Brown Shugga' - Lagunitas Brewing Company

HappyBivouac

Iowa

4.4/5  rDev +10%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Last bottle of a 6 pack I purchased 4 months ago; the first 5 went fast but I sat on this one for whatever reason. Can't find the bottling date. Around the label it reads: "We believe this special ale is something unique. Feeding brown cane sugar to otherwise cultured brewery yeast is a'kin to feeding raw shark to your gerbil. It is unlikely to ever occur in nature without human intervention. And it looks weird besides. But it has happened and now it's too late." Possibly my favorite packaging blurb in the history of beer.

a- Pours a slightly cloudy ruby brown and bubbly with a light tan head that recedes to a ring and spotty foam.

s- Heavy, inviting and intimidating caramelized sugar hits up front. There is a very noticeable presence of pine & grapefruit. White bread and a slight tart orange are also detectable.

t- all that caramel/brown sugar is an immediate and relentless assault, and you know what.. it works! Resiny, sappy pine bitterness hits fairly hard in a good way as well. I can feel the citrus zest hop bitterness steadily climb during the sip and in the aftertaste, with bready flavors surfacing as well. This isn't the sort of balance I've come to expect from beer. It's sort of an assault of several unique flavors that work independently but the resulting harmony, while often harsh and dissonant, ends up being very welcome and, at the bottom line, very tasty.

m- medium full-bodied and slick, with only a slight lick of carbonation. Coats the mouth a bit.

d- a wonderfully drinkable and delicious strong ale. the assault of flavor reveals its strength, but there is very little trace of actual heat. The whole thing comes off (in part because of the words on the packaging) as a beautiful accident. Would definitely pick up again.

Serving type: bottle

04-04-2010 03:48:33 | More by HappyBivouac

ninaturner

Florida

3/5  rDev -25%

05-18-2013 02:29:47 | More by ninaturner

tattoopunk031

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev 0%

05-16-2013 15:43:58 | More by tattoopunk031

Pelican5

California

3.5/5  rDev -12.5%

05-16-2013 07:30:01 | More by Pelican5

MinorThreat

Colorado

3.75/5  rDev -6.3%

05-16-2013 02:34:24 | More by MinorThreat

jwk7324

California

4.5/5  rDev +12.5%

05-15-2013 18:46:14 | More by jwk7324

Zimm

New Jersey

4/5  rDev 0%

05-15-2013 17:34:48 | More by Zimm

ajtorres311

Florida

4/5  rDev 0%

05-15-2013 16:28:27 | More by ajtorres311

jgammoniv

Maine

4.5/5  rDev +12.5%

05-14-2013 22:03:29 | More by jgammoniv

HarmonMW

Michigan

4/5  rDev 0%

05-14-2013 01:36:10 | More by HarmonMW

AmandaSchaefer

Wisconsin

4.5/5  rDev +12.5%

05-13-2013 23:03:07 | More by AmandaSchaefer

Bonko_the_sane

North Carolina

3.25/5  rDev -18.8%

05-13-2013 05:22:27 | More by Bonko_the_sane

vrbulldog22

Ohio

4/5  rDev 0%

05-13-2013 01:57:31 | More by vrbulldog22

mikeburd1128

New Jersey

2/5  rDev -50%

05-11-2013 15:17:44 | More by mikeburd1128

lpayette

Vermont

4/5  rDev 0%

05-11-2013 01:52:53 | More by lpayette

ScottieD

Connecticut

4/5  rDev 0%

05-11-2013 01:32:36 | More by ScottieD

Beer4Baltimore

Maryland

4.5/5  rDev +12.5%

05-11-2013 01:01:29 | More by Beer4Baltimore

Skunkdrool

California

4.5/5  rDev +12.5%

05-10-2013 19:14:39 | More by Skunkdrool

Curloftheburl

Connecticut

4/5  rDev 0%

05-10-2013 08:01:54 | More by Curloftheburl

justforrazors

Missouri

4/5  rDev 0%

05-10-2013 01:31:18 | More by justforrazors

jkane101

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev -6.3%

05-10-2013 01:16:46 | More by jkane101

MrBuckHigh

Ohio

3.75/5  rDev -6.3%

05-09-2013 04:07:54 | More by MrBuckHigh

leftoverburrito

Oregon

2/5  rDev -50%

05-08-2013 02:58:52 | More by leftoverburrito

thampel09

New Jersey

4.25/5  rDev +6.3%

05-07-2013 16:08:25 | More by thampel09

diehl07

Ohio

4.5/5  rDev +12.5%

05-06-2013 19:47:53 | More by diehl07