Lagunitas Undercover Investigation Shut-Down Ale

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

22 oz Bottle, poured a clear reddish color, with a nice head. Some lacing. Aromas included hops, and some orange/lemon peel. Very good tastes which included some sweetness.

Bottle. Pours a clear amber with a small but lasting off-white head that leaves good lacing. Aroma of pine hops, citrus hops, sweet malt, light alcohol, and light caramel. Taste is the same as aroma with a huge focus on the bitterness. Medium full resiny mouthfeel that finishes slightly sweet and heavily bitter. Nice alcohol warmth but never hot. Needs a little more malt sweetness to balance out the bitterness but still a vey good ASA.

22oz, no date. Clear copper brown with a small creamy light beige head. Pine and grapefruity hops up front with some spicy hops, brown sugar, scorched caramel, and a bit of alcohol. The alcohol is quite a bit stronger in the flavor, and the hops almost get astringent, but not quite--otherwise, the flavor is the same as the aroma. The sweetness iis moderate only for a short while before the bitterness kicks in. Bitterness peaks at a 6-7 (out of 10). Dry finish. Full body with moderate carbonation. Nice lacing clear to the end of the glass. Pretty good beer.

Bottle. Deep copper, with a thick tan head. Rich fruity, resin aroma, with no hint of the alcohol. Light body for the alcohol. A bit bitter for a strong ale. Finishes a bit long, with the bitterness coming on strong at the end.

Pours a brown color with some amber-orange hues. Forms a 1" frothy off-white head with decent retention of some wispy foam throughout. Minimal spotty lacing. Nicely balanced aroma profile with competing notes of dark caramel, chocolate malt balls, raisins, spices and a touch of citrus-like hops in the background. Medium body on the palate with a nice slick, smooth feel as it passes over the tongue. Flavors are also very well balanced with notes of sweet caramel candy, toffee, dark fruits and toasted malt combined with a subtle spicy-citrusy hop contribution. The body and balanced flavor seems to keep the 9.9% alcohol almost unoticeable. Perhaps not a classic but a solid, drinkable American Strong for sure.

a very typical lagunitas ale. it does seem a bit cleaner as the trademark straw type flavor is missing. the flavors introduce themselves in a classic way. a touch of vanilla sweetness, creamy and refreshing. a great brewer can do this. a bit taken aback as the hop profile is a little laid back and tame. this only serves to show off the rest of the beers attributes. what we would expect from lag and what some of us might like to see. careful this brew shows little alcohol!

22 oz’er -- Poured a nice reddish medium amber with a firm 1/2 inch foam top. The aroma is quite pleasant, sweet and floral with an almost cinnamony aspect to it. Invitingly creamy and cushioned, this has a nice bouquet of pine and citrus, with a solid undercurrent of caramel malt. You would never pick this as 9.9% ... beautiful! (#3054, 8/10/2007)

This has a good looking pour, a clear, deep amber, slightly tinted with brown, and a creamy, sustained beige head. The aroma is rich and malty, a winey, caramel/toffee mix, and heavily hopped courtesy of the PNW. The creamy malts and the sharply bitter citric hops are fairly evenly balanced, keeping me from declaring this a DIPA. The strong ABV is lost beneath the malty sweetness and hoppy bitterness. Nice.

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