It's been awhile since I've had one, not sure It's the same, but my taste buds ARE old. Hopefully I'll see The Hairy Eyeball and Old Gnarlywine. Hopefully soon!
Picked up a single… wow, is this ever a malty, bitter blast from the past! Not many beers on the shelf like this anymore. As others mentioned, Lagunitas used to be the affordable bomber king— fondly remember many of those beers, especially Hop Stoopid. This 2026 version is pretty decent. Is it what it was back in the day? Maybe not, but I’ll probably grab a sixer if I see one.
Here's my review of the 2026 version of Hop Stoopid after giving the original a 4.25 rating years ago: Another nice enuf but less tasty than pre-pandemic Lagunitas brew that's closer to the original compared to last years Shugga. Still a good, smooth fooler of an 8%er w/nice mouthfeel & bitter/hoppy bite; a citrusy/piney/malty flavor and a resiny, lingering aftertaste. Very dangerously quaffable. Gave it a 4 this time around.
Anyone seen it yet in the southeast? Also having trouble with their beerfinder, I get one # in the location and it locks up??
LOL. I found a broken link while planning my visit today. Road trip today and will report back later today/tomorrow. After 15 years, I'm finally going to make it to the brewery (unless something changes in the next hour!). Hop Stupid, Waldo's, and I'm going to try their ESB (live on the edge). Cheers!
Haven't been there in years. Just noticed they're almost right across the street from Henhouse. Anyway, I'll be curious to hear about your experience. I was a bit underwhelmed when I last visited, but that was years ago.
My wife and I made it up to Petaluma yesterday and visited both Lagunitas and Henhouse. We had a really good time. Service was good starting with one of the guards who noted that we were parking in the wrong location, but when he noted that we were driving an EV, he mentioned charging station (which was free) farther down in their main parking lot. We didn't have to worry about having to charge on our way home! For a mid-week afternoon, there were a decent amount of people (probably 30-40). Huge place with two locations for music. On to the beer. Started off with their ESB which I enjoyed. Different and more on the hoppy side (surprise, surprise for Lagunitas). Then, I went with Hop Stupid. Well, it wasn't a slap in the face, but I did enjoy it (even though it was not as bitter as I remembered). Next, I went on to Waldo's Special. When I had it last 2-4 years ago, I was somewhat disappointed as I really liked the early versions. Holy crap! I was amazing. I was going to get a second pour of Hop Stupid, but decided to have a second of Waldo's (Note: You could only have two pours and no to go options. They told me that they were on their last key.). My wife had Shugga and actually enjoyed it (even though it was a little hoppier than she likes). She had two pours and order a crowler to go. So, I can imagine the place "hopping" ten years ago as you noted. We will try to make it back again. We went over to Henhouse and I had Big Chicken. Enjoyed it, but my palete was kind of blown by then. I probably shouldn't admit this, but I went to try Big Chicken thinking that I hadn't had it before, only to find that I rated it in the past. Sigh...
Im super glad to hear that. Ive got a serious soft spot for that place and ive been kind of afraid to stop in and be devastated by the state of things. But it sounds like I may need to pit stop there on my way to or from the bay next time
Regular and Grapefruit Sculpin are still easy to get out here, even in grocery stores. The pricing is closer to the Sierra Nevada price now too to use that as a comparison. Finding it fresh is challenging. I do pick it up time to time if I find a fresh 6-pack in the cooler. If I had to guess it is still the original recipe or if tweaked, not tweaked by much.
Just landed in the Atlanta area in the last couple weeks, and then this week to the south of the city in my area. Picked up a couple sixes and waiting for the weekend.
