Lagunitas IPA Maximus

Lagunitas IPA Maximus

Hops gangbang in a bottle. 

Time for another beer review and today the beer of choice is Maximus from the Lagunitas Brewing Company.  This one comes in at 8.2% ABV, an O.G. of 1.080 and an IBU of 72.41.  Now, first off I have to say I love this brewery.  A lot. I'm rarely disappointed with their beers and this one is no exception.  And if you look closely they always have some cool story (Undercover Investigation Shutdown Ale) or in some cases (Maximus) non sensible shit they put on the label.  It's entertainment in a bottle.  Even the ingredients list is interesting:  Hops, Malt, Hops, Hops, Yeast, Hops, Water, and Hops.  You can tell they love brewing because they have fun with it.  They aren't all serious and shit. So, let's get to it.

Appearance:  This beer poured into my tulip a gorgeous copper color with less than half a finger of head and some decent lacing.  At 8.2% ABV, and it being a DIPA, that's not surprising.  And you can always tell when your glass is cleaned properly by the lacing.  Mine is definitely cleaned properly.  Overall, a very attractive beer.

Smell:  Right off the bat you get grapefruit and citrus peel.  Two things I love.  Swirl your glass a bit and it punches you right in the face.  Its a citrus fruit street fight and you just got dragged into it.  You get the floral and piny hops in the nose pretty good, too.  I also detect a teeny bit of pineapple in there.   It's got a super sweet smell to it.  Sort of like Dogfish's 90 Minute IPA.

Taste:  Man, this is good.  I've seen various reviews for this and it's gotten B's.  Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but these people are obviously imbeciles.  This is a damn good DIPA.  To me this is like an alcoholic ruby red grapefruit juice.  SUPER juicy, bitter, and sweet all at the same time.  And, surprise! Malts that weren't evident in the smell.  I love surprises.  It's got a sweet maltiness right in the middle of the taste profile, which adds balance to the juicy, bitter hops. Again, I get citrus rind, grapefruit, and pineapple from the hops as well as some pine lingering on the back end.  So we have citrus punching you in the face, whilst caramel malts are working your torso area and pine stomps you in the dick.  You will get a beat down from this beer.

Mouthfeel:  (In a Russian accent) Slick like oil or snake with medium bodies.  The carbonation is not too high, not too light.  It work like Russian housewife to refreshings your palates.  Strong like bull.

Overall:  To save some time,  read the intro between "Time for another beer review and today the beer of choice is Maximus from the Lagunitas Brewing Company.  This one comes in at 8.2% ABV, an O.G. of 1.080 and an IBU of 72.41.  Now," and up the the "So, let's get to it" part.  And then I'll add that this will be a regular in my fridge.  So, overall, it's fucking awesome.

Graphic representation of Maximus in image form.