Lagunitas Hairy Eyeball

From BEER_webalbum

The Lagunitas web site only tells us that this is a seasonal, presumably winter. Beer Advocate and RateBeer call it an American Strong Ale, which sounds about right. Both give it very high scores, and it is a very nice winter ale. Given, it's 55 out right now, but the first glass I had was last week when it was 19. I think it would age very well, but I don't like it that much. Nice head, lacing. small retension, but returns with a little swirl. Dark brown with lots of red ("ruby") tint. Nose is molasses. One BeerAdvocate reviewer noted its "woody" smell, which is a description I like. Nice sharp mouthfeel, tasting malty and a little caramel sweetness. Hops come out in the aftertaste. There's a little bit of an acrid taste on top of all this that isn't all that pleasant, but it's not too noticeable. This odd flavor is the same but a lot worse in the Tripel I'll review next. Overall, I give this two thumbs up, though the second thumb is a little hesitant to go vertical. The knuckles are still bent to a "this is a nice beer" position, but not the ecstatic "I'm going to put this on the shelf next to Double Bastard, Old Crustacean, and Weyerbacher bourbon barreled beer" fully erect thumbs... Anyway, this beer makes me happy, though it is officially not a good idea for drinking games. Esp. when combined with white wine, Bailey's and milk, Allagash Tripel, and Old Chub. That's a whole nother story.