Lagunitas - Ruben & The Jets

Featuring a Zappa album cover as label art, and described as the Boppa Doo Ay Doo style ale, this beer didn't tell me much about what it was going to be. I picked this and another Lagunitas Zappa tribute beer, thinking that I'd be able to find the album as a record (I was unsuccessful) and drink the beer and listen to the music all at once. But, as it were, it was hanging around long enough that I decided to crack it open and figure out just what a Boppa Doo Ay Doo style ale really meant.

The beer poured dark with little head - its impossible to tell that it would be the brown/black/opaque beer that it was by looking through the bottle - so that was a surprise. The smell is very raisny and malty, and my best guess on the style would be a strong brown ale or porter. 

The taste was a landslide of malt, with delicious syrupy mouthfeel. Turns out, its an imperial stout and very tasty. I would have opened this earlier had I known that it would be tasty and dark!

The album its referring to is "Cruising with Ruben and the Jets" by Frank Zappa, released in 1968. The pseudo 1950s doo-wop style on this album is said to have sparked a mini revival of old bopper rock and roll after this album was released. Brewed on its 40th anniversary of the album's release, this is one in a series of Zappa tribute brews from Lagunitas. And a groovy one at that.