Well, I finally went out and got something new to review. Hop Stoopid is one of Lagunitas many great beers, as well as one of their many IPA versions.
To start off I want to say that this will be the perfect beer for someone who wants to boast that they drank an Imperial IPA and really enjoyed it, but maybe they really don’t like the Imperial IPA’s Come on, I know a few of you like that….you know who you are. This beer brags up a 102 IBU (International Bittering Units), and an ABV of 8%. Neither one seems to be that high, but it is true. So for a double IPA, this one acts more along the lines of a regular IPA than an Imperial, in the bitterness affect (not aroma or flavor). I would hate to imagine how sweet this beer is if the IBU’s were not at 102, because each is offset just enough to seem lower than they are. I think Dogfish Heads 90 Minute IPA which has an IBU rating of 90 appears to have more hop bite than Hop Stoopid does. And if you’ve ever had DFH’s 120 minute IPA (their Imperial IPA), this one is nothing like it. It all has to do with the type of hops being used as well as the balance between the hops and malts, but Lagunitas version is much more drinkable. I easily drank a few pints of this one. So with this long into out of the way, why I don’t I give this beer a review now?

It poured a nice dark golden hue with some haze, obviously from the hops. It had a nice dense head as well. It’s a very pretty double IPA. You can smell the hops as you pour the beer, you don’t even have to wait to bring the glass up to your nose! As you do so, you get a nice bright grapefruit with some fresh peeled orange as well as a piney hop aroma. There is a ton of hops in here for sure. You get a bit of sweet malt aroma, but it is a bit hard to nail down because of the hops, but with a name like hop stoopid, I didn’t expect the malt to take center stage anyway. A+ for aroma, that’s for sure.
The flavor matches up well with the aroma, but is a bit more balanced than the aroma. You do get some malt sweetness, a soft caramel and bready mix for the malt and the flavor of white grapefruit takes center stage for the hops. There is a thick resinous pine aftertaste that is welcome in this beer style, and I don’t think it is over done at all. The alcohol hides well behind the hops, but you can get it, especially if you close your mouth after you swallow and breath out slowly through the nose. The flavor is so well balanced that this is one of the rare Imperial IPA’s that you can have more than one or two for sure, just be weary of the 8% ABV and you’ll be fine.
The mouthfeel is medium full, with the hops actually appearing to adding a bit of mouthfeel to the beer as well. The carbonation is not so high to add some carbonic bite to the beer (think seltzer water), but enough to bring out the flavors and aroma in the experience.
I think this is a very well made beer, I can’t really think of anything I don’t like about the beer, other than the hop profile is very typical. Although it is nice, the grapefruity and piney profile does get old. It would have been nice to see an Imperial IPA with large amounts of newer hops, like Amarillo or Newport to add some interesting twists to the American IPA style, but this beer is still enjoyable for the hop heads. This is a big beer, so don’t expect to like it if you are not into big huge flavors and aromas in your beer. But I give this beer a solid A.
-Jason