Lagunitas Bourbon Brown Shugga

Brewed by Lagunitas Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Petaluma, California USA

Serve in Snifter

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Name: Brown Shugga, Bourbon Barrel
Date: June 25, 2009
Mode: Firkin
Source: Brick Store Pub
Appearance: muddy burnt orange, wispy beige head
Aroma: sweet bourbon and caramel aroma, lots of vanilla, raw brown sugar, touch of oak
Flavor: rich bourbon and caramel flavor, touch of sweet vanilla is balanced by a light tartness, plenty of balancing oak adds a big earthyness, touch of brown sugar
Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.8/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4

This beer was lighter that I expected for the 9.9% ABV. But I did enjoy it. There is a noticeable bit that you will taste after the first sip. I tend to find that barely wines have an acquired taste, but I enjoyed this one from the start.

Pours a light copper color with a light head and seemingly endless bubbles. The smell is malty, with a hint of nut and some fruit as well (although nothing distinct). The taste is big and warm. Mostly the best parts of a brown ale with lots of candied sugars, and the alcohol is nowhere to be found. You can tell this beer is made with care.

Copper color. Caramel sweet nose. Slight citrus and hops on the nose. Malty start with some raisin notes. A nice little twang in the flavor. Some hop bitterness and alcohol burn.

Draft. Rich amber beer with a dark cream colored head. Rich brown sugar aroma with light bourbon. Brown sugar and bourbon flavor with rich malt. Medium-plus bodied. Brown sugar and light bourbon lingers with rich malt.

Very appealing aroma, but the first taste is overpowering. The bitter hops and extremely sweet malts clash rather than compliment. Bitter aftertaste left on the back of the tongue. Has potential, but needs to be pulled back a bit for better balance. A few years aging maybe?

On tap at the Lagunitas tasting room. Same basics as the normal brown shugga. less clarity, a little darker, and less head than the original. Nose is sweeter, oaky, and loses the hops note. Taste mimics the smell - it’s sweeter through and through, and the bourbon sweetness and oak takes away the nice bitterness of the original. The moderately bitter finish in the original is muted by the bourbon and additional alcohol. I did not like this as much as the original - i think it’s lost some balance.

Draft @ Bistro Barrel Aged Festival. Pours a murky, reddish-brown color; light-tan head with solid, fine-bubbled lacing. Lots of sour-mash whiskey / bourbon character in the aroma: brown sugar, charred barrel notes; a light sour-mash presence. Decent amounts of bourbon / sour mash notes, warming alcohol and complex maltiness upfront; solid barrel character, earthy malts, brown sugar, some smoked meat character as well; chewy, dense beer. Lasting finish: basic sour-mash bourbon, earthy maltiness, well-integrated throughout.

On tap at Bistro BA Fest poured a hazy reddish brown with a small lingering amber head. Aromas of brown sugar, carmel, bourbon, vanilla, pepper and light fruittiness. Palate was light to medium bodied and smooth with a dry finish. Flavors of brown sugar, carmel, vanilla and light bourbon with a smooth dry finish.