The Brewery: Lagunitas Brewing Co. (Petaluma, CA)
The Brew: Brown Shugga' (Strong Ale)
Availability: 6-packs (seasonal)
ABV: 9.99%%
Rating: 9/10
Location: Home
Found: Fingerlakes Beverage Center
The Story? Brown Shugga' started life as a failed batch of Olde GnarlyWine Ale. The innovators at Lagunitas chose to experiment and salvage the batch by adding unabashed amounts of brown sugar. The result was one of their most popular beers to date and a staple of the high ABV winter American seasonals. Brown Sugar left us in 2011 due to construction-induced capacity issues (when they issued "Sucks" as a substitute), but returned last year to critical and fan acclaim.
The Beer? I could smell this beer from where I took the picture. This sweet release pours out with a voluminous, staying head of lace atop glowing, amber-copper liquid. The nose is quite sweet with notes of caramel and hoppy orange notes.
Down the hatch, Brown Shugga' is smooth like silk. It's hoppy, but not dry or bitter. Sweet brown sugar meets hop citrus and heat. I think this is the most well-balanced beer Lagunitas offers. There's notes of sweet lemon, candy sugar, toasted malts, and caramel. Sweet, dank, easy drinking bliss.
The 9.99% is well hidden for the majority of the way through the glass, but by the end, strong esters and booze are apparent, though by far not nearly it's full potency. Calling this irresponsibly drinkable is apt.
Overall, this is a must-try for any craft beer drinker and an easy stable of winter beer drinking. It's unlike anything else out there, somewhere between a Barelywine and an Imperial IPA, but very much on it's own journey.
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