Fusion IV
Lagunitas Brewing Company

Dat Westmalle yeast is apparent just by looking at this thing, hazy like a hefe, yellow too, 3/5" white head. Aroma confirms Westmalle, pungent yeast, but some lager like skunk and heat to it.

Taste, damn, this is a big one. Like, the biggest "pilsner". Lots of those noble hops in here, far more than any pilsner I've had. Lots of bitterness and lots of alcohol. Thick consistency relative to style too, even if a 'double'.

Closest thing I'd compare it to is Panzer Pilsner, but with a belgian yeast. I dunno, its definitely a fusion for sure, but other than getting the tick, this isn't something I'd be clammoring for in 6 packs or anything.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoyed on-tap @ the iTap House in Chesterfield, MO for a Lagunitas "Keep the Jar" Night ($5 for Fusion IV and you get to keep the Jar!). Poured from the Tap into my new Lagunitas Mason Jar with a Dog on the side. (Notes: 2/8/11).

Appearance- Poured a nice 3 finger head that sticks around for a while, Light Pale/Amber body (might be too dark for style) with huge carbonation. Leaves a minimal amount of lacing on the side.

Aroma- Has a nice mild floral hop smell, almost like a Pilsner Urquell, and has the average pilsner malt. Decent hop and malt aroma that is clean.

Taste- Very rich, spicy and has a nice contrast between the malt and hop. Almost like the aroma, very grassy tasting hops and the malts were right on. There is a longing alcohol taste that is present. Not sure what to think of this...

Mouthfeel- Medium-Full Bodied, Great amounts of carbonation (maybe even too much!) and a bitter after taste. I know this is a American Double/Imperial Pilsner, but might be too much body and alcohol by volume..

Overall- All the hype of this beer was "shut down" by me.. I wasn't a huge fan of this beer but can definitely appreciate what Lagunitas was brewing! Could drink this all day long (easy drink). Would almost call this an American Pale Ale or a light IPA with all the hops present.

Haven't tried many Imperial Pilsners before, and I liked this beer. Lighter cloudy yellow appearence, with a small light head. You could really smell floral and alcohol. Smooth up front, and oddly enough I tasted black licorice. You could taste the warming of alcohol on the back, but a very pleasing taste. Another winning beer from Lagunitas.

On-tap at Pacific Coast Brewing

Apparently this is a blend of an Imperial Pilsner and a Belgian Pale Ale.

A: The pour is a clear amber-ish color with a minimal white head and not much in the way of lacing.

S: Smells quite sweet and spicy. Lots of peppery notes along with some coriander. There's some grassy and earthy hops as well as a bit of bubblegum and cracker malts. This is pretty yeasty, too.

T: This is a pretty weird beer, I must say. The flavors are similar to the aromas, but I don't know if that's necessarily a good thing. Lots of pepper, bubblegum, coriander, and grass. It's quite sweet, almost like a malt liquor, and there's a bit of a light fruit note providing some banana, pear, and apple.

M: The body is medium to full with a moderate, tingling carbonation.

D: Such a strange beer and not as enjoyable as the Fusion II that I tried previously. Don't think I'd really care to have this again.

Comes out of the tap a beautiful clear golden amber with a fine-bubbled pale golden-tan head. Rich, fruity, malty aroma has an undertone of raw honey. Malty flavor has firm honey tone and hints of hops and horehound. Lively, rough texture leaves behind a good tingle and honey sweetness that is strong but not cloying.

On Tap at Rustico in Alexandria, VA - Lazy Saturday afternoon...

A - Pours a dull golden color with a thin white head. Nice lacing.

S - Smells a bit sweet and yeast. Not a whole lot on the noise. If this wasn't my firs beer of the day It might be hard to pickup much at all.

T - I really like the style. Its sweet and a very small hint of lemon or orange. Its a great pilsner than enhances the style and doesn't re-invent it. I love the sweetness, the body, and the same base malts and finish as most good pilsners.

M - The abv is there but not too warm. The mouth fell is a bit thick but what I expect.

D - The drinkability is great. I know im drinking a bigger beer but its not warm at all. If anything the sweetness doesn't make this one I could drink over and over again.

I like this one a good bit and expect the style to gain popularity. For "pilsner purist" this one might be too much to appreciate but I think its a nice deviation of the classic style.

Sampled this in a flight at the Mohawk House in Sparta, NJ. Poured transparent golden amber, with a finger of white head that retained and laced fairly well. Smelled of very sweet dark fruit; malty syrup. The taste revealed what I have gotten accustomed to expecting from this brewery...something akin to a poor man's barleywine: a very sweet syrupy'ish start, followed by a plum/apple/dark fruit dry finish. Medium-bodied with medium amount of carbonation. It continues to amaze me how similar their various beer styles taste, but given how great their pale ale is, I will continue to cross my fingers and continue sampling.

Had this at beachwood bbq. Yellow color, lots of haze, good head, very carbonated. Aroma, bittersweet and yeasty.

Taste, more bittersweet and yeasty. All the haze/chunkies made for what seemed like a very bready beer. Hides the alcohol very well, had no idea what I drank was so strong. Completely different than any other Lagunitas beer I've ever had, I didn't know they made any forays into this realm. Definitely would not have called this any kind of pilsner either, really, came off like a belgian pale more than anything I can think of.

A - Pours a golden color with a small head that left good lacing as it fell down the side of the glass.

S - Smells earthy and grassy, with notes of citrus and pilsner malts. Also smells a little yeasty.

T - yeast, earthy, grassy, and sweet. There were also fruity notes like lemon zest and banana. Also, alcohol taste was present.

M - Went down pretty smooth. Medium body with good carbonation. It was pretty boozy though.

D - The drinkability was pretty good, but it would have been better if it wasnt for the alcohol presence in it

All in all I thought that this was a pretty good beer. I had never had this style of beer before. There was something a little bit weird about this beer, and I'm not sure if it was just the alcohol taste in it or something else. If I get the chance I will definitely try this one again so I can really have a second take on it, but as of right now I thought it was pretty good. Cheers.

On-tap at Taco Mac Metropolis in Atlanta.

Pours a clear golden color with a half-finger slightly off-white head. The head recedes into a thin layer on top leaving solid lacing.

Smells of slightly muddled pilsner malts with good amounts of earthy and slightly grassy hop aromas. Also present are slight amounts of indistinct light fruit flavors that intensify slightly as the beer warms.

Tastes similar to how it smells, although the yeast characteristics are more robust. Somewhat bready pilsner malt flavors kick things off and are joined quickly by earthy hop flavors. Midway through the sip good amounts of light and medium fruit flavors - pears with hints of bananas - work their way into things. The fruit flavors fade out, allowing the pilsner malt and earthy hop flavors to carry through to a mildly bitter finish.

Mouthfeel is good. It's got a nice thickness with moderate carbonation.

Drinkability is OK. I finished my glass without a problem however I'm not sure about another.

Overall I appreciate what Lagunitas is doing with the Fusion series however this one just didn't do it for me. The pilsner flavors weren't crisp enough to begin with and the fruit flavors muddled things even further. Worth a shot for curiosity's sake but that's about it.

On-tap at Beachwood BBQ,

A: Pours gold with a nice full white head, good lace.

S: Grass and citrus, solid malt character, estery and yeasty.

T: Dominated by the ethanol, there is a grassy hop profile which I liked, but the booze character makes it far from enjoyable.

M: Fairly smooth, medium-bodied, very boozy.

D: The ethyl flavour makes this one very hard to drink, a few ounces would be enough.

I was unaware that this was an imp pilsner, but its all good. 9.69% abv.

Pours 1/2 finger of white head. Color is a clear gold.

Aroma: Yeast, herbal hops, a bit grassy with some wheat. A light touch of fruit. Pretty basic.

Taste: Yeast, lemon zest, grassy hops, floral notes, light citrus, and some fruit esters.

Mouthfeel: Crisp, smooth, bubbyl. Medium bodied with a medium to high amount of carbonation. Ends very dry.

Overall, it is an okay beer, but nothing special like it was made up to be. It was fairly slow drinking, but it did have a some nice flavors.

Poured a deep straw hue with a one finger foamy white head. There was good retention and lacing.

The smell featured a heavy doughy malt with an herbal hop. Slight esters detected as well owed to the Belgian yeast strain.

The taste featured a sweet doughy malt with some grain and a full herbal hop.

The mouthfeel was toward the lighter side of the style.

Overall an interesting lager.