Robinsons Brewery in England was the first to give the name Trooper to their signature premium ale. There is also a Brazilian Trooper ale. So when Iron Maiden was searching for a US partner, Bruce’s son’s wife told Bruce that Lagunitas was the perfect fit. Eventually Jeremy went to meet them backstage after a concert. He brought a cooler full of samples to share with a who’s who of metal bands. He found that Bruce was quite articulate about what flavors he liked.
The Lagunitas Trooper West Coast IPA uses a new hop called Krush. Jeremy likes its flavor profile. He tastes “weed, passion fruit, guava…” It was HBC586 in development and now it's Krush. Watch out for a 100% Krush Beer for the radio station The Krush KRSH 95.9!
Jeremy confirms that Heineken is letting Lagunitas be Lagunitas. Heineken is the only worldwide beer company that is still majority owned by the family.
Jeremy went to UC Davis and studied brewing science. Michael Lewis and Charlie Bamforth were his teachers. They taught English ale styles, whereas Seibel in Germany is where to learn about lager beers. Lagers are a colder, longer stored style, like Coors Banquet or Budweiser. He describes the students at Davis as Beards versus Vests. Wine guys wore vests and beer guys had beards.
Lager and Ale
Compared to Lager, Ale is a little fruitier, and louder. If you hop it even more, you get to IPA. They are produced quicker and are more expressive and more popular in America. Wisconsin’s German-American community drove that city’s brewing history, so they made more German Lager styles.
After UC Davis, Jeremy’s first beer gig was Lagunitas. Tony asked where else he sent the letter. He wrote to all the breweries that made the beer he drank at Davis. Most were Ales, like Arrogant Bastard from Stone.
Jeremy has seen it all at Lagunitas. He knows that in the future, the successful breweries will have great focus and discipline. Other than Lagunitas, Russian River Brewing Co. is an example of that.