Lagunitas maximus IPA

I was excited to get a hold of a bottle of this over the weekend. I cracked it open last night and was very disappointed. It was so sweet that i could barely finish it. Even the aroma was had a bit of a candy sweet note, i was expecting a nice full hop aroma and a good bitterness. It almost had that extract twang that you can get sometimes with extract brewing and almost zero hop flavors.

did i just get a bad bottle? I am in Alaska so i am sure it has been stored at who knows how many different temps.

I tried it for the first time a couple weeks ago and thought the same thing. Way too sweet and I dont even think I tasted any hops. I was thinking it might have been an old bottle or something. Definitely not what I was expecting for an IPA/IIPA.

Bad bottle is my guess. It's a hoppy beer.

I got a bad bottle of Alesmith ESB just yesterday. I have had this beer before, and it was awesome each time. The bottle last night was like someone dumped a shot or two of vinegar in it.

Pissed me off.

I was excited to try this because i have heard so many good things about it, it was just so sweet that i could barely choke it down. i will give it another try in a month or so, maybe the store will bottles from a different batch.

I tried it a few months back and thought exactly the same thing. There's something about Lagunitas that I just don't like. It seems all their beers that I have tried have that same sweetness. The only one I really like is their Pils. Gnarly Wine isn't too bad, but still has that same taste, but i sorta expect it from that one. Anyhow, I was dissappointed as well. I only live a couple hours from Petaluma, so I would imagine the bottle I got wasn't terribly old, but you never know.

I just tride Veticle Epic 08-08-08 from stone and it had the same sweetness to it, i couldn't even bring myself to tae a 2nd gulp. it also poured with about 75% head, and there was a lot of yeast in the bottom of the bottle. maybe i need to find a new liquor store.

SNB said:

did i just get a bad bottle?

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I'd say that's quite possible. I've had this several times and when it's fairly fresh, it's got a nice dose of hop aroma and flavor to counterbalance the malt...as it ages, both diminish and it takes on more of a barley wine like profile some what like you describe.

I just tried this the other day, and I would not ever consider this beer sweet! It was more sour than sweet, and in a good way, very hoppy, a bit more bitter than I prefer, but pretty damn good. Strange that so many people thought it was sweet, hmmmm.

Im drinkin on a maximus rght now..Loving it, ...Im not getting the "overly sweet" thing that everyone is talking about, it seems more malty than a normal IPA (which I like) but nothing to sweet to drink (I normally dont like beers that are too sweet) The hops have a great aroma, and a good bite. one of my fav beers...Im originally from Soldotna, AK and I have gotte a coulple bad beers from stores up there. Try it again if you find it, it really is a kick ass beer!

I'm drinkin' one right now. I'm impressed. I like their IPA quite a bit, so I gave it a spin. I also don't find it to be sweet, solid malt backbone, but not too sweet. I think it has fruity notes to it. A little citrusy but not over-the-top citrusy. Good aroma, great flavor. I only bought one in a mixed sixer and now I wish I bought more. Not the best I've ever had but a solid, solid brew. Somehow feels bigger than the 72 IBUs listed on the bottle. I concur iparks, kick ass.