Born Yesterday
Lagunitas Brewing Company

perhaps the best beer lagunitas has ever made, a truly astounding, best in class wet hop offering, in some ways quite simple, almost more in the pale ale than the ipa range, but also so refined, so proper in its execution, that it puts so many others to shame, really this is quintessential lagunitas, from hop selection to glass, just spot on. clearish for being unfiltered, and radiant brassy looking brew with obviously high refinement and a rising couple inches of white head supported by racing carbonation. the nose fills the room, and when the bar pours a few in a row, its undeniable. a richness to the hops, their essence, sticky and resinous and like when the yellow lupulin glands get all stuck to your thumb and forefinger when you smell them in the fields, mosaic and simcoe seem forefront, but whatever the hop combination, its all very northwestern, woodsy, high alpha, and fresh as can be, a simple grain base underneath seems just right. the flavor of this is amazing from a fresh jar of well cured buds to tangerine, pineapple, dried mango and peach, white jelly bean, orange juice, and floral honey. its got some heft in the mouth but not from grain, which remains pale and simple, pretty much base malt to me, a little crystal malt, its from the hops, which are sticky and properly dank, they linger without being vegetal or burning, so rare in these, nothing overdone, everything in epic proportion, and this is exceedingly drinkable because of how cleaned up it all is, the pure hop glory with none of the green character or bite. middle of the road bitterness still which is nice, classic lagunitas ferment, wonderful carbonation, and in a lot of ways this drinks lighter than its abv. i was told this beer is made by creating special conditions of temperature and time for each specific fresh hop as they come in, and that the final beer is a blend of single hopped tanks of the same base beer, all dialed in for varietal specific extraction, which if true, is so advanced and amazing, no wonder this is leagues better than what everyone else, especially the big breweries, are doing in this wet hop space. among the best of the best!

I am so sad to see this beer disappear. Might be the most balanced pale ale I've ever had, super sad. Nice, bright, citrusy and just the perfect amount of hoppy bite to it. I would buy a case every time it came back to the liquor stores around me. I am not typically a fan of Lagunitas beers but this one hit different. Maybe one day it will come back, and I'll be ready for it.

Wow. I had this one at the back of my fridge, dated 2018. It was one that got stuck next to my bottles of Sierra Nevada Torpedo (which gets so much smoother as it ages) and a few Hop Stoopids from a few years ago. I was reviewing beverages tonight and well, it's time to have a beer. I really don't remember why I put this aside. It could be that I didn't think much of it new, but figured with age...or I could have thought "WOW" and aged it so I could see it get better. Third? I had it to review and never got around to reviewing it. So here goes...

Opening with my Craftsman Forged In The USA bottle opener. Solid piece of bottle opener.

L: Orange but see through with tiny carbonation. Little head or lace.
S: Tangerine and candy.
F: Little bitter, Little cream, water with maybe a Jujy Fruit candy after taste.
T: Pineapple, a little wine, grapefruit, mellow. If this was a hop monster, it smoothed out nice but is still raw and boozy. A bit peppery.
O: Yes, I put this one away to find out how it would change. 4 years later..I can see why they make it as a Born Yesterday Again.

 

 

This one was a old one, not born yesterday. Still good. I'd like to try it fresh

 

 

 

 

 

This smells very hoppy. It's bright, citrussy and just a little dank.

Surprisingly this tastes a lot like a Lagunitas IPA.  This one is different though. It is far more hop forward. The hops are fruity and bitter, that taste is powerful and carries through the entire drink. It's just a mouthful of freshness.

It has medium carbonation and is really smooth. For how potent the hops are it's extremely drinkable. The finish is bitter and doesn't linger.

This might be my favorite IPA. I can't think of one I like better. It's absolutely delicious. I would give it a 5.7 out of 6.

One of my favorite seasonal releases and the only Lagunitas brew that I will ever actively seek out. Born Yesterday belongs up there with Pliny as one of the great beers to come out of the North Bay.

12oz bottle received as part of a mixed six pack that was a Christmas present from my brother. According to the stamp on the neck, it was bottled on October 5th, 2020.

Poured into a Shaker pint glass, this was a very hazy golden amber color, with a little sediment visibly floating about. Half inch of off-white foam as head. Said head dropped fairly quickly, but wasn't too hard to agitate back to life.

Small was a little muted, as I would expect from a fresh hop ale that was bottled in early October. Spell was of citrus and Band-Aids.

Taste was better than I expected from the smell. It's a bit muted, but still drinks like a decent hoppy Pale Ale. Still, one wishes it were more fresh tasting.

Medium-bodied, with a lightly resiny mouthfeel.

My brother has only recently become a fan of hoppy beers, and I don't think he quite understands the importance of freshness in hoppy pale ales and IPAs, whether it's a fresh hop beer or not. I think he picked this up at his local Total Wine and did not look at the date at all. That's too bad, but it could have been much worse. This is still a quite drinkable beer, but I think it's probably safe to say it's a shadow of its former self.

 

This beer hits all the notes for me. Hoppy pale ale that is smooth and refreshing. It's got a great balance of flavors. Even if you don't like pales, give this a try because it's different than all the others out there.

12oz bottle dated 10/5/20 poured into a Teku.

Pours a 2" creamy white head with lots of big bubbles. Light and opaque golden yellow.

Strong guava, melon and herbal aromas. A little grassy.

The taste follows the nose with an emphasis on the grassy characteristic in its bitter finish. Strong tropical fruit flavors up front.

Mouthfeel is very effervescent. Medium- to light-bodied. Smooth, drinkable and refreshing.

This beer has very strong fresh hop qualities despite its age (a little more than 2 months old at the time of drinking). Delicious and instantly distinctive from the Lagunitas IPAs. Resembles a NE IPA without the haze.

another great ale from this brewery veru hoppy - great taste all thru the drink

I cannot overstate the awesomeness of this pale ale.
Look: Honey color with a controllable head (can pour it thick or wispy) with great lacing.
Smell: Citrusy and piney.
Taste: Hoppy throughout with a lasting but subtle aftertaste.
Feel: Solid and wonderful. Aftertaste goes on and on.
Overall: The best pale ale I’ve ever had. It would pair wonderfully with a light meal but you could also tailgate several hours with it. If I wasn’t already married (yes it’s that good)!

2020 One Hitter Series

Beer 400!! Hard to believe how far I've come in the craft beer world, and now #400 is from one of the first breweries I ever tried in the beginning of my journey

Pours a cloudy yellow gold with 2 fingers of white head that slowly fades to a cap and leaves plenty of lacing

Smells as juicy as some of the best NEIPAs. Tons of grapefruit, pineapple, mango, papaya, sweet malt, lemon zest, light pepper, and piney hops

The flavor isn't quite as exceptional but it's still very good. Starts off with a bit of piney hops, lemon, and orange. The swallow brings a wave of resiny hops, grapefruit pith, and a touch of caramel malt

A medium body pairs with soft carbonation for a silky and creamy beer. Finishes mostly dry with a nice balance between sweetness and bitterness

This one was really good, happy that it was my 400th. Very well balanced and feels like a great blend of old school and new school IPAs. I'll definitely get this again

2020 version. Born Yesterday was late getting to Wisconsin this year, so not as fresh as it could’ve been. Still quite good despite age!

 

 

 

L: Foggy Pale Gold
S: Mango; Pineapple; Apricot
T: Peppery, Herbal, Lemon drop, Pine
F: Spicy, Prickly, hop burn,

A-mostly clear light orange, modest head, nice lacing
S-west coast piney and citrusy
T-Orange, pear, pine. Above average bitter, subtle malts balance it mostly out.
M-Moderate (+) body, average (-+ carbonation. Creamy, fluffy, dry finish
O-Better than expected. The fresh hops are not quite up there with wet hops brewed in Washington, but very good representation of the style.

 

Look: Nearly clear light orange with a densely formed head that settles down to ½ finger and leaves sticky lacing as it does
Aroma: Orange and lemon dominated citrus, pine, blueberries, tropical fruit notes, some Cannabis wafting, and sweet bready malt
Taste: Pine, citrus, and blueberries spring into action on the palate, quickly joined by dank and tropical fruits. Strong herbaceous hop notes make their presence known as well and all of it is held together by sweet malt. There is a good hoppy bite on the finish as well
Mouthfeel: Full, some slickness, medium-high carbonation, and a little dryness on the finish
Overall: Delicious stuff here. I’ve been drinking and a fan of this since they first made it but randomly never saw any last year so was very excited to see it back in the area again. A really tasty fresh hop pale (IPA) with lots of fruity, citrusy, dank, and herbaceous fresh hop notes very prominent. Glad I found it again this year and it’s awesome as always

 

Look...light brown nothing too special
Smell...absolutely special. Citrus, grassy , danky, hoppy awesome
Taste...4.5 is a 90 . there is some bad math going on anyways this shit is special every time i get it. Again like the criticism i read earlier on WBAYDN is that it is three weeks old already(agree) but this stuff is def good for at least 12 weeks. Citrus dryness, freshness grassy, bitter earth, lovely
Feel...thin approachable carbonation with a nice lacing
Overall... What an awesome beer and go get . Great deal and just awesome smell taste combination

 

2020 bottling poured into a nonic.

A: Clear-ish spale straw with a foamy bright white head.

S: Bright impressions of fresh hops with notes of orange, citrus, pine, tropical fruit, resin, pineapple, and crisp pale malt. One of the best hop-forward noses on a pale ale that I've had in a long while.

T: More floral hop notes and loads of citrus and resiny pine, with a more substantial crisp pale malt base on the palate. Not balanced per-se, but both the malt and hops shine through.

MF: Crisp, fresh medium body.

O: Always enjoyable and this years is no exception, even with the new hop additions.

Look: straw color with a thin white head

Smell: citrus, resin, other hop notes

Taste: follows the nose very clean strong resin and citrus

Feel: crisp smooth and bubbly

Bottled 10/05/20, so 3 weeks old.

Translucent orangery-gold, with moderate white head, that leaves a long-lasting ring and sheet of surface coverage. A few streaks of lacing, that never go away.

Smell is candied orange, fresh pineapple, a slight, vague tropical fruit mix, some floral aromas(goldenrod + bedstraw), and a little fresh pine.

Taste is orange rind, yellow grapefruit , light pine, white grape, pear , slight green onion, and a touch of pine. Moderate , drying bitterness, that lingers for quite awhile.

Feel is medium, slightly creamy, with moderate soft carbonate. Drying finish, that lingers. Seems lighter than its actual abv.

Overall, enjoyable, and easy-drinking. Everything about it says "Fresh!". First time having this, & I see why it has such a following. The whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts. A nice break from hazy/thick NEIPAS. Highly recommend it!

Approx 2-3 was old.
L: light copper, clear, fairly high carbonation. Nice head with retention and lace.
S: floral, fruity, catty.
T: stonefruit, catty, slight dank, slightly bitter resinous.
F: slick, dry, bubbly.
Overall: pretty good, but wouldn’t recommend buying a whole 6 pk, but then again it is well priced.

Born 10/05/2020. Poured into a pint glass on 10/22/2020.

Look: Beautiful light golden color with a touch of orange, finger and a half of loose head

Smell: HUGE aroma absolutely exploding with beautiful, fresh hop character. Jasmine, Orange blossom, Pine, plenty of citrus. Crisp and floral with a tinge of sweetness.

Taste: Starts off quite dry with a blast of pine and resin that turns to bitter grapefruit then a beautiful lightly sweet floral finish. The hop character is the dominant flavour in this beer, the malt kind of sits in the background but that's okay because the fresh hops are complex and beautiful. A very FLAVOURFUL beer.

Feel: Light zippy effervescence with a smoooooth finish. Makes this beer feel refreshing and decadent almost like a great iced green tea.

Overall: Hugely flavourful and delicious brew by a brewery that keeps flavour and quality the top priority despite their great size. This beer is a world-class pale ale worth savouring or crushing down. The companies efforts to make sure this beer is shipped out quickly so it can be enjoyed as fresh as possible each year is commendable and I will be looking forward to its release every year here on out.

Overrated

 

 

Born on date 10082019, which may be why it’s a tad funky, it’s not bad just not fresh which is the main attribute I was looking forward to. I love Pale Ale’s and lately have had a few Lagunitas that knock everyone else out of the park! And the price point is in my budget! Will look for this one this time with a fresh date and edit the review