If you're Wine Affairs, how do you follow up with a successful blind IPA tasting? You bring in a brewery that makes some of the more delicious hoppy ales on the market – Lagunitas Brewing Company. Lagunitas is one of the more well known craft beer brands on the shelves, and if you've had any of their craft beers, you'd understand why. But if you haven't, then this was the event for you to get acquainted with them.
During brewery nights like these, the event is simple. A brewery rep shows up, pours their beers, and talks with any customers who are curious enough to know more about their brands. In this case Jack Alger, the Lagunitas South Bay (and beyond) rep, was at Wine Affairs to do just that. The majority of Lagunitas beers were available on draught but there were a few that were in bottles only and Jack was pouring those.
Another good crowd at Wine Affairs for the Lagunitas event.
When compared to the blind IPA tasting the night before, the Lagunitas event was still crowded but much more manageable, much to the delight of the Wine Affairs staff. Algers seemed to always have a crowd with him in the back where he was set up
Tasting Notes
- WTF – Malty beer with caramel and toasty flavors, very light chocolate/today character.
- Fusion 8 (SFBW beer) – garlicy, orange/citrus aromas. Hop flavor is similar to aroma. Malt flavor is enough for balance, light toast. This beer was brewed with Simcoe, Citra, and a yet to be named proprietary/boutique hop.
- Hop Stoopid – Resiny, piney, and citrus notes in the aroma and flavor.
- Gnarleywine – Molasses and caramel aromas with toast notes. Flavors are similar with slight chocolate as well.
- Imperial Stout – Roasty, chocolate, slight coffee notes and soft alcohol. Flavor echoes aroma, plus caramel, molasses flavor.
- Cappuccino Stout – Missed out on this one as they ran out of bottles for the tasting.
Last Call
Jack from Lagunitas toasting everyone at the event.
My only critique of the event is with regards to where Algers was placed. He was tucked away in the back in a part of Wine Affairs that is prone to bottlenecks. It would've been cool to see him up front. I'm sure it's a neverending battle to manage the layout of a business and trying to maximize the space they have. It's not a challenge I'd readily sign up for. That said, Algers did a good job of engaging the people there and talking all things Lagunitas and craft beer. He even got up on the the countertop to thank everyone for showing up at the end of the night.
There's not much else to say about this event other than it was a welcome reprieve from the "epic-ness" of the SF Beer Week Opening Celebration and the controlled chaos of the blind IPA tasting the night before. So far, SF Beer Week 2012 has been a blast!
Mabuhay!
