Tasting Notes
Nose
Juniper, woodsy, classic Lagunitas hops.
Palate
Resin, clean. A touch of apricot? Wheat bread, malt, but not tremendously malty. Decent body, but crisp and not fluffy like an NEIPA. Aromatic juniper, piney, but not crazy bitter. Very light caramel character from the malt. A bit of that classic NA beer hollow “wateriness” at the end, but not terribly unpleasant.
Finish
Bitterness rolls in later, more bitter once you've swallowed. Drying tannins. Overall, you never get a huge punch of hop bitterness or any harsh flavors.
Good replica of a lot of the flavors of the standard IPA from Lagunitas. Also, it’s surprisingly crushable? For being a non-alcoholic version of a classic West Coast, punch-you-in-the-mouth-with-hops IPA, I could easily down a few of these in a row. So that’s kind of a downside if you do want a heavy dose of hop punch, but it’s a tasty drink if you adjust your mindset to accommodate that.
In short, I think people will fall into one of two camps:
- If you’re looking for a non-alcoholic West Coast IPA that nails all of the nuances of its alcoholic counterparts, then you’ll probably want to look elsewhere.
- If you want something tasty, in between a hop seltzer like the Lagunitas Hoppy Refresher and a full-fledged NA IPA; or you’ve had a particular hankering for an NA West Coast IPA that goes down super easy, I would definitely give the Lagunitas IPNA a shot.
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