Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Lagunitas Brown Shugga' Substitute Ale

 Lagunitas Brewing Co.   Petaluma, CA

Notes:
Double IPA
12oz Bottle
7.85% ABV
Available Dec ‘12/Jan ‘13

Off the bottle:

E.K. Ross would have enjoyed our suffering in 2010 when we saw we couldn’t brew our Brown Sugga’.  But in that time of deepest despair, as is common to artists everywhere, broke, hungover, abandoned by the muse and prepared to take a job at Arby’s, we found in that darkness the spark of inspiration that would yield up this nearly sanctified recipe!

From the website:

Originally brewed in 2011 as a Brown Shugga’ substitue, due to construction induced capacity issues, we liked it so much it had to make a return trip.


Appearance:  Pours a classic deep golden color…transparent in nature, tons of bubbles bubbling up from the bottom…luscious white head formed and remained…tons of legs all over the glass…(4.25/5)

Smell:  Tons of citrus hops…grapefruit, orange, mandrin, those little clementines in a bag for $6.99 and pineapple…sweet, pale malt...barley…tons of citrus hops…(4.25/5)

Taste:  Wow…I have to say, I expected a way more citrus dominant flavor, but that’s not the case…starts very fresh and very citrusy, much like the nose…flavors of grapefruit, orange and pineapple all apparent…but the barley, oats and paler malts come through and hold their own against all comers balancing out all those hops and that’s no small feat…this could easily have been over the top hoppy and still good, but the amount of excellent “cereal” flavor here takes this brew to another level…there is a yeast flavor and bubbliness about the taste that separates this brew from the ever expanding citra hop IPA category...piney resin flavor comes toward the end and lasts throughout the after taste…(4.5/5)

Mouthfeel:  Light body, light to medium carbonation…very clean break after swallowing, hints of citrus zest and piney resin linger on the palate…very light…(4/5)


Overall:  This is a solid brew…very citrus hops heavy with a solid malt & barley/oat backbone and a piney hops finish…very flavorful…I’m not sure how this is an afterthought brew for Lagunitas because it’s better than most others’ IPA attempts…a wonderful surprise I found at my local Dominick’s that I couldn’t pass up, and I’m super glad I didn’t…if you see this brew, buy it and you’ll thank me later...outstanding flavor with a high ABV (that’s only noticeable by the buzz), this is a stand-out beer that I couldn’t recommend more…(4.5/5)

Score:
(4.30/5)
 

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