Lagunitas Brown Shugga

Brewed by Lagunitas Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Petaluma, California USA

Bottle. Clear brown with medium white head. Aroma of floral hops, sweet caramel, booze, lots of different stuff going on. Taste is lightly sweet with strong backbone of bitter hops and alcohol burn.

I somehow expected a more richly-colored pour for such a strong brew. Aroma displaying malt and honey with a clear floral hop character. On tasting, alcohol burn definitely there, but masked well by intense woody-molasses sweetness and a short hop kick at the top with long, drawn-out hop flavor in the aftertaste. The overall taste happens to be milder among barley wines that I’ve had, but Shugga is a great brew and approachable even for drinking by itself.

On tap at the Federal. My friend ordered this assuming it was a brown ale. Poured clear lightish amber with not much head. Smelled it and there was a huge citrusy hop thing going on. Definitely was wondering about its brown ale status. Figured it was more like an malty IPA. Surprised to find out it’s a barley wine. Didn’t seem that strong, to be honest. Tasty.

Pours transparent burnt orange with off-white head. The nose is sweeter than the taste, which is fine for me. Decent hops and not too sugary and syrupy, which was my fear. I’m not a huge fan of barleywines but I would drink this again. It seems closer to an IPA than most barleywines, and as a hophead, I like it this way.

Growler. A deep mahogany pour when held to the light....slightly tan head. Taste is magnificent - brown sugar (as advertised), vanilla, molasses, even some oak notes, although it wasn’t oak aged. Taste is sweet up front and through the middle, but it has a lasting bitter taste with some hoppiness at the end. Seems to me like a great mix of a strong ale and a barleywine - the sweetness of the BW with the hop bitterness of the strong ale. I’m not really a huge fan of barleywines, but I liked this one a lot.

Bottle from VBM in Buffalo. Pours a cloudy burnt orange body with a thin beige head. Aroma is full of hops, boozey, sweet malts, and spices. Flavor is sweet, pine and hops with a nice malt balance, not as intense as the aroma might lead you to believe. Medium bodied, smooth hoppy finish. Alcohol is noticeable but not too extreme. Overall a good barley wine.

Bottle., A clear bronze/amber color with a moderate sized tan head , light carbonation , spotty lacing. Aroma of caramel malt , brown shuggar , floral and citrus hops and a pale malt of some kind . Flavor is quite sweet up front with some nice floral, pine and citrus hops , medium bitterness some caramel, burnt shuggar and broun shugger , full body with a slightly oily mouthfeel , a slightly alcoholic finish , very drinkable and good , a very good value and a good brew all around .

Pretty red brown with a white head. Smells of lots of brown sugar with a bit of citrus hop. Tastes like a perfect winter brew, with lots of sugary spiciness and alcohol.