Beers by HTNL part 2: Lagunitas Hop Stoopid Ale

Located in Petaluma, California, the Lagunitas brewery brings our readers our second of many beer reviews: their "Hop Stoopid" Ale.

It seems as of late, that the 'typical' or usual method of business of smaller breweries, in their attempt to create a memorable ale, is to shove a ton of hops into their beer. This produces an intense bitterness which overpowers the palate and usually elicits the response, "Oh, that's hoppy as dump." These beers often lack complexity and leave a sour taste on the after palate. Hop Stoopid is not one of these ales but it walks a thin line.

The ale starts out with a strong aroma, not uncommon to very hoppy beers. But, unlike other overly hoppy ales, Hop Stoopid elicits softer tones of orange instead of grapefruit and a bit of vanilla. The initial palate effect is overly hoppy which leads one to think, here we go again. But the mid-palate and after palate have more of a balanced grainy taste. It almost has a wheat aftertaste which is masked by higher citrus and floral aromas.

What I like about the ale is that it doesn't overpower and is easy to enjoy. What I don't like is that it seems to be a one horse show with nice tasty hop flavor but not too much beyond that. Although it does have some grain characteristics show through, these are not complex or interesting.

This is a great beer to enjoy on a hot summer night, and I recommend it.

HTNL rating of 7.4/10