Lagunitas Brown Shugga

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

Hazy dark amber color, with a big creamy head. It has a perfumy and spicy (vanilla) hop aroma, sweet and malty, inviting. It has a powerful body, with a good malt and caramel flavor; compared to other American Barley Wines, this one has the alcohol that wins over the hop; anyway, it’s well bitter and the alcohol is not too much. It has a balanced final with caramel. Very good, solid, straighforward.

Appearance: Pours a dark mahogany-hued body with a small beige head. Smell: Earthy, sweet-smelling caramel maltiness with bright citrus, maple, and spruce notes. Taste: Caramel malts with a hard candy sweetness. A drizzle of maple syrup. A nice mergence of citrusy grapefruit and Valencia oranges. Spicy spruce component. Lightly acidic. Moderate, resinous hop bitterness. A bit of hot alcohol warmth around the bittersweet finish. Mouthfeel: A bit beyond medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Drinkability: Not nearly as graceful and seamless as some of the great barleywines, but decent enough for the price, I suppose.

Pours dark reddish brown with small tan head. Aromas of malt, molasses and brown sugar. Initial flavors of sweetness and hops and finishes with malt and alcohol. Decent, but there are alot of better barley wines out there.

Bottle. Deep, clear mahogany. Thin tan head. Aroma: obviously brown sugar with alcohol and malt. Somebody mentioned autumn leaves, I agree. Mouthfeel is creamy and silky. Med-Full bodied. Sweet, sugary malty up front with a bitter hop bite that is followed by some heat. I kind of like this. It is a bit rough around the edges like a SN Bigfoot and slightly watery but it’s Ok. It’s an easy drinkin’ 10% I’ll say that.

Pours dark amber with a minimal heat. Aroma of brown sugar, citrus, and yeast. Strong malt taste with a big sweetness. Taste like what it is, a very sweet barley wine. Decent bitter hop finish.

Poured a light amber color with an off white head. Aroma was a little bit of fruit, malt and hops. Hops fairly dominated the taste, but there was a little sweetness to it, as well. It was OK... nothing worth getting excited over.

A nice rusty pour with a minimal beige head. Some sweetness in the aroma. Sugary dried fruits. Flavors of butter candies, definitely brown sugar and a touch of hops. Finishes with some bitterness. Not too bad!

12 oz bottle courtesy of alohaC. 2006 vintage. Pour is hazy orange-copper, with some golden highlights. Off white head faded almost immediately. Aroma of honey, baking caramel, nuts and some strong orange citrus (not fresh oranges, more like baking oranges). Complex nose, and nice. Taste is big sweetness, though not cloying, the cane sugar comes through strong. Behind the cane sugar are all of the elements of the nose (honey, caramel, nuts, orange citrus). Full bodied, yet slick and drinkable. Really no evident heat in this one. I think the age really helped this beer a bunch. I couldn’t taste the shark or gerbil in this, did I just misread the label? Thanks Christian!