Lagunitas' Waldo's Ale

The Waldos' has to be one of the best values in craft beer. Plenty of bang for the buck.

 

I'm curious now

Every single time I've gotten one after 2018 or something its been liquid syrup that's unpleasant to drink. I'll grab a single if i see one

 

Yeah Waldo's can be too much for me because of this and I have a not so fun story associated with it that probably doesn't help things either

 

Another customer in Binny's also mentioned that this was an excellent beer, but my impression of it was exactly the same as yours. Not good at all, IMHO.

 

I bought a bottle last week. Maybe my tastebuds are off or something, but I almost couldn't finish it because it was so sweet and sticky. The boozy part I can handle if I drink it slowly enough, but the cloying sweetness just became overwhelming. Think it was only something like $2.49 for the bottle, so I might go back at some point and give Waldo's another try.

 

Thanks for the reminder! Time to pick a couple of six packs. I like my TIPAs with a malt background (sweetness).

 

I've already purchased my second 6 pack this year, partially because the price is pretty hard to beat, and I've been trying to be a bit more price-conscious with my purchases lately.

Agree with both points that:

• This year's batch is good -- one of the better batches from memory
• It's still very malty and quite sweet

If you're used to/like the malty backbone typical of Lagunitas then it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise, but I'm not sure this year's batch will convert anyone who isn't already a fan of their signature sweetness.

Like others I often enjoy a little malt to balance the hops, so this isn't much of an issue for me. This is a TIPA with a malty backbone which can certainly push it more towards syrupy sweetness, but I think there's enough dank hoppiness present to provide some balance here.

Regardless, I have to say that after changing Brown Shugga' and moving it to 4 packs I was ready to lose faith in post-Saporro Lagunitas, but between last year's Willetized (after an initially bungled release) and Waldo's this year they seem to be at least still consistently providing good quality for the price in some areas.

 

Tis good shit - I have pictures!



gotta love that "Jer Bear" glass!

 

Has Lagunitas FINALLY switched to a MM/DD/YYYY date format on their bottles?!?! The 6er I just bought appears to be dated 03/03/2023.

I can't say that I'll miss standing on the beer aisle, googling Julian Calendar only to find out the beer is old and putting it back.
I did still get to re-live some Lagunitas-specific nostalgia by standing in the beer aisle, holding the beer up to the light, and craning my neck up in an attempt to actually find/read the date on the neck of the bottle.

 

Good times…good times…

 

I think we can all relate.

 

I get high-fructose corn syrup vibes from this one; I feel like a pig being fattened for the slaughter.

One of my lowest-reviewed beers ever.

However, for those who enjoy it, cheers to a new batch!

 

On their cans they did but I have not checked the bottles in a while but it sounds like they did on them also,

I hate having to date hunt. Yards, a local brewery, has had the MM/DD/YYYY format for a long time but they print it on the bottles in dark, smudgeable ink and they can be impossible to see on some beers. I did notice with some of the newer batches they moved it up closer to the neck so at least somewhat better.

 

If Lagunitas has switched to a normal dating system, I'll probably be buying a lot more of their beers. Fresh Lagunitas IPA is one of my favorites, but it's such a crapshoot in bottles/cans. I've mainly just been drinking it on tap at the local sandwich shop.

With Waldos' - is it similar similar to the sweet/red old-school DIPA's like Maharaja, or is it "hop syrup" like 120 and Devil Dancer?

 

6 weeks is still within my personal sweet spot for hoppy beers. I usually follow a 9-week schedule. Anything older than that I take case-by-case. Some hold up 100% fine, and others become one-note or syrupy.

 

I haven't seen this in a few seasons, but at one time this was one of my favorites.