Lagunitas Imperial Stout

Lagunitas Imperial Stout

The Name Is So-So, The Stout Is Good

Lately, I've been developing a real taste for a good beer with a not-so-great name- Lagunitas Imperial Stout. Why do I think the name is not so great? Because this is supposed to be an example of an “Imperial Russian” style of stout, which historically would have been a British beer made for export to Russia, and the name is evocative of neither Britain nor Russia.

Setting aside this minor quibble, it's a delicious take on stout, goes great with a few squares of nice dark chocolate, isn't as thick as normal stout because it's more alcoholic, and (did I mention this already?) is more alcoholic than normal stout. Plus- and here's the real kicker- it retails for about five bucks per very large bottle, whereas most specialty beers of about the same size go for between eight and twelve.

 

So, you can enjoy a luxurious snack of dark chocolate, down a pint and then some of black beer goodness, and get a nice buzz on in the process, without spending so much that you feel like an idiot. That hits all of my bullet points for a dark beer in one fell swoop, which is why I am willing to overlook the Un-Russian name. Also, there is a little paragraph on the label that makes a veiled reference to Rasputin before ranting on in a vaguely pretentious way about Russian history during the era in which Imperial Stout became famous in the first place. The Rasputin thing increases the Russian-ness of the beer, but the pretension does not, so it about evens out. In the end, it doesn't matter. It's just a hell of a beer.