Undercover Investigation Shut-down Ale - Lagunitas Brewing Company

shaunb81

Florida

4.1/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance - Poured a copper, almost red body with a decent white, 1" head. Medium lacing coats the glass.

Smell - It's definitely fruity (mango or peach). It's also got some sweet malty aromas, some florals and it smells a bit sour after about 10 minutes or so.

Taste - Sweet and fruity malts make it pretty yummy, but it gets a little funky after about 10 minutes. After about 10 minutes though, there wasn't much to grade.

Mouthfeel - Balanced, medium density, and a little creamy. I like it!

Overall - This will definitely put you on your ass after a few of them and it is pretty easy to do so. The hops are nice and I like the fruitiness to the brew as well. Tread carefully, though!

Serving type: bottle

05-20-2011 23:56:44 | More by shaunb81

TheNightbird

Ohio

4.22/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A- Nice dark reddish color, with a nice fingers worth of carbonation.

S- Lots of carmel and hop aroma. The hops aromas are citrus, pine and floral. There are also some lingering aromas of other fruits. Piney bitterness is also very prevalent.

T- Nice carmel profile with a balanced bitterness. Then the hops take over with a nice touch of grassy and citrus come through. The amount of alcohol is well hidden until the end, the aftertaste is mixed with hops and booze.

M- The mouthful is moderate for the amount of alcohol that is in this beer. Nice carbonation.

D- Overall this is a really nice beer, the strength of the beer could hold down the drinkability to under a six pack.

Serving type: bottle

04-29-2009 23:50:04 | More by TheNightbird

afrokaze

California

3.98/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Having this on tap at Wine Affairs in SJ

A- deep golden amber, 1/2 finger of head with great lacing

S- sweet maltiness, brown sugar, floral & fruity hops, toffee

T- copper sweet malt up front, followed by floral & fruit hops, moderately bitter, lots of brown sugar/toffee. Alcohol is warming but really balanced. Maybe a little herbs or anise

M- medium, on the heavier side with lower carbonation that works well

O- hard to pinpoint why, but this beer is really hearty & satisfying. Unbelievably drinkable for almost 10% abv

Serving type: on-tap

05-07-2011 03:31:00 | More by afrokaze

HaysAmerica

Kansas

3.58/5  rDev -11.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 12oz. bottle into a snifter glass. No bottling date or best by date. It is a limited release but nothing else other than that on the bottle. Pours a deep, golden or maybe very burnt orange. Not quite red, not orange for sure, not ruby by anymeans. Looks like tea actually. Has about one finger head of white color before fading a little too quickly.

Very floral hop nose! Served @ 53F. Makes me think of pine needles, which automatically makes me think of an IPA. Although this is listed as a Strong Ale. Has a very clean hop forward nose. Malt is not detectable in the nose at all for me.

Very carbonated, quite hoppy (the bottle has the word hops 5 times on it) & some malt coming through. Pretty standard for this brewery. Great lacing on the glass by the way. Pine needles, a little spicy but very restrained, slight acidic taste. Sticky & long lasting bitter taste. This one stays w/ me as far as the after taste goes. Quite mouth coating. The 9.87 ABV is hidden well. There is some warming due to the alcohol but this is not distracting nor unwarranted.

Overall, I'm impressed. I'd have it again. The $$ is right on for this as a sixer. Not that I'd really want to drink all 6 in the same night. Prosit!

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2011 21:24:16 | More by HaysAmerica

mnphish

Minnesota

4.08/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz bottle poured into a Tumbler.

Appearance - dark orange/light red with a three finger foamy head and tons of lacing.

Smell - brings on lots of pine and citrus hops along with a big malt profile and maybe a hint of booze and darker fruits

Taste - I'm having a hard time explaining this one. It's got that fresh hop thing going on mixed with a lot of caramel malts, so similar to an IPA i guess. There is some toffee in there and the alcohol is very well hidden. The finish is mildly bitter although very well balanced.

Mouthfeel - light to medium body. Highly drinkable for the 9% abv. Lethal and delicious.

Another winner from Lagunitas. Really enjoying how fresh these hops taste right now but I would imagine it would balance out even more so with time.

Serving type: bottle

03-28-2013 21:14:07 | More by mnphish

flexinwext

Ohio

3.83/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Clear, dark gold/brown color. Thin frothy head that sticks to the side of the glass. Aroma is of pine hops and lemon peel. At first taste this is quite the bitter brew. Tart on the tip of the tongue with a grapefruit-esque finish and after taste. I think the high ABV is hidden pretty well in this one. This one seems to cross many different style genres.

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2009 00:09:23 | More by flexinwext

ccm414

Massachusetts

4.1/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from the 12oz bottle...

A- An interesting look... brownish with some amber and a little golden in color. Pours with a 2 finger head that settles down evenly leaving a nice lace around the entire glass.

S- Fruity, floral, and piney hops. Hops, hops, hops and I love it. The aromas this brew gives off are great. True to the Lagunitas Brewery. Some brown sugar and caramel notes are also poking through from the malt.

T- First comes off rather sweet with a nice bitter/hop balance and finishes with a nice slight bitterness, but still with some sweetness from the malt. The taste almost flip-flops while savoring it.

M- A medium bodied beer with a slightly lighter carbonation. The 9.70% abv does poke through with a little alcohol warmth.

D- Very drinkable. I really enjoyed this beer. Nothing special to look at, but the aromas and flavors it gives off are rather nice. I will be looking for this again.

Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2011 00:38:09 | More by ccm414

watsonmd

Georgia

4.43/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottle, into a snifter, 35 F.

A: Golden orange beer, thick and tan foamy head, with a full sticky lacing throughout the session.

S: Hops, and boozy. Citrus overtones...

T: Balanced, but certainly hoppiness with the 70.47 (to be exact) IBUs. Malty backbone keeps this in check, and I suppose that's why this one fits into the strong ale category, rather than a straight up DIPA.

M: Sticky, coating, and full. Another awesome offering from Lagunitas.

O: Glad this was re-released. Enjoyed 2 in the initial sitting.... 4 more in the fridge!

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2013 18:13:11 | More by watsonmd

gillagorilla

Maryland

3.34/5  rDev -17.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

12 oz. bottle into a Flying Dog goblet (0819942231)

A: A deep, slightly hazy/cloudy bronze that is bordering on reddish, with ok lacing that only had a one inch head that diminished rapidly.

S: It is a very citrusy hop smell that smells like a great IPA. There is a bunch of sweetness in there as well. The smell is amazing on this one.

T: The hops try to assert themselves but are quickly overwhelmed by the strong malt profile that powers through it all. I can't really place the flavor but it feels all malty. Not a good aftertaste for me, all malt.

M: Quite smooth with a slight bit of carbonation.

O: I know a lot of people like this, but I am not a fan. I got it for the limited release nature and because I have enjoyed their other stuff. I won't be finishing it, but will be making beer bread with it instead, where the malts will give it a nice sweetness. There will now be more for others to have.

Serving type: bottle

04-23-2013 02:38:08 | More by gillagorilla

goatxpower

California

3.68/5  rDev -8.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A- pours a nice, clear copper reddish brown. small head fades quick (might have been a bad pour on my end).

S- For just a second, you get the big hops that you expect from Lagunitas... then it utterly disappears. Sort of dissapointing.

T- Peachy, boozey, almost Southern Comfort-like tones, A little bit of toast and bread. A little bit of caramel, but nothing burnt. Much smoother then I expected.

M- Very sweet, like a Barleywine. Lingers with just a touch of hops. Almost thought that it may have been a Bizzaro interpretation of a ESB until I smelled the American hops. Despite comparison to barleywine, has a rather light body.

D- Stylistically, this is all over the place. But, this beer goes down too easily. I could easily drink a 6-er...and then pay the price in the morning.

Overall- a but restrained for what I'm used to from Lagunitas, but other then that, a great beer. Flavorful enough to drink several. Underwhelming, compared to the rest of this brewery's line-up. Do I have a problem if I consider this session-able?

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2009 09:21:04 | More by goatxpower

dino213aa

Virginia

3.35/5  rDev -17.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: a fairly generic copper brown with some decent loose head and exceptional lacing.

S: faint but slightly rancid. is tart a smell?

T&M: malts and malts with a slight hop finish. Honestly this brew has several flavors that I've tasted in some IPA's usually underneath the bitterness. Take a generic IPA, strip out most of the hop bitter, and those underlying flavors is this brew. Kinda tends to the syrupy side. I will say that the malts give this an exceptionally smooth mouthfeel.

D: I'd say two or three max. This is a flavor that will wear out its welcome beyond that.

Serving type: bottle

04-26-2010 21:58:50 | More by dino213aa

vitrael

Wisconsin

3.98/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

A: Clear golden-red with small white head that dissipated quickly leaving a film. A little lacing.

S: Very pungent citrus hop and sweet malt aroma. Great smelling beer.

T: Complex and very strong. Sweet barleywine like malts take command, a little biscuit character. Hop taste matches the aroma, with a good bitterness. Not a subtle beer at all. It's a bit of an assault.

M: Medium body and light carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

04-08-2011 23:13:02 | More by vitrael

TheStig

Virginia

4.15/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

With a color the exact shade of the bottle it was poured from and a thin little head, it was almost like pouring bottle glass into my glass. Ok, so what? There's nothing really out of the ordinary in its presentation.

What really knocked me back was the smell-- like slicing open a fresh grapefruit with some plums on the side. Some juniper and pine notes as well. Light, heavy, sweet and tart, all rolled into one. I've spent more time smelling this beer than I have most previous beers, and with good reason-- it's presenting a very complex fruit and floral scent that I'm still trying to unravel. Splendid.

Taste is heavily nuanced with a lot of different flavors vying for prominence-- this is not to say it's a muddled mess, because it's not-- but repeated tastings are necessary to discern the mechanics of what's going on in there. The complimentary tastes from the scents are present, as are notes of cherry, black currant and malts. Two things are certain: a definite and strong hop taste as it finishes, and no indication that this is a 9.7% ABV beer. Neat!

Mouthfeel was average. I was expecting a little more burn due to the higher alcohol content, but that wasn't present.

I'd wouldn't mind having this as a regular fridge-stock-- meaning I wouldn't feel bad just grabbing it as "some beer" for company, and it's interesting enough to warrant future in-depth tastings.

Serving type: bottle

06-26-2012 06:10:33 | More by TheStig

mweso2000

Georgia

4.5/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a copper color with white head. A fragrant pine hop smell immediatly hits your nose. The taste is a little more sweet malt forward and not as hoppy as your typical Lagunitas beer, but a nice piney hop flavor and bitterness make this strong ale a perfectly balanced beer and a sure pleaser for any hop head. The 9.7% abv is almost non existent. Very dangerous! I don't think there is a brewer that puts out so many consistent winners like Lagunitas.

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2013 21:49:41 | More by mweso2000

sbxx

Illinois

3.98/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into FFF Teku glass.
Bottle code indicates a bottling date of 3/14/13

Appearance - Pours a deep amber. 3 fingers of fluffy yet dense khaki foam. Thick lacing.

Smell - Caramel malt. Slight alcohol. Pine. Tad bit of citrus lurking beneath the surface.

Taste - Astringent pine bite balanced out with thick caramel malts. Well balanced for the most part. Goes down easy. Bitter aftertaste.

Mouthfeel - Medium body, medium carb, semi-dry finish.

Overall - A solid offering from Lagunitas. It's a limited release, so it's a nice pickup, but I can't say I'm as excited about it as something like Brown Shugga.

Serving type: bottle

04-01-2013 07:37:54 | More by sbxx

AVDeuph

Florida

3.05/5  rDev -24.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

This is my first review, but I figured I gotta start somewhere so here goes:

A: Looks like Autumn in the 1970's. A reddish-brown with some deep, caramelized orange undertones.

S: At first the nose was rubber and alcohol, but upon some mild disturbance some good strong grapes/pencil eraser, however you look at it.

T: Alcohol is clearly present. A very bitter bite, a little overbalanced on that end. Fruitier aromas didn't quite translate to flavor they way I had hoped.

M: Well carbonated with small bubbles that mostly blend together as soon as they hit your mouth. Relatively light for a ale of this gravity.

D: For me, the alcohol is present enough that I'm conscious of it at all times. Not the best characteristic for this category.

Bottom line I liked it, but I'll keep searching out others in the style before I buy this again.

Serving type: bottle

05-04-2009 04:48:21 | More by AVDeuph

jboucher

Massachusetts

4.08/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

12 oz. bottle poured into a pint glass

9.87% ABV

72.41 IBU's

Appearance: Clear reddish-copper color with tiny bubbles roaring to the top. Initially, there is a creamy three finger head that slowly settles down to a one finger head. Superb head retention. Thick, sticky lacing is present throughout the entire drinking process.

Smell: Lemongrass, pine, orange rind, and ruby grapefruit are the first things to come to mind upon the initial whiff. Seems like a hop head's dream. There is a feint hint of caramel-like malt in the background. Slightly spicy, floral, and fruity.

Taste: Malt are apparent upon the arrival. There is a lot of pine notes on the palate. What a beautiful hop and malt marriage! The slightly dry lingering finish is best described as semi-bitter malty grapefruit. It definitely was not as hoppy as it smells. The alcohol is masked nicely, although you can definitely feel it.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, sticky, nice carbonation, which leads to a very crisp beer. The creamy head adds to the smoothness of this beer.

Ending notes: This limited release brew from Lagunitas was a gem. Definitely worth trying. Kicks like a bronco. Very interesting. It lived up to my expectations. Another splendid brew, Lagunitas!

Serving type: bottle

04-26-2011 02:49:12 | More by jboucher

Titans77

Maryland

4.04/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Bottle poured into a pint glass. 2013 bottle.

A - Amber verging on a brown with a finger of light khaki head that vanished rather quickly.

S - toffee, caramel, and a bit of pine on the nose. More toffee than anything else. Reminds me of an english barleywine.

T - Big toffee and caramel malt base that pops just like a barleywine. Some hop bitterness on the back end in the form of earthy pine notes. Very good taste to this one.

M - Mild carbonation with a sweet finish. Again, very reminiscent of an english barleywine. A slight warming from the 9.6% abv which really feels good this time around.

O - A very good brew that showcases what Lagunitas does well. For $10 a six pack at 9.6% abv, this beer is already a steal. It seems to be more of an english barleywine to me even with the slight presence of hops. If aged, i could see this thing being a VERY good english barleywine. Ive gotten so used to high alcohol beers being masked by flavors that now that I can feel the warming again, I kinda miss that aspect. Very good brew. Pick it up if you can find it. I am going to age a couple and drink them in 6 months and 1 year to see what happens.

Serving type: bottle

04-17-2013 18:13:19 | More by Titans77

YieldToNothing

New York

4.14/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

12 oz bottle into a tulip
pours a beautiful copper orange with a 1/4 inch head that quickly dissipates.
i can smell citrus and a little hint of caramel
taste is citrusy, slightly piny, a subtle note of that caramel with a bitter aftertaste. pretty well balanced in my opinion.
abv is WELL hidden.
overall, nothing mindblowing, but another very good offer from lagunitas.

Serving type: bottle

04-17-2013 22:09:27 | More by YieldToNothing

Sdesenberg

Michigan

4.45/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Bought a sixer at my local stop and steal for around 10.50 plus the Michigan bottle deposit. Poured into a pint glass about a finger of thick creamy head on a deep copper brew.

Basically, this stuff is pretty similar to Bells Hopslam but more balanced and at around half the price. Good brew, I would buy it again!

Serving type: bottle

06-29-2012 20:40:30 | More by Sdesenberg

tastymug

Ohio

4.31/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Appearance: Pours a beautiful, clear, deep amber with a nice foamy head, lots of lacing and good glass retention.

Smell: Hops, caramel, very faint floral notes.

Taste: Very pleasant and balanced hoppy bitterness. Definite caramel malty tones to this as well. I found it to be quite delicious.

Mouthfeel: Well-balanced carbonation, crispness and smooth, medium body.

Overall: This is a very drinkable beer. In fact I’m mildly drooling just writing this review and have already hoarded a couple six-packs in my basement. The amount of booze in this beer is sneaky - you can’t even tell that it it’s a high ABV until you’ve had enough sips that the telltale boozy warmth sets in. The flavor is well-balance between hops, bitterness and sweetness and my best guess is this will drink well on a warm or cold day; it strikes me as versatile. I’d also recommend this brew to any craft beer newbies out there because it’s full-flavored with a lot of balance - it’s a great example of a well-done brew.

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2013 02:17:40 | More by tastymug

basscram

Florida

3.2/5  rDev -20.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Poured into a goblet glass from bottle.
Looks are Dark Golden Amber and see through, Head comes at the end of the pour and lasts for about 10 seconds. Little fizzies come from around the glass

Smells sweet like a maple syrup and goes away quickly. Can't wait to try it!

Taste is exciting, meaning very flavorful with sweetness and hoppiness. Taste lingers on the tip of the tongue and down the middle and goes away. The high abv is recognized too! On the back of the tongue, I taste some grapefruit, but a light taste as it dissipates. Don't be alarmed. After my tongue gets used to the zip of the alcohol and sweet hoppy tastes I can enjoy it a lot more. ( Not like I didn't enjoy the first few sips )

Their is that sweet taste I'm trying to think of what it is but its hard to figure it out with the hoppiness.

Lacing is minimal if any. The way it feels on my tongue is spicy and not too thick. Taste lingers on the backside of the tongue a bit after a while.

Drinkable? Yes, but not something I can gulp down. Its a sipper.

Serving type: bottle

06-12-2009 03:49:08 | More by basscram

mater

Ohio

4.1/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz bottle poured into a Stone imperial pint glass

A-Brown, orangeish copper color with a one finger head and pretty good lacing.

S-This thing has a strange smell. A get a hoppy grapefruit smell at first, then I get a caramel malt smell with a sort of granny smith apple thing going on.

T-The caramel malts hit you first, then the hops finish things off and leave a nice bitterness on your tongue. I can't taste any alcohol.

M-Thought it would be heavier, but had a nice medium mouthfeel.

O-Never would of guessed this was 9.7 abv. This was a really solid brew and I'll definitely buy another sixer before it's gone

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2011 06:23:29 | More by mater

velmalikevelvet

California

4.5/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from bottle into a chilled mug.

Beautiful clear coppery color without much head. Delightful aroma of grapefruit. Very s-m-o-o-t-h in the mouth, tangy, peppery, and packing a nice wallop. Clean & crisper than would have expected with all the popping hops!

This is one damn FINE beer!

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2010 00:07:57 | More by velmalikevelvet

hamilton23

California

3.93/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: Pours amber in color with a fair amount of creamy off-white head.

S: Hops at first and then some citrus fruits.

T: Citrus hops, some grapefruit and a little lingering sweetness to balance out the hop profile.

M: Slightly dry, clean.

O: This is an interesting one...a hop-forward strong ale. The balance of the hop profile with the sweetness is nice. It hides the high ABV well.

Serving type: bottle

06-01-2011 03:53:29 | More by hamilton23