Lagunitas Brewing Company's Ruben And The Jets

I bought this because many seasonals and one-time offerings are better than the standards from a brewery, and although Lagunitas is decent, their seasonals are the best of their offerings, in my opinion.

And then, holy crap I had to look it up to see what style it was. The bottle was silent on the style, and I picked it because the next beer in my line up is a Sam Smith's RIS so I figured I'd start light, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. It pours a deep, clouded, opaque brown tinted toward black. It is virtually identical to how Dogfish Head's Palo Santo Maron pours (which is not a goddamn brown). So, imperial stout based on what I could find, which matches well with what I'm looking at. I just had no idea what to expect, so I had to make sure. Good tan head that stays, and decent carbonation based on what I can see at the edges. It has what looks to be the remnants of being wet-hopped, and as the carbonation dies down you can see the hops particulates just suspended. The heavier ones fall, but it's full of pieces from about 1/16th to 1/8th across. I don't think it's the yeast, because there's no residue at the bottom of the bottle. If you like crystal clear filtered beers, this one isn't for you.

Roasted grain seems to supply the apparent bitterness, with a shot of coffee and grain. Smells deep and slow.

Yep, it's an RIS, just a little more brown than usual. Big, slow, smooth body. The roasted grain is still hits first, followed closely by a solid bitterness and although it's a big beer and only 8.6% ABV, the alcohol stings a bit. That's a little less sophisticated than I'd expect for such a big beer, but nobody's perfect. A bit of raisin in the aftertaste, and although I hate raisins, this doesn't detract from it.

Very good beer. Glad I had it, and it was a pleasant surprise.