Lagunitas Waldos' Special

If memory serves me correctly, 2016 was the first time that Waldos' was bottled. Back then, it was so limited that every place I found carrying it had limits. However, after a whiff and a sip...I was hooked. Ultimately scored 3 6-Packs and they were poured down my neck with alacrity.

2017 rolls around and I was poised to get as much as possible...3 6-Packs the year prior turned into 3 cases thinking that it (like other Lagunitas beers) would hold up without issue for the (mostly) agreed upon freshness window of a hoppy beer to be 90 days. However, I greatly assumed incorrectly and as soon as 60 days (from packaging date) passed, the nose fell off the edge of a cliff, the hop flavor diminished and what was left was something akin (but not really) to an American Barleywine. It was unpleasant enough that I ended up <gulp...then tears> dumping a number of them. Without that pungent aroma and hop flavor, the beer (for me, at least) is not very pleasant...chock it up for experience!

Here we are in 2018 and I will definitely be picking up some...but only enough that I'm assured of finishing my stock in as timely a fashion as possible. When, oh when will them Waldos' show up in my area...I'm ready for the treasure hunt!

 

i have not intentionally aged any for an extended period of time - just hoping it'll smooth out a bit over the course of ~1-3 weeks. has worked well for me with other beers with significant "hop burn" and the like. i don't think this beer would benefit from extended aging and will probably be drinking it for only the next month or two.

 

Still trying to track some down here in MO. Funny, I remember thinking last year I was glad I didn't get a 6 of them, but that's probably what I will do this year. The nose on this beer is incredible!

 

I respect your game. I could not even fathom putting away three cases of a beer with this gravity within such a limited freshness window.

 

It's best enjoyed as fresh as possible. After enough time it turns into a syrupy sweet mess and one dimensional. The same can be said for Hoptimum.

 

Anyone see this in PA yet?

 

Getting my taste buds bashed in at the moment.

 

I haven't seen it yet but noticed it is posted on Beeryard's (Wayne, PA) website as a recent arrival there, so it must be around SEPA now.

 

We never get the one hitter series here in Montana but ordered a couple 6 packs on craft beer kings. $12.99 each. Should be here Monday. Super stoked.

 

I'm 2 hours south of the brewery. and I still haven't seen it. Gonna grab 2 cases as soon as it hits my town.

 

Still waiting for this in Houston it dropped April 6th here last year

 

I could have sworn I was using Ad Blocker!

 

Some how, some way, this has made it to Hawaii. Just picked up two sixers on Oahu for $11.59!

 

Seems like this year Publix is the place to find it in FL

 

I passed on it today, but now I'm wishing I didn't. Damn FOMO... I could spend so much on beer if I just had a third fridge

 

drink more or store stouts and barleywines in a cool spot out of the fridge ?

 

Beer Rev in Lakeland received 10 cases. $12.99.

 

Wegman's KOP has it on the floor, about one case left, $12.99 I think the price was. I considered it but passed, beers like this I typically enjoy one and then it can take a while for me to want to finish the others. If I happen to come across a single somewhere I'll definitely try it.

 

I love resinous DIPAs like this, but what really impresses me is the value. Outside of April is there anything like this beer that I can get for anything close to the price point?

Seems to be widely available in Chicago, though packs are noticeably disappearing, $12.99.

 

On tap Friday afternoon, you know what time, at Platypus Pub in Bend, Oregon. I am sad to report -- like last year -- that this is no 2016 Waldos' Special.

The 2016 absolutely blew me away, it was all dank hops. Like rolling around in a sticky, resinous wheelbarrow full of freshly-picked ones. Last year, 2017, didn't measure up.

I can't really say whether I like 2018 better than 2017. If anything I would say it is more boozy and less hoppy than 2017. It is certainly not a bad IIIPA in any way, but I'm not going to go out and drink every bit of it I can find like I did in 2016. In fact, other than buying a bottle (if possible) to compare to the draught version, I'm unlikely to have it again. It just doesn't smack my taste buds in all the right places like 2016.

So now it's back to Sierra Nevada Hazy Little Thing and and River Bend's Hawaiian Crunk -- I'm currently on a hazy kick. BTW, Hawaiian Crunk is available in cans now, only in Oregon AFAIK, so any of you into beer trading and hazy might want to try to get some.

 

I believe you are correct about 2016 being the first bottling year, and the 2016 version was one for the ages. (I don't mean aging, I mean the best! Drink immediately for all that hop goodness.) Also, at some point prior to 2016 it was called 420, but then Sweetwater Brewing sued Lagunitas. Not cool. And when was the last time you sought out a Sweetwater 420?

As I stated in a separate post in this thread, this year's just doesn't compare to 2016, to my taste buds. Last night I had a Knee Deep Breaking Bud, and I prefer the hop flavor in it. Also, I want to enjoy it while it is still called Breaking Bud. Sony is going after Knee Deep, also not cool.

 

Any sightings in southeast Michigan?

 

Not sure that's right; I don't think Lagunitas ever made a beer actually called 420. Thought Sweetwater reacted to little notes that said "420" rather than the beer name itself, which seems even sillier.

 

Had a bottle over the weekend. I think it's drinking amazing. Had a few beers before hand so my perception might have been a little fuzzy but at the time I was really happy about it. About to go pickup some more.

 

It came to NC before 4/20.

 

Showed up like 2 weeks ago

 

Has anyone bought Waldo's in MA?

 

I grabbed 2 cases at $10.99 per 6 at Total Wine in San Jose. It's not the best year, but it's still damn solid

 

I purchased a six pack last Thursday. It was the first time I have ever seen it and the last six pack they had. I thought it was delicious. If you enjoy hops grab it if you see it. It gave me an understanding of what "dank" tastes like. I found it to be very sweet and incredibly balanced for such a big beer.

 

My impression was that this year's seems much sweeter than last year's. Still dangerously drinkable for a big beer, but I was expecting more of the assertive hop presence that characterized the 2017.

 

I just picked up a second sixer the other day in Franklin. The two packies where I've seen it (Liquor World and Village Mall Liquors) don't have much of it but it doesn't seem to be moving. This is my first year in the 'burbs so I don't really know what's what down here, but in Boston the stuff disappeared fast.

 

Thank hieneken

 

CHL, you're absolutely right. My memory failed me. Thanks for the correction.

 

Hey there, you Buckeye, did you have the 2016? Because I agree with you about 2017-18. When I described 2018 as more boozy, that equates to sweeter on my palate. To my way of thinking, 2016 was a hop motherlode, 2017 less, and 2018 even less. I remember seeing photos from Lagunitas in 2016, of equipment having to be taken apart and cleaned because of so clogged with hops. I hope they aren't intentionally cutting back in a continuing trend.

 

Yeah finally landed in Houston yesterday, grabbed a 6 pack and had one last nite after walking the dog, found when cold it is pretty damned sweet, but when it warms it gets better. Boozie bastard indeed, woke up on the couch at 4:30, drained the last slip and went to bed. Kicked my ass on 5 hrs sleep

 

Thanks for the reply-I actually found a sixer at a local place that doesn't usually have the "one hitter" beers, so I guess it is pretty far out there. Both distribution and the beer. Heyoh!

 

Got a case of this in SEPA. $48 bucks seems like a real great deal here.

I'm enjoying it more than I did this year's PTY. We'll see if I can drink it all before it drifts into Barleywine territory

 

Found a 6 pack at Discount Liquor in MKE for $10.99---limit one. First time drinker of this offering and found it pedestrian at best from a flavor and complexity perspective and I am a bit fan of Lagunitas in general. It is quite boozy. On one sampling had two at the end of the night and when I woke up the next morning I did not know if I was on foot or horseback. It packs a punch no doubt.

 

Hell, I have had three; I hope I wake up bareback on a unicorn!

 

I did indeed. I wasn't as much of a hophead back then, which is probably why the 2017 was more memorable for me. But rest assured, as soon as I get this damn flux capacitor fixed, I'm heading back for some of that machinery-clogging resiny goodness.