Brown Shugga' Sweet Release - Lagunitas Brewing Company, Petaluma

I'm not sure what to make of this beer... I originally picked it up without paying much attention to it. This was one of those beers that I grabbed to finish out a six pack sampler. In some ways it was an impulse purchase. I just assumed, based off of the name, that this beer was a Brown Ale. So as quite a surprise when I was pouring this beer into a pint glass and glanced at the bottle to notice it was 9.8% alcohol. Taking a whiff of the beer in my glass it smelled a bit like what I expected, but with more than a hint of piney hops. Still, I was intrigued by this beer and dove right into this pint glass.

The flavor of Lagunitas' Brown Shugga is a bit... different. This beer is really earthy and never really as sweet as you'd expect. There are certainly hints of sweet sugar but it all tastes a bit burnt. That burnt sugar flavor combined with a hoppy finish combine to make a pretty interesting flavor. Even though the sugars are dark and a little burnt, they still take the bite off of the hops. This beer never really tastes bitter, at least not at the same level as similarly hopped beers.

I like this flavor combination as an aberration. It's a nice change and a unique example of two flavors that have been combined to make something very interesting. But when the novelty wears off, I'm not sure I'd go back to get another bottle of Brown Shugga from the fridge. It's good while it lasts but I was glad when it was over...