I have written on Lagunitas before, so if you want a run down of the brewery you can go find one of my previous posts. And no, I havn't finished "So you want to start a brewery, the Lagunitas story" yet. The lucky 13 was first brewed in 2006 to celebrate the brewery's 13th anniversary and has been a limited April through June release ever since. I've heard of this beer being described as a red ale that is also a strong ale that is also an IPA. That sounds like a Lagunitas product alright. In one of their own epitaphs that they like to paste onto their bombers and carriers "From the first day of the first mash of the first recipe in the first brewhouse in the first space to these coordinates on the cone of space-time; We have worked hard to walk in the footsteps of our hero brewers- Chico’s brewer of California’s Best Pale Ale, the Noble Brewer of the planet’s only legal Steam Beer, and Oregon’s Rebel Brewer from Newport. Now we have found our own voice as brewers but our admiration for the Great Ones has not dimmed one bit. If we walked well down the hero’s path, perhaps we too have been an inspiration for others. Beer is a Bronze Age business and we feel honored to leave our footprints on it’s path into history- at the same time leaving our flavors on your buds. Obey those Buds! Thanks for your trust over the years and we hope you enjoy this specially brewed Hi-Gravity Auburn offering.". It's in one of their standard short bottles with an unglossed paper labels, a hallmark from when founder Tony Magee worked as a commercial printer while also running the brewery. The label features a Sailor Jerry-esque raven haired lady luck in a horseshoe and the metallic red crimp cap features their typical dog mascot. It is 12 oz and 8.8% acl. by volume.
Nose from the bottle is immediately hoppy with molasses and dark malt. From the glass it has a fruity nose, akin to grape or fig. Allot of life within the glass maintaining a small but ever present head on top. It has the light red color expected of red ale, similar to a sherry or Kentucky bourbon. The head has grown as I typed that last sentence, it is now thick and fluffy and growing. On first sip, it has a strong hoppy bitterness with a dry fruity finish. It's a piney hoppyness, hiding a strong alcohol bite. It's not particularly acidic and the body sits on that line between mid and full. It actually has a little bit of a licorice flavor to it as well.
So I bought a 3d printer and it's waiting for me back in Japan. When I bought it I was like "yea, I finally got a 3d printer after reading about them for all of these years", but now all I can think about is what would I print with it? I mean, I'll have a blast building it, but what about after that? What plastic objects do I really need? In the US I know I would print a bunch of gun parts, but I can't have those in Japan. I've talked about printing small car parts for people. You know, those little plastic fittings for cars made 25 years ago that are all cracked and broken off now but are $10 a piece from the manufacturer. Maybe I'll do that, but what else? I'm sure things will come up. Maybe I'll just browse thingverse until I see something cool, I'm sure something will come up.
the printer in question
Final thoughts. It's a great beer, don't get me wrong, but they could have toned down the hopps just a little bit. Other than that it was perfectly enjoyable. I give this beer my blurry seal of approval.