The Waldos' Special Ale
Lagunitas Brewing Company
- From:
- Lagunitas Brewing Company
- California, United States
- Style:
- Imperial IPA
Ranked #115 - ABV:
- 11.7%
- Score:
- 96
Ranked #1,105 - Avg:
- 4.32 | pDev: 8.33%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 664
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- May 28, 2026
- Added:
- Apr 21, 2011
- Wants:
- 181
- Gots:
- 694
SCORE
96
World-Class
96
World-Class
In 1971, the Waldos met one afteroon at 4:20 in the front courtyard of their school near the statue of Louis Pasteur. They set out in a '66 Impala armed with a "treasure map" on a journey to find a secret garden near Point Reyes. They met there at the same time every day and continued their quest. They never found the secret garden....But they keep lookin'. The dankest and hoppiest beer ever brewed at Lagunitas was made with help of the Waldos for all treasure hunters.
100 IBU
100 IBU
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by TODDRESSEL1:
Rated by TODDRESSEL1 from Indiana
4.5/5 rDev +4.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
May 25, 2025
4.5/5 rDev +4.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
May 25, 2025
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by blueshawk69 from Kansas
4.5/5 rDev +4.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.5/5 rDev +4.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
(review from 2017 after tasting Waldos for years) Hopheads rejoice & WOW! Fooler of an 11.5% & a sipper for sure. Ages well over a year. If you don't like eating whole hop cones, stay away!!
All that said, like every other Lagunitas brews since the buyout, this is still a great 3X ipa but a shadow of the tasty, tung-stompin' palate-whompin', mouth scrapin' brew that it used to be so my ratings reflect the excellent memories from yore as well as the latest, watered-down years.
Dec 25, 2025All that said, like every other Lagunitas brews since the buyout, this is still a great 3X ipa but a shadow of the tasty, tung-stompin' palate-whompin', mouth scrapin' brew that it used to be so my ratings reflect the excellent memories from yore as well as the latest, watered-down years.
Rated by ttoadee from Texas
4.25/5 rDev -1.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.25/5 rDev -1.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
RB transfer
Oct 14, 2025Reviewed by hman43 from North Carolina
4.24/5 rDev -1.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25
4.24/5 rDev -1.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25
Look: It pours amber with an off white head. It has good head retention.
Smell: It has stone fruit aromas wtih apricots. There are some light pine and floral elements in the background.
Taste: It has strong stone fruit flavors with apricots. There are some light cherry and floral elements in the background. There are also low citrus elements.
Feel: It has a medium full body and deceptive alcohol warming. Considering the ABV, it is quite smooth.
Overall: A quite well put together IPA with plenty of flavor and pleasant bitterness.
Jun 11, 2025Smell: It has stone fruit aromas wtih apricots. There are some light pine and floral elements in the background.
Taste: It has strong stone fruit flavors with apricots. There are some light cherry and floral elements in the background. There are also low citrus elements.
Feel: It has a medium full body and deceptive alcohol warming. Considering the ABV, it is quite smooth.
Overall: A quite well put together IPA with plenty of flavor and pleasant bitterness.
Rated by FRANKHAZE from Florida
4.44/5 rDev +2.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.44/5 rDev +2.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Very dank, nice malt to balance it all out. Heavy hitter. Highly recommended.
Apr 21, 2025
Reviewed by JozyMozy from Tennessee
4.75/5 rDev +10%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
4.75/5 rDev +10%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
My local beer cave had some of these in stock in the form of a six pack of bottles on 4/18/25, so I decided to bite, noting the significant ABV.
I have quite literally never had an IPA this smooth. It's downright dangerous in how well it goes down. The aroma is nothing to write home about compared to the taste and the mouthfeel. Again, SO smooth. There is some viscosity there for those who choose to study how it feels once you've taken a sip. The flavor? Beautiful. Muted sweetness with none of the alcoholic bite you'd expect from a triple IPA. NONE.
If you can try this, please do so. Lagunitas did something special here.
Apr 19, 2025I have quite literally never had an IPA this smooth. It's downright dangerous in how well it goes down. The aroma is nothing to write home about compared to the taste and the mouthfeel. Again, SO smooth. There is some viscosity there for those who choose to study how it feels once you've taken a sip. The flavor? Beautiful. Muted sweetness with none of the alcoholic bite you'd expect from a triple IPA. NONE.
If you can try this, please do so. Lagunitas did something special here.
Reviewed by Beer_aenima7 from Idaho
4.24/5 rDev -1.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4.24/5 rDev -1.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
2025 version. Great ipa, has that definite lagunitas hop variety flavor, just even more so. Pretty dark amber, nostalgic hoppy scent. I love it, reminds me of a higher octane and happier version of Lagunitas brown sugar.
Apr 12, 2025
Rated by Jard0 from California
4.4/5 rDev +1.9%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.4/5 rDev +1.9%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Best IPA I've ever had
Apr 11, 2025
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