Lagunitas NightTime

Lagunitas NightTime

Brewer's Description: 

There are two kinds. There is the DayTime kind, which is bright and welcoming and then there is the NightTime kind, which should never be confused with the DayTime. NightTime is dark and deep and may take you to unexpected places, places that the DayTime cannot. But then, the NightTime is not suited for ordinary life and ordinary tasks. In fact, NightTime may be the answer for that sort of thing, meaning that those sorts of things may never get done. Things take time in the NightTime, things slow down and you can pause (you have to, actually) and investigate carefully to find that level of objective detachment that is only possible under the spell of the NightTime. Seek the Day, but fear not the Night.

So this may or not be common knowledge but I love Lagunitas Brewing Co. and am so grateful to have their beer available here in Maine ! Every time a new offering comes out from these guys I get excited to try it and this one has been sitting in my fridge for a week or two while I've been sipping through some of the fresh growlers of Hill Farmstead for the last week.
Tonight it was time to pop this Black IPA ! 

My Thoughts: 

Pours a deep dark caramel color with three fingers of eggshell foam. The nose is deep and mysterious with layers of tropical fruit, pine, some light roasted malt, hints of caramel, cocoa powder and some cola too. The palate follows the nose with huge layers of hop complexity, definitely tasting some citra in there. Skittles, guava, pine, coffee, caramel, cocoa, toasted pumpernickel. There is a nice soft roasted malt backbone that anchors all the crazy punchy hops... but the body is still light and refreshing the way a black ipa should be. This beer is fantastic !

Buy, Forage and Hoard or Pass By? 

Stop reading this review and do yourself a favor and go buy a couple bottles of this beer !

Its a hoppy beer so don't buy more than you will drink in the next month or so, but by all means seek this beer out... I got so sick of black IPA's a couple years ago when everyone was doing them but so many people were just making porters or stouts and adding a handful of hops into the mix... this is not one of those types, this is REAL black IPA ! 

Final Rating: 

 AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 5/5   TASTE 9/10   PALATE 5/5   OVERALL 17/20

Final Score:

4.4 out of 5