Lagunitas Brewing Company
January 2010
Lagunitas, as a whole, makes some of the most consistently good beers out there. I love their IPA, Imperial IPA, seasonal beers, and even their Czech Pilsner. But the Dog Town Pale is probably my favorite pale ale in the world (Marin Brewing Company’s Mt. Tam pale used to be my favorite, but it’s been years since I’ve had it on tap so I no longer feel comfortable claiming it as my #1).
I think Dog Town pale was the first beer Lagunitas brewed (don’t actually know why I think that, and there’s a good chance I made that up). It was never one of my favorites, but last summer at the 2009 Oregon Brewer’s festival they introduced a new, reformulated recipe. It was hands down my favorite beer of the fest.
Lagunitas’ IPA is the most popular of their beers, and hence it’s much easier to find it on tap here in Portland. But, there are a few places that seem to consistently have the Dog Town pale on tap. One of those places, Life of Riley tavern, is conveniently located 3 blocks from work. And with the kind of weeks I’ve been having lately, I seem to be finding myself there a lot during the lunch hour.