldn't classify beer as my addiction at all. My addiction is chap stick (we can all agree that chap stick is now an accepted term and not just the name of a singular product, right?). I've had eczema for pretty much my entire life. For those of you that don't know what it is, eczema is kind of like a dry skin disorder. My hands are constantly dry and itchy and my lips are easily chapped.

I need chap stick on me at all times. If I don't have it for any period of time I'm liable for chewing off my own lips, so to speak. Few people have the ability to keep a tube of chap stick for its entire duration. I'm one of those people. I was once a part of a college project where it was required to set up a promotional event for a client. We gave out several goodies and had a bunch left over. I happily took the chap stick that remained.

As long as I'm not chewing my own lips I'm remain in a calm and sane state. I never put much into colors or flavors. Do we really need hop-flavored chap stick? Hop enthusiasts can now choose from flavors such as Lavender, Grapefruit and (are you ready for this?) Double IPA. Just when the overwhelming amount of intensely-hopped beers have started getting under my skin the subject seemed to find different avenues into my life!