Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your beer!* That’s what came to mind when I happened upon this curious bottle. After all, if it’s called Maximus, it better be grandiose, larger than life. Like the maneuvering ability of these modern-day Romans:
So I had, er, imperial expectations when I popped the cap off this brew. Here’s how it went.
In A Nutshell
Beer: Lagunitas Maximus
Bottom Line: An extremely gaseous beer with a dull, medium-strength sour taste. No better than average. (The Lagunitas IPA is much better, but I didn’t take notes when I had it so I can’t review it ’till I buy it again).
Price: About $9.99 for a 6-pack of 12 ounce bottles.
My Rating: 2.5 out of 5
Details
Origin: Petaluma, California and Chicago, Illinois
Alcohol: 8.2%
Looks: A dark glass beer bottle with a plain-ish label with “Maximus” in huge letters.
The beer itself is a deep, rich amber color.
Smell: Unusual. It’s a light, citrus-y (orange) smell, but like an artificial orange (like an orange-smelling detergent-type orange).
Taste: The Lagunitas Maximus has a medium-strength sour taste, but it’s like a dull kind of sour. There’s little complexity or any other noteworthy quality. It’s not particularly pleasant. There’s also a sour, grapefruit-type aftertaste that lingers on the sides of your mouth.
I also found this beer to be extremely gaseous – so much so, that it interferes with your drinking.
Hangover Factor: Nothing unusual.
Final Thoughts
To me, this was just an average, sour, and very gaseous beer. Nothing special. I didn’t rate it lower because it’s not actually unpleasant to drink; but, for the price, it should be wonderful.
I end by noting that I’m apparently in the dissent on this, since others have rated it better. Like a dude that gave it a 4.5/5 and said: “Aromas of pine, resin, tangerine, apricot and maybe a little mango. Taste is very balanced with fruity notes, hops, piney bitterness and a smooth malty backbone”**.
My response to that is to express my admiration and say that I pine for the day I can make out so many smells and flavors in something, because I never have.
Note: This is a series I call Caveman Beer Reviews, because I like to drink beer but am a caveman when it comes to beer knowledge. I know only the basics, and do not have a refined palate. I’ll review the beers on price and what they look, smell, and taste like to me.
*Adapted from Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare
**user cwill on RateBeer
Miguel, Being from the Chicago area, I see Lagunitas around here all the time. I have tried several and generally like them, but I have not tried Maximus and probably won’t based on your review.
Last night I had a couple Deschute’s brewery IPAs. I like it and I also like their pale ale. I bought a 6 pack of IPA earlier this week and they had a promo where I got a big bag of chips for a penny.
I love chips, but rarely eat them. Eating chips is the opposite of lifting weights. Everyone I eat just turns to “relaxed muscle”. I use the term muscle loosely.
Tom
Hey Tom!
I would definitely try other Lagunitas (I did like their regular IPA), but the Maximus just wasn’t up to par, in my opinion.
I’ll keep a lookout for Deschutes, I’d never heard of it but it sounds good!
Ha! with the chips. Lily’s a chip person; I’m not, but when she buys them I have trouble not eating them. My go-to snack now is this bread they sell at Costco, toasted, with Trader Joe’s salted chunky almond butter. Yum!
Take care man,
Miguel
Hi Miguel, enjoyed your review! I’ve never seen this beer in the wild yet. That is a potent bugger! Perhaps it takes a six pack or more to smell the pines! 🙂 Take care friend.
Thanks Mr. DS! Yeah I think it definitely takes some “sensory adjustment” in the form of multiple beers to smell that bouquet of aromas that other reviewers find. Maybe I’m just a savage, though 🙂
Cheers,
Miguel