A Little Sumpin' Extra! Ale - Lagunitas Brewing Company

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

4.05/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

"Look out, kid, it's sumpin' ya did,
God knows when, but you're doin' it again."

--Bob Dylan

Shimmering saffron with sparkly carbonation and lemony accents. The merigue-like crown is somewhere between ivory and ecru in color, has a rumpled bumpy surface, melts in languid fashion, and deposits shotgun-blasted sheets of lace.

It looks like A Little Sumpin' Extra! Ale is simply a slightly bigger version of Sumpin' Sumpin'. The ABV is barely one percentage point higher and the aroma seems pretty similar as well (although it's been a while since I had the smaller beer). I'm not complaining. Good is good and more of the same is often better.

It doesn't smell like there's anything darker than pale in the malt department. The hops are citrus fruity and modestly sprucy. Several of the C-hops are definitely present, Amarillo is possible and Simcoe is doubtful. Too bad Lagunitas doesn't divulge the ingredients.

As is often the case when an impressively hoppy IPA (or APWA in this case) is made bigger by the addition of more malt, bright hop flavor is brought down a peg or two. That's what appears to have happened here. This is still tasty beer, but for my money, non-Extra! is both more delicious and more drinkable.

Specifics include sugar cookies with a thin layer of caramel, candied citrus peel (grapefruit, lemon, orange), and hints of ganja and pine resin. Sweet and bitter are roughly balanced. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that candi sugar was added. Then again, 72 IBUs isn't that hard to counter. Excuse me... 72.51.

The mouthfeel is more than adequate for the style, without being overly sappy or sticky. A decent amount of alpha acids roughs things up just enough and the carbonation is fine and dandy. No complaints here at all.

In the end, A Little Sumpin' Extra! Ale is good beer that doesn't quite match the beer that inspired it, much less supercede it. I'm still enjoying it quite a bit and would gladly fork over $5.08 for another bomber.

Serving type: bottle

12-15-2009 15:49:25 | More by BuckeyeNation

mikesgroove

South Carolina

4.03/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The pour was very nice, rich amber in color with a huge cascading white head that just would not quite no matter what. Really nicely done I have to admit. Even after a few minutes it was still going strong with rich lacing up and down the sides of the glass. Aroma was a hop bomb, cirus filling the air from the first moment and really giving you a nose full. Even warming could not cut through the grapefruit and biting sharp hop notes. Nice medium body was well carbonated and allowed the flavor to really absorb along the palate. First taste is sharp, huge notes of sticky pine and grapefruit rip the tongue but mellow out a bit behind a biscuit like mi palate. Some nice notes of grain plugging through in here I have to say before a smack of hops dries the palate and leaves a bit of a hot boozy note on its way down.

Serving type: bottle

05-05-2011 10:42:38 | More by mikesgroove

womencantsail

California

3.7/5  rDev -11.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: A Lil Sumpin Extra pours a slightly hazed, light golden color with a fluffy white head which leaves a lot of sticky lacing throughout the drinking experience.

S: The primary aroma is grapefruit and some other citrus fruit from the hops. There are also some hints of sweet, tropical fruits, especially mango and pineapple. There is also a slight pine component, with very little malt.

T: The taste is a little off. I was expecting a nice citrusy, mildly bitter beer, but this is actually quite sweet and boozy. There is some mild grapefruit flavor, but little in terms of hop bitterness. There is a definite alcohol presence, as previously mentioned.

M: This is quite a full bodied IPA. There is very little in the way of carbonation, which probably is why this beer seems so heavy and alcoholic.

D: It's certainly not a bad beer, but I wouldn't seek this one out again. The overall "flatness" on the tongue and the heavy alcohol make this an okay beer, but it certainly lacks balance.

Serving type: bottle

11-02-2009 03:26:45 | More by womencantsail

Thorpe429

Illinois

4.33/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Reviewed from notes.

Pours a really nice golden color with a white head. The nose is pretty strong and has some really overpowering hops. Loads of citrus as well as a bit of pine. The taste is equally as hoppy and just really brings on the citrus rind and a tiny amount of malt in the background. Good bitterness and a nice body. Another really nice hoppy beer from Lagunitas.

Serving type: bottle

11-14-2010 01:20:44 | More by Thorpe429

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

3.58/5  rDev -14.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

A Lil' Sumpin Sumpin is going to be a tough act to follows, Lagunitas. Best of luck, though!

Appearance: Pours out a faintly hazed, amber-hued body with a medium-small, frothy, off-white head.

Smell: Heady mixture of pale, lightly toasty, vaguely sweetish maltiness and aromatic hop notes of astringent pine resin, sugar-coated grapefruit rinds, and a pervasive, underlying earthiness.

Taste: Sweet-tasting pale malts with a light touch of toasted grains. Small, buried hints of malted wheat in the taste, though this could just as easily be the product of a diseased, alcohol-ravaged mind, so who knows for certain. Then, in come the hearty dose of hops with strong, sharp floral, citrusy, earthy, pine-based tastes and a moderate amount of tongue-scalding bitterness. Toasty touches persist in the latter half, but, mainly this is the realm of the bitter hops (at least for me). I would say this finishes bittersweet, but it's more like 75% bitter and 25% sweet. So, it finishes bittermoresweetless. Yes, that sounds about right.

Mouthfeel: Medium-plus body. Medium carbonation. A bit oily and even sticky in the mouthfeel.

Drinkability: Well, it's a run-of-the-mill Double IPA for me, having left behind the grace and ease of it's younger cousin, going back to bitter and basic and not too terribly far removed from their other basic, bitter brews.

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2009 16:17:59 | More by ChainGangGuy

BEERchitect

Kentucky

4.22/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

In true Lagunitas fashion, A Little Sumpin' Extra is a fantastic hoppy beer with understated and subtle malts, invisible alcohols, and a great platform for a terrific display of hop flavor.

The beer begins with a bright orange, light copper color, stark white foamstance that lingers the session and leaves a lot of lacing behind.

Aroma is all about the hops: citrusy orange zest, ruby red grapefruits, lemon zest, and a bright lightly caramelized note in a supportive role.

Flavor of malts give a light and subtle graham cracker softness and give a good backdrop for the hop flavor. Again, orange and lemon zest, grapefruit, pineapple, and rinds of other tropical fruits take hold and never let go. Cotton-candy soft confectionates seem to smoothen the hops and lead seamlessly into the bitter finish. Though bitter, this beer shows no aggression or harshness.

Quite light; much lighter than expected from a Double IPA. But this is a great testament to the beers clean dryness, refreshing crispness, and effortless drinkability.

A very good beer, but somehow it keeps me wanting more boldness all the way around. An impressie and under-rated beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2010 16:05:51 | More by BEERchitect

oberon

North Carolina

3.78/5  rDev -9.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Great to see Lagunitas continue to launch new limited edition brews out.Poured into a imperial nonic a deep burnt orange color with a large fluffy head that takes awhile to come down,wow what fresh hoppy aromas in the nose!A mix of grapefruit,tangerine, melon,and grass really come out,I can smell it a foot and a half away.Sad to say the flavors are not as a big of a hit as the aromas to me,somewhat leathery with pine resin and dark fruit,a sweetish alcohol presence is prevelent as well.To me it seems a little more alcoholic than it is,its got alot of things going for it but just misses on a few things.

Serving type: bottle

08-30-2009 00:00:33 | More by oberon

WesWes

New York

4.2/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

The beer pours a beautiful gold color with a thick frothy white head that slowly fades to lacing. The aroma awesome as hell! It has a complex malt bill of pale, Carapils, and bisquit malts along with a killer hop nose. The citrus hop character really wraps itself up nicely in the bisquit malts. The taste is good. It's got a heavy handed dose of bisquit malts as well as citrus hops. It's bready up front with a hop punch that knocks you on your ass in the finish. The mouthfeel is good as well. It is a full bodied beer with adequate carbonation. This is a tasty treat for sure. When it comes to West Coast IPA's, these guys know their shit.

Serving type: bottle

11-13-2009 00:24:19 | More by WesWes

zeff80

Missouri

4.03/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Poured out a clear, orange/color with a thick, off-white head of foam. It left sticky patches of lace on the glass.

S - It smelled of tons of citrus and pine. It had a sharp toasty aroma.

T - This one has a spicy hop heat with a resiney/piney hop bite. There is a burnt toast maltiness with some orange peel flavor.

M - It was crisp and very sharp with a dry finish. A medium-bodied ale that has a warm alcohol presence.

D - This is another great hopped-up brew from Lagunitas. Really great tasting.

Serving type: bottle

02-22-2010 22:52:04 | More by zeff80

metter98

New York

4.13/5  rDev -1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Golden color with a bit of cloudiness. A small bit of head lingered on the surface.
S: Lots of hops and floral aromas, smells like a fresh floral arrangement with notes of marigolds
T: Excellent blend of sweet citrus flavors matched with the bitterness of hops
M/D: Wouldn't drink more than one of these in a single session.

Serving type: on-tap

03-14-2010 15:01:27 | More by metter98

Gueuzedude

Arizona

4.3/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Sampled September 2009
A reasonable pour into my 25cl tulip glass produces a four finger thick, pale tan colored head. The beer is a clear, copper color that shows a brilliantly clear, rich gold color when held up to the light. The aroma is nicely hoppy with a big mix of bright citrus fruits and herbaceous pine notes. After a few moments the focus becomes mostly fruit oriented with tangerine aromas, mixing with expressive lychee, bergamot, a touch of filtered apricot and a distinct juicy-fruit gum like note. After digging around for a bit some cracker like grain starts to become noticeable deep in the finish. Nice and clean

Wow, this is quite bitter from the get go, this is quite nice if you like that sort of thing. The bitterness takes on an herbal edge towards the finish and gets some pungent pine like flavors, but really it is a lingering, biting bitterness that lingers on in the finish after each sip. While the bitterness and pungent hop notes are expressive, there is still quite a bit of citrus / fruit hop character that comes through too. Flavors of tangerine, lychee, bright kumquat peel. There is some straw like grain character in the finish that is just faintly noticeable. The malt character is just enough to not allow the hops to run roughshod over the palate, but it clearly plays a supporting role here; there is enough sweetness to accentuate the fruitier hop notes, but this is on the dry side for an IPA. In fact this is the type that I like, light bodied and on the dry side that makes for a perfectly quaffable beer (what else would differentiate this from a hoppy Barleywine).

This is definitely excessively carbonated; the second pour of this foams quite a bit as it hits my tongue. Luckily some vigorous swirling gets rid of the excess fizz. This is definitely a beer that will appeal to the hop heads out there. This has a very clean malt character; just enough to support the malt, no real crystal malt notes to get in the way of the clean, hubristic hop notes. This is quite a nice beer to spend an evening with; I certainly wouldn't mind have a case of this in the fridge. I am a sucker for super fresh IPAs and dry Double IPAs as long as the quaffability is high.

Serving type: bottle

03-07-2010 16:14:32 | More by Gueuzedude

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

4.68/5  rDev +12.2%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Poured from a 22oz bottle into an imperial pint glass.

A: The beer is a deep gold color, with a large off-white head that fades very slowly and leaves a thick but spotty lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is an excellent blend of grassy hops, fruity citrus and light caramelized malts.

T: The taste starts out sweet with flavors of caramel and citrus that are immediately followed by a strong floral hops bitterness. The malt character is on the thin side for the style despite the sweetness but it works nicely for this beer and still provides a good balance. The after-taste is slightly hoppy and slightly sweet.

M: Smooth and very crisp, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

D: Very tasty, goes down quite easily, not too filling, good kick, excellent representation of style, this is a very good beer that is worth drinking for an entire evening.

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2010 00:59:20 | More by TheManiacalOne

russpowell

Oklahoma

4.22/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours an effervescent honey/amber color with 3 fingers of pearl colored head. Very good head retention & above average lacing

S: Leafy hops, breadyness,

T: Biscuitty malt, grapefruitty hops, & flinty dryness up front. Minty hops, a bit of pineapple & more biscuitty malt as this warms. Finishes with herbal & minty hops, just blasts the back of the throat & a touch of toffee

MF: Fairly chewy, moderate carbonation, good balance

Drinks very easy for the ABV & style, not a perfect DIPA, but no real faults either

Serving type: bottle

12-12-2009 06:27:26 | More by russpowell

emerge077

Illinois

4.03/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Jeweled amber tone, sharp clarity, fading orange sunset. Thick meringue tackiness inside the glass. Swaths of lacing, elegant and dense. Sweet candied ginger and grapefruit rinds. Alternating DIPA poles of sweet / bitter. Lingering grapefruit rind and pith, all bitter. Lingering dense malts lurking underneath. Sweet on the uptake, bitter on the downstroke. Savory. The affordable nectar of joe sixpack.

Serving type: bottle

10-19-2009 03:11:46 | More by emerge077

Halcyondays

California

4.25/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22 oz. bomber,

A: Pours orange with a thick off-white head, great lacing.

S: Hop heavy, citrus, tropical fruit.

T: Big time orange, tangerine, pink grapefruit, citrus heavy. Some pineapple too. Malt is light and stays out of the way. Well structured and balanced.

M: Medium/full-bodied, resiny, long aftertaste.

D: An outstanding DIPA from Lagunitas, where can you get a DIPA this good for under $4.50 anymore, nowhere, except the Elder, but you only get 500 mL. Lagunitas has certainly been impressing me lately.

Serving type: bottle

09-29-2009 17:56:36 | More by Halcyondays

Gavage

New Jersey

4.35/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: clear orange in color with some golden yellow highlights on the glass edge. Nice 2" head lasts a while and produces some moderate lacing.

Smell: big floral hop aroma with some grapefruits and oranges.

Taste: caramel, big grapefruit and orange citrus tones, floral hop presence with a sharp biting bitterness that nicely balances out the sweetness. Alcohol is noticeable.

Mouthfeel: medium bodied beer. Crisp throughout with some dryness at the finish. Very long aftertaste as the flavors linger in the mouth for a while.

Drinkability: easy to quaff DIPA but the alcohol level kicks this down a notch. Great flavors here.

Serving type: bottle

11-05-2009 12:38:43 | More by Gavage

jwc215

New Jersey

4.43/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

22 oz. bottle-

Pours hazed orange amber with a creamy thin white head. Thin lines of lacing stick.

The smell is of citrus/grapefruit and pine. Nice hop aroma!

The taste is hoppy - pine, citrus (esp. grapefruit and some orange). A sweetish malt backbone, especially in the middle, balances it out to get hop taste while keeping bitterness balanced. Finishes dry.

It has a creamy medium-to-full smooth body.

Alcohol very well-covered. Drinks "too" easily. Another example of how this brewery uses hops well! Another well-made hoppy brew from Lagunitas at a reasonable price! Very enjoyable - hoppy - but with just enough balance.

Serving type: bottle

10-17-2009 12:23:43 | More by jwc215

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

4.18/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22 oz bomber, picked up in Calgary over the Thanksgiving weekend.

This beer pours a slightly hazy light copper hue, with a finger or so of thin creamy off-white head, which leaves spaced rings of curtained lace around the glass. It smells (even from across the table) of sweet orange, grapefruit, and pineapple citrus hops, and caramel malt - very enticing, and highly reminiscent of Hop Stoopid. The taste is big pine and bitter grapefruit hops, a sweet toffee/caramel maltiness, and a mild alcohol warming. The carbonation is pretty moderate, the body smooth, solid, and a bit sticky, and it finishes fairly dry, just a bit of sweet malt under the bitter hop flooding of the senses. The big booze is integrated seamlessly in the body.

I always welcome a new DIPA 'round these parts, and especially from an established hop-monger like Lagunitas. This did not disappoint in the least. Lovely aroma, flavor, and overall drinking worthiness.

Serving type: bottle

10-16-2009 23:03:40 | More by biboergosum

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

4.2/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Whew. This one is nice 'n' hoppy. Good spicy tones with a lot of citric and somewhat acidic bite. It's firm and slightly harsh, but in all the right ways. This might be interesting to try on cask. Regardless of that, this is a nice one. Lagunitas really impresses me every time I dwell on it. Their consistent delivery of superior beers produced on a large scale is a sign of their ability. Good drinkin'.

Serving type: bottle

08-14-2012 08:23:40 | More by RblWthACoz

barleywinefiend

Washington

3.8/5  rDev -8.9%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured a golden yellow color with good carbonation and a big fluffy head. Nose is hops but not to big, grain anf floral. Taste is grain, hops, floral and citrus, bitterness on the end and caramel malt. Mouthfeel is bitter and floral.Drinakability is good.

Serving type: bottle

11-01-2009 05:43:19 | More by barleywinefiend

Wasatch

Utah

4.33/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Thanks goes out to stonequarrywest and pokesbeerdude for this brew.

Pours a very nice slight hazey golden yellow/orange color, nice carbonation, nice one-finger off-white head, with some nice sticky lacing left behind. The nose is hoppy, with some malt notes, citrus, and pines. The taste is hoppy, bitter, slightly malty, with a very nice touch of citrus/pine notes. Medium body. Very drinkable, this is a very tasty DIPA.

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2009 22:00:26 | More by Wasatch

jdhilt

New Hampshire

3.08/5  rDev -26.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours a two finger white head that fades slowly to a thin layer leaving some lace. Good carbonation and medium bodied. Clear light amber color. Nose is pine hops. Flavor is strong pine hop, hoping for a little caramel, don't find any. No doubt this has high IBUs. Label puts the ABV at 7.5%. $2.25 for a 12oz bottle from Colonial Spirits, Acton, MA.

Serving type: bottle

09-09-2010 22:25:23 | More by jdhilt

Billolick

New York

4.13/5  rDev -1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Bomber bottle, no freshness info. Pours lightly hazed, lighter amber, with a golden hue. Long lasting eggshell head, gobs of fine sheeting and lace, nice looking beer. Lucious tropical fruit nose, with notes of melon, spiced up hops and pinapple. Tasty, fruity, hoppy, all around quality DIPA. A bargain at $4.99/bomber. Got to love a brewery that keeps putting out new and quite worthy brews at reasonable prices. Heck they even quote Woody Guthrie on the label. Nice job here. Well worth a try, especially for Cali. DIPA lovers

Serving type: bottle

09-14-2009 23:18:39 | More by Billolick

ppoitras

Massachusetts

4.8/5  rDev +15.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

22oz bottle purchased as a single from Oliver's in Albany, NY. Or maybe it was from Julio's in Westboro, MA.

Poured into an imperial pint glass, formed a 1" beige head over the clear golden amber brew. Head recedes slowly, with sporadic lacing. Aroma is piney hops with a sweet undercurrent. Taste starts sweet, pine takes over in the middle, then closes with bitterness and some grapefruit, and lastly some lingering warmth. Mouthfeel is soft and smooth, and drinkability is superb, especially for the style. I love a DIPA that goes with flavor rather than bitter for bitter's sake.

Serving type: bottle

11-07-2009 01:59:01 | More by ppoitras

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

4.35/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22 oz bottle into a tulip glass.

Pours a clear copper, with 2 tight fingers of slightly off-white colored head. 1/3 of a finger of sturdy froth that flares up magnificantly when swirled, just absolutely SLATHERING the sides of the glass with huge lacing. The aroma is full-blown hop character, with flowers, herbs, pine, and spices, sitting on top of a huge bouquet of rich tropical fruit (buttload of grapefruit here) and sweet toasty bread. Wow, this is robust in the nose!

The taste starts with a dry and spicy bitterness, which grips the tongue in a fierce embrace. Despite the aggressiveness, this is nicely cut by sticky tropical citrus character and sweet toasted grains. Such good balance here, which despite the relative intenseness of the biterness, the sweetness adds a much softer texture to the profile. Finishes with some residual tang, before settling into a steady dry feel. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, with a slick and mellow creaminess to the carbonation that sits on top of some alcohol beef. While the warmth does pop the spicy bitterness to a good degree, most of it is only felt in the body.

Like most sequels, this one came off as bigger and bolder, but ultimately just a tad less satisfying than the original. Same awesome hop character here, but the bigger ABV did make the feel and drinkibility just a bit tougher. 22 oz was definitely enough for me this go around. Hop lovers still need to check this one out though.

Serving type: bottle

09-22-2009 17:09:59 | More by Kegatron