Lagunitas Undercover Investigation Shut-Down Ale

Brewed by Lagunitas Brewing Company
Style: American Strong Ale
Petaluma, California USA

Pours a clear glowing dark amber with a medium thick sudsy off-white foamy head and nice lacing. Resiny green piney hop aroma overtop rich glassy caramel, touch of peach and grapefruit. First taste is peachy and sweet, a bit floral, followed by metallic bitterness and grapefruit. The sweetness, faint caramel, play oddly off of the strong bitterness, a bit phenolic, green bananas, bubble-gum. Medium body, sticky, larger but still soft carbonation bubbles. Quite drinkable for being 9.3%, however, the flavor aren’t anything to really get excited about.

Thanks to rustychiles for grabbing me one of these. Pours a dark chestnut brown with next to no carbonation. A straight pour down the center results in no greater than 1/4 finger of head. Pretty dismal for a beer that I know is damn hoppy. Aroma is of dank citrusy/piney American hops and a teeny bit of crystal malt. Taste is pure dank heavy high alpha acid American hops backed by the residual sweetness of a solid amber ale with plenty of crystal malt thrown in. Quite quite tasty, and I’m no hop head. This was pretty reminiscent of Oskar Blues Gordon for me.

Bottle. Pours a very nice amber with off-white head. Aroma of strong malt, fruit, caramel, alcohol. Flavor was very much the same, strong flavor of malt and some fruit, hides alcohol well but the heat was present. Mouth feel is full body with medium carbonation. Overall, this was a very enjoyable beer, strong and nicely balanced....would like again!

12 oz bottle. Pours a copper with a small white head that diminshes quickly to nothing. The aroma is a piney hops with grapefruit and floral. Decent spotty lacing on the glass. The taste is a more mild malt than the aroma suggests. Hides the alcohol well, with a smooth finish. A very good American Strong ale from Lagunitas.

Bottle, "12 fluid oz’s ...of hops, malt, hops, hops, yeast, hops, water, and hops." Pours an orangey-copper with a very small head. Aroma of malty sweetness with some leafy hops. Flavor is rich and sweet on the tip of the tongue with citrusy/floral hops on the back. Finishes medium-dry with a defined but comfortable bitterness. Body’s pretty normal. Good stuff.

pours medium brown with a rocky off-white head. Aroma: moderately malty of cookies, heavily hoppy of pine, oranges and lime. Flavor starts lightly sweet, and heavily bitter, great hop flavor, piny and citrus and alcohol sweetness. Medium bodied and creamy with livley Co2.

Dark golden with a lasting white head. Aroma of caramel and candy with grass and grapefruit hops. Sweet sugary flavour with a harsh hop bitter finish.

12 oz. bottle. O.G. 1.092, ABV 9.03%, I.B.U. 72.41. Pours an initially thick head which deflates into a long lasting thin layer, good lacing, over a clear dark (SRM 15) golden body.....nose is sweet, with honey tones balanced by hop sharpness...initial taste is sweetish (not strong) then balancing hop bitterness follows with grapefruit, slight pine and lingering bitterness....mouth feel is medium to heavy, carbonation light. Overall a heavily malted somewhat sweet palate with the hops nicely balancing the malts. A thoroughly enjoyable ale. F.G. would have been about 1.020 which explains the sweet and weight on the tongue.