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The New Lagunitas NightTime
Poppin' Bottles #6: Does this look like Cascadia?
:: May 13, 2014 Edition ::
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“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.”
Lagunitas recently released a new black IPA (or whatever your choice of nomenclature is for an 8+% hoppy black ale). It’s already been sighted on both U.S. coasts, and it’s been a while since we popped some bottles. [Editor’s note: False.] Disclaimers for this include that I receive occasional samples from these folks, their schwag shop stocks our NorCal beer guide (because everyone should), they occasionally advertise with us, and we inhabit the same town. This bottle was purchased at retail price from the brewery.
(I don’t write about Lagunitas very often, the preceding paragraph likely being why.)
First thought: “How is this Lagunitas’ first black-IPA thing?” Second thought: “Is this Lagunitas’ first black-IPA thing?” (It's not.) A quick RB advanced search pulls up five other Lagunitas beers currently categorized as falling nearest to black IPAs: Fusions II, VIII, XV; Minnesota Fusion 15; and Sacto Fusion (a black IPA "with toasted rye and chilis"). NightTime is hardly Lagunitas’ first effort. It’s just the first one for most of us.
Ali was nodding before I asked her whether she liked this. The aroma expands: generous and citrusy, piney, forest-ish. At 8.2% and black, it would be an iffy DayTime imposter. NightTime tends to flaunt its dank, pungent hops, a similar profile to that steering many of the non-Lil-Sumpin'-Sumpin' releases.
For me that worked better here, next to a restrained use of dark malts, than with some of their lighter-colored, hoppy strong ales. Even with some core sweetness, this floated in the same way that I’ve come to appreciate black IPAs like New Glarus' Black Top: dark malts that basically stay out of the way, juicy bitterness that ends up taking over.
33 reviews for Lagunitas NightTime thus far. Chime in here.
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