Craft Beer Tasting at Cheers: Lagunitas Brewing Censored Gives Way to Stone Vertical Epic 12/12/12

No one likes censorship on the internet, unless of course it comes from the Lagunitas Brewing Company. Unlike many of the breweries we’ve been featuring recently, Lagunitas has somewhat of a large beer selection, and their “Censored” Rich Copper Ale recently caught our eye as featured on our last “I Love Beer” Show at Cheers Bar in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Why “Censored”? The original name for the beer (Kronik) contained some kind of marijuana reference and wasn’t permitted on the label. So they kept the name and plastered a “Censored” sticker in its place. The result is a 6.7% alcohol, great balanced malty tasting beer, that goes down nicely and is easy to drink and pours dark coppery orange:

If you’re what we call a “hop head”, you may not like this beer because of it’s faint floral hops flavor. Malt lovers should definitely try this year-round brew. Lagunitas rarely, if ever, disappoints. We were originally a fan of Lagunitas a while back when we tasted their IPA, which is perfect for the hop lover. In fact, we consider the Lagunitas IPA the “gateway” to IPA drinking. (most regular beer drinkers don’t like IPAs because of its bitter taste, but once hooked, you can’t go back!) Lagunitas does that to you! Plus they give special meaning to the phrase “Lagunitas Sucks“. (all puns aside, try that seasonal brew as well!)

Part two of the show was a big surprise to everyone as we rolled out Stone’s Vertical Epic 12/12/12 – the final chapter. If you’ve been following the show, you know how much we love Stone, but this 9.5% alcohol masterful version of Vertical Epic is unlike anything we’ve ever tasted before. If you have a beer drinker on your Christmas list that’s hard to buy for, this is the solution to all your problems:

The Vertical Epic series is a chapter of specially brewed beers by the Stone Brewing Company commemorating the significant numerical dates over the past 11 years. It started with 2/2/2, then 3/3/3, etc. all the way to the latest 12/12/12 batch. Some collect them – we prefer drinking it.

With it’s deep black and dark brown foamy head pour, you’ll be immediately hit with an aroma of cinnamon and allspice combined with fruity banana and clove from the Belgian yeast. Then the dark toffee and molasses notes come into play resulting in an intense cinnamon, nutmeg, full dry finish. This beer has perhaps the best flavor balance you’ll ever taste in a beer. Stout haters: Don’t be afraid of its dark appearance – you’ll be amazed at how easy this beer goes down. If you can find it in your area, we recommend you definitely splurge for this as it will truly put an unforgettable highlight to your holiday festivities! As usual with Stone (see Oaked Arrogant Bastard), we can’t say enough good things.