El Chupalupalo Pale Ale comes from the lovely brewers at Lagunitas Brewing Co. in Petaluma, CA (Say “LAH-GOO-KNEE-TUSS”). This beer was specially brewed for Sam’s Wines & Spirits; we picked it up during our last trip through Chicago. Sam’s has since been transformed into Binny’s. I hope El Chupalupalo doesn’t change its name, too. That would be downright tragic.El Chupalupalo has a biscuity malt nose with a slight grass hop aroma, coupled with a hazy reddish golden retriever color and a
thin white head. It begins with low levels of biscuit malt flavor with not much sweetness before moving into a refreshingly pleasant hoppy middle—a balance of both bitterness and hop flavor, particularly piney and grassy hints, round out the main body of the beer as it heads for the homestretch. El Chupalupalo finishes dry and nicely bitter. The smooth and perky mouthfeel works well with the medium carbonation bite; overall, a well-balanced and thoroughly drinkable beer. And the label’s awesome creature is cold-crushin’ that hop blossom in his mouth—look at him biting down and sucking on that hop blossom!—this label has Top 10 Best Label written all over it.Unfortunately, there is nothing on the Lagunitas’ site about El Chupalupalo; the only information on it was on BeerAdvocate or RateBeer. In fact, I had to work to find out anything about it at all. That's just horrific—this label is far too awesome to squander in such a manner. For shame, Lagunitas...
ABV: 5.8%
(8/10/2009)
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