Sonoma Slayers

The Sonoma Farmhouse series is a new line of beers brewed by the bad dudes of the central coast. Lagunitas’ beers usually rank on the heavier side boasting brutal bitterness, and large alcohol percentages. The first two farm hands are milder affairs, with temperate booze levels and heavy-handed subtlety. At a meeting of the minds on Alex’s front porch, we discussed the new ilk of a collective old flame with Greg Buss and Mike Meanstreetz, both hardened Lagunitas cherishers. After eight bombers and two bowls of peanuts we were drunk, and fairly certain that we love these new beers.
While the brewery said that the Sonoma Farmhouses weren’t really available outside their homeland, reports of the Saison’s presence in beer stores abound from Highland Park to Azusa. No sightings of the Hop Stoopid (except our stash), but bug your beer-mongers. If you annoy them, they’ll annoy their distributors, and with luck you’ll find these bombers on familiar shelves.

Saison Style

At 5.3% alcohol and barely recognizable hop character, the Saison style stays on the side of the discernibly summer. It’s a refreshing session beer with an aftertaste that evokes both corona and saltine crackers. The front of the flavor profile is well balanced with a particularly pleasant yeastiness, with hints of citrus and black pepper. Mass production of this brew certainly took a steady hand. The subtlety of the Saison might not be for every die hard Lagunitas fan, but for the rest of the world this might be your new favorite after work chiller, or a permanent resident for your floating beer cozy (will someone please invent them?). Just don’t let anyone put lime in it.
Dairy Pairy: Sarah’s Nevat
Soundtrack: Brian Jonestown Massacre: “Talk-Action=Shit”

Hop Stoopid

Unlike the Saison, which you should only slam during a warm day, Hop Stoopid fills the heavy boots of the Lagunitas repertoire. Our assumption would be that a brew with such a boastful name would be a triple-imperial-something, rearing to kick our teeth through our noses with booze and hops. Not really the case here. The hops combo does run all over the gamut, from the pinesap of the northwest to the medicine man intensity of the southern lords. In the nostrils this brew smells of total IPA glory. But, like its aforementioned brethren, this brew’s innermost attributes are pretty chilled out. All of your beer senses are immediately inundated but then released in a very surprising, but fulfilling manner. Think Green Flash Imperial IPA with more complexity. The lightning speed of the hop flavor progression immediately gives way to the super smooth balenced malts, really hiding the booze in this one: it only comes out if you sip at just below room temperature.
Dairy Pairy: Affidelice Au Chablis
Soundtrack: Gang of Four “Anthrax”