PappyVanWise Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Okay, take two...we're going to roll with Lagunitas Sucks. A little wikipedia sourced history of Lagunitas Brewing: "The brewery was founded in 1993 by Tony Magee in Lagunitas, California and moved a year later to nearby Petaluma, California when they quickly outgrew their original rural West Marin location. Since the mid-2000s, Lagunitas has been one of the fastest-growing craft breweries in the United States, increasing from 27,000 barrels in 2004 to 106,000 barrels in 2010." And the back story about this particular brew. Lagunitas had some construction going on at their brewing facility, and couldn't produce their usual seasonal winter brew Brown Shugga. So instead they brewed the self deprecating Lagunitas Sucks. I guess it would be considered a Double IPA, but beer classifications are an inexact science. This should be around 10.99 for the six pack and available most everywhere that sells craft beer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Okay, take two...we're going to roll with Lagunitas Sucks. Lagunitas Sucks is extremely highly rated by members of The Beer Advocate, and it's easy to see why. This has so much complexity of flavor and scent - if I had to pick one, it would be grapefruit rind - that it's easy to look past the massive level of hopping. I am definitely *not* a hophead, and that's why I loved DC Braü's Thyme After Thyme: super-hoppy beers need something else in the nose to counteract or neutralize the hops (for me, anyway), and the Lagunitas Sucks has it in spades - this beer has a very pleasing aroma. Jason Alström (of The Beer Advocate) is not as kind with his rating, for primarily the same reasons I describe above, but this beer is so novel to me (he drinks 80-trillion times more beer than I do), and I am so enamored with citrus, that I can perhaps overlook any fundamental imbalances more easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishinnards Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 I got six pack last night ($9.99 @ Alexandria WF). I'm two deep into it and am enjoying this beer. Used a tulip glass (if anyone cares). As Don said, the most striking thing at first it the hop aroma, which has a strong floral, citrus element (grapefruit, pomelo) that is very pleasing. I found the aroma dissipates after moving to the second beer, but this could have been from the cooking smells as I was making some Indian food. The malt helped balance the bitterness enough to keep me drinking, but then again I like bitter flavors. Eventually my mouth got the resinous coating that comes with strong IPAs but could have easily enjoyed a third beer. I enjoyed the high ABV (i think it's 7.85%). I like strong ales. I'm looking forward to drinking some more tonight. I will buy more of this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyjoan Posted February 8, 2013 Share Posted February 8, 2013 There is a feature article in the most recent Beer Connoisseur magazine about Lagunitas and Tony Magee. A good read, if you can track it down. If you ever have the opportunity to visit Petaluma (which is just a short drive from either San Francisco or the Napa/Sonoma area), you should definitely go to the brewery. The tour is a hoot and a half - the folks who work there know and love their beer, but they also know how to have a damn good time. They also have an excellent pub and patio where they have live music and lots of taps, where you can get the usual suspects AND many varieties that are not easy to find on the East Coast. My husband and I still rave about the day we spent at Lagunitas - it doesn't look like you would expect from the outside, but once you are in, you won't want to leave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted February 8, 2013 Share Posted February 8, 2013 Lagunitas Sucks is extremely highly rated by members of The Beer Advocate, and it's easy to see why. This has so much complexity of flavor and scent - if I had to pick one, it would be grapefruit rind - that it's easy to look past the massive level of hopping. I am definitely *not* a hophead, and that's why I loved DC Braü's Thyme After Thyme: super-hoppy beers need something else in the nose to counteract or neutralize the hops (for me, anyway), and the Lagunitas Sucks has it in spades - this beer has a very pleasing aroma. Jason Alström (of The Beer Advocate) is not as kind with his rating, for primarily the same reasons I describe above, but this beer is so novel to me (he drinks 80-trillion times more beer than I do), and I am so enamored with citrus, that I can perhaps overlook any fundamental imbalances more easily. Funny, I'm having one right now and even more than grapefruit, I'm getting a sulphuric smell (not unpleasant, but smells like a newly bottled wine that hasn't settled down from it's SO2). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjsadler Posted February 8, 2013 Share Posted February 8, 2013 I would have sworn that Sucks was made primarily with Citra hops (a fairly new breed of hops that has a distinctive citrus/fruit aroma), but searched to see what hops they use and apparently I'm wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPW Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 I picked mine up from Sammi at Fenwick Beer and Wine in downtown SS. Enough sweetness to balance out the hop level. Agree with Don 100% on the main note in taste and aroma being grapefruit rind. Feels a little lighter in body than most of the IPAs that I drink. Nothing earthshaking, but a thoroughly enjoyable beverage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PappyVanWise Posted February 9, 2013 Author Share Posted February 9, 2013 Really all the hype goes to Hopslam, but I have a feeling if this came first it would be the one everyone is talking about. At less than half the price of Hopslam these days, I'd pick up two of these instead. I've been in touch with Lagunitas, and they might chime in. So if anyone has any questions for them, fire away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Pressley Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 We have a keg of Lagunitas Sucks here at the Light Horse which we'll be tapping in the next few days, I'm sure. If you go to Beermenus.com and "follow" us, you'll get a notification when we put a new beer on draft (we rotate 6 of our 12 lines pretty frequently.) It's a pretty cool service that we've been using for about a year now. When we change a beer line, it sends notifications out to followers and updates our beer menu on the website and our facebook page all in one shot. (Don-feel free to move this to a new thread. Thought it was appropriate here because of the specific beer you all were currently tasting.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thetrain Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 I've had bottles of this so far, purchased from WF in DC, for $10.99 - even though it was marked $9.99. Hoppy, sweeter than an IPA, and lots of citrus, like others have mentioned Grapefruit especially. As a grapefruit fiend I really enjoyed it, although I'd probably get my usual Lagunitas Little Sumpin Sumpin. I've found most Lagunitas beers are heavy on citrus, and its why I'm a big fan of their beers in general. If you liked this Don, I'd suggest trying some of their other beers. I thought the Brown Shugga was similar to Little Sumpin Sumpin but maltier and sweeter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanMike Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 I could've sworn I had this beer a couple of months ago at Ragtime on tap. (They have a rotating Lagunitas tap nowadays.) Anyways, opened up my six pack last night. Definitely got the citrus and the hops others were talking about; a brighter taste than the Hopslam, but also more of a sharp carbonation to it than the Hopslam. The two are both good, but in different ways; I could easily drink more Hopslam than the Sucks, because the former comes off creamier and smoother, but there was nothing wrong with the Sucks, especially at the price point. Maybe tonight I'll drink 'em side by side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrichstar Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 This is a fine beer but with cost not being an object, just don't feel it competes with Hopslam, which is the natural comparison and is all the talk on Beeradvocate. LS does impress with the extreme hoppiness and citrus packed into only a 7.85% ABV. But really, this is a hop bomb at its core with some citrus thrown in as the complement. It's a good beer when you're in the mood or perhaps have a certain food pairing in mind. With Hopslam, you get a balance with the honey that really does a great job to take the edge off the hops, making it a more enjoyable experience (though the 10% ABV really kicks your butt). For me, Sucks is a solid DIPA but Hopslam is a beer that should be savored to the last drop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TedE Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 I finally tasted this over the weekend; not much more to add to what has been discussed. The grapefruit/lemon peel notes are what sets it apart. This one is in the top tier of hop-forward IIPAs, but I'd need to do some head-to-head tastings to sort out where it ranks with other current favorites. I do disagree with how it measures up to HopSlam. Personally, I'd take Sucks over this year's formulation at any price, but they are fundamentally different beers aiming for different flavor profiles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanMike Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 I had this last night on draft and it wasn't so hot. I'm guessing that the crappy bar I was at (Bailey's) had more to do with that then the beer itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rovers2000 Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 I had it on draft a Boulevard Woodgrill last weekend and very much enjoyed it (served in a tulip glass). Definitely a ton of grapefruit that really mellowed out the overall hop factor (although, its definitely still there). I actually had this about an hour before consuming a HopSlam at Eventides bar and I would say this beer, while not necessarily standing up to the smoothness of HopSlam, still belongs in the conversation along with Troegs Nugget Nectar. I do think from a price perspective, this beer is a better on a dollar by dollar basis than HopSlam - I'd drink this regularly whereas the other is more like a once a year treat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treznor Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 There is a feature article in the most recent Beer Connoisseur magazine about Lagunitas and Tony Magee. A good read, if you can track it down. If you ever have the opportunity to visit Petaluma (which is just a short drive from either San Francisco or the Napa/Sonoma area), you should definitely go to the brewery. The tour is a hoot and a half - the folks who work there know and love their beer, but they also know how to have a damn good time. They also have an excellent pub and patio where they have live music and lots of taps, where you can get the usual suspects AND many varieties that are not easy to find on the East Coast. My husband and I still rave about the day we spent at Lagunitas - it doesn't look like you would expect from the outside, but once you are in, you won't want to leave. Agree on this. I've been to the brewery before (though didn't get a tour as they weren't doing them at the moment) and its such a laid back space and have kickass beer to boot. I had this last night on draft and it wasn't so hot. I'm guessing that the crappy bar I was at (Bailey's) had more to do with that then the beer itself. I've not had great luck with hoppy beer, especially beer that's known for its dry-hopping, via taps. I don't know if you just need to have meticulously clean tap lines otherwise the hop resins get soaked up or what... I tried Lagunitas Sucks a couple weeks ago. While a solid beer, and I'm glad I had it, it didn't really knock my socks off. I really preferred the beer it 'substituted' for, Brown Sugga, better (though a completely different style). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 I got another six-pack of this, and for whatever reason, I find this batch to be so intrusively hoppy that I cannot even finish a bottle. I tried last night, and I'm trying tonight, and I can't drink it. Is it possible that in two months, the beer has changed in bottle? I got this at Total Annandale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pras Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 Loved this beer and its a great value for the quality. Hop bomb! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonrhoades Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 I got another six-pack of this, and for whatever reason, I find this batch to be so intrusively hoppy that I cannot even finish a bottle. I tried last night, and I'm trying tonight, and I can't drink it. Is it possible that in two months, the beer has changed in bottle? I got this at Total Annandale. I would hate for you to take up space in your fridge with a beer you don't enjoy. You just let me know and I'll gladly relieve you of this burden. I'm just a giving guy, I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Freshman Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 On tap now at Spider Kelly's. Tried it from a bottle yesterday, and it is very good. I am an avowed hophead, but I am happy to see the trend on double/triple/Imperial IPAs waning in favor of balance. This one teeters on the edge of too much, but is still a great beer. We've always had the regular IPA on tap, and whenever another one comes through, it is the benchmark. A side by side comparison would be interesting as I have always loved the wonderful citrus notes of the Lagunitas IPA. That's a great quality of Sucks as well, but at nearly 8%, my palate is toast after two of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PappyVanWise Posted February 10, 2014 Author Share Posted February 10, 2014 For fans of this one Finally: Lagunitas Sucks available year-round from Draft Magazine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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