Brown Shugga, How
Come You Taste So Good?
I have to admit that I didn’t make
that up. No, it’s actually printed right on the label of Lagunitas Brown
Shugga, a barleywine-style ale made with the addition of brown sugar.
And of course the name of the beer is an allusion to the famous Rolling
Stones song of the same title, itself more than full with its share of
allusions.
Brown Shugga is a limited release (“sweet release” as the brewery calls it)
seasonal brew that makes its debut each October. I have only seen it in
22-ounce bomber bottles, but it is also available in six-packs as well from
what I hear. Being as immense a beer as it is, you can and actually should
sock a few bottles away, as this one will age well over time.
I stored a few bottles of the 2006 release myself, and have just popped one
in late June of 2007. The beer seems not much different that it did when
young, though there seems to be just a bit less hop aroma now. But just a
bit less.
Lagunitas Brown Shugga pours to a deep coppery color with a light
wispy head formation and a very enticing bready malt nose. I decanted some
of my bomber bottle into a wide mouthed Belgian beer glass to allow it to
assume room temperature a bit quicker, and so that the aroma of the beer can
rise unhindered.
A sip reveals more of that wonderfully fresh, bready malt character along
with some rich chewy caramel notes, rum and raisin, and molasses. Initially
there is some sweetness. The brown sugar addition doesn’t really add all
that much other than raising the gravity and increasing the amount of
fermentables, though, at least to me.
Some have described this beer as overly sweet, but I think that’s imagined,
as the big grassy-minty hop bitterness, which emerges shortly after sipping
and builds into a long, lingering dry crescendo in the finish, balances out
any sweetness here. The warming alcohol is very apparent in the finish, too:
this beer weighs in at 9.9% alcohol by volume.
The bitterness here seems a bit more than the 51.1 IBUs that Lagunitas
claims the beer has, especially given the whopping 1.1 original gravity.
Still, it’s there, even after about eight months of age. To my mind not as
complex as a Bigfoot
or an
Old Crustacean , but in it's own way just as delightful. And at just
$3.49 for a 22-ounce bomber, this is a great deal.
I love it just before dinner as an aperitif, or following a hearty repast as
a digestif. It’s also a great nightcap just before bed, perhaps best enjoyed
with a really good book, maybe even one about beer.
Update 12/19/2015:
Are the days of Lagunitas as a bargain basement
brew coming to an end? Perhaps not quite, but they may be coming just a step
closer. Today at Taco Mac was the first time
I've seen Lagunitas in a short pour, with
a glass of Lagunitas Brown Shugga' being served in an 11-ounce glass. Still,
at 9.9% alcohol by volume that may be a good thing anyway, and at $5.50 the
price was right. The beer was as rich and luscious as ever, thick with dark
malty richness and strong notes of rum raisin and molasses.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For
reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft