Review Date 3/6/2008 Last Updated 10/2/2011
Try? Re-buy?
Lagunitas Undercover Investigation Shut-Down Ale pours to a bright coppery
orange color with a thick, creamy sudsy head formation and a brightly
floral, citric hoppy nose. Not one to be intimidated by a beer, even one
described as “especially bitter”, I dive right in and take a sip. My taste
buds are greeted right away by a surprisingly light malt body. There is a
little caramel malt, to be sure, but not so much as you’d find in a lot of
beers of this strength.
This, I suspect, is by design. Keep the theme of this beer in mind. They’re
aiming for a bitter beer, and a bitter beer thou shalt receive. The hops
here are a tad herbal but mostly bitter, indicating a mostly early addition
to the boil. But they do arrive, and they’re faintly herbal, and very, very
bitter, lingering in the finish with a long, dry, puckering kick. There’s
plenty of alcohol warmth here, too.
As I said, not for the faint of heart, but a noble beer worth your time for
the hopheads out there. Why not show the brewery your support against the
forces of reaction and government tyranny by buying a few? And, at $3 to $4
a bottle, this is a bargain as always from Lagunitas.
Update, October 2 2011: I enjoyed this beer on draft tonight at my local Taco Mac. As always, it's a puckeringly hoppy delight, bitter, aromatic, herbal and delicious. The beer is deceptively drinkable but very warming in the finish, and made a perfect companion to spicy Buffalo wings along with an afternoon of football. At $5.25 for a full mug pour (no short pours here), it's a bargain, too.
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