Lagunitas Lucky 13 Mondo Large Red Ale

Very excited to start the night with this bomber. I'm a huge fan of red ales and I have heard good things of Lucky 13.

Appearance: An amber to red clean color with about 2 fingers of head, constant stream of bubbles heading to the top, looks refreshing

Smell: A great combination of hops and malts from the smell, the former being floral and citrus, and the latter has a background contribution of sweet malts

Taste: Good flavor with a little more bite than expected from the smell, floral hops are present and have a bitterness similar to an IPA, but with more subtlety, some sweet malts but they take a back seat as the bitter hops dominate

Mouthfeel: Lighter carbonation than the appearance would suggest, but it's not too weak, also a good mix of texture, not chewy by any means, but it has more substance than other reds I've had

Drinkability: I enjoy red ales about as much as anyone, but this one had an interesting twist with how bitter the hops were, containing 76.92 IBUs. At 8.3% abv, a bomber bottle should be enough to get you started for the night. I would recommend this beer and will definitely buy again, but it isn't something I will go out of my way for. I'll give it a 7.5/10. I enjoy hoppy beers, but this one threw me for a loop because I wasn't expecting it to such a degree. I'm noticing that as I'm drinking it, I'm definitely liking it more, so I'll bump it to an 8/10. Maybe Alex should weigh in on this one; he is another red ale lover.

**EDIT** While finishing the bottle, I realized what was irking me: although I was enjoying the bitter hops, it was just a bit too sweet. The combination of the two wasn't as great as you might think. I still really enjoyed this beer, don't get me wrong. However, I wasn't blown away like I was hoping.

Serving type: Bottle
Glass type: Sam Adams Glass