Lagunitas Brewing 'Sucks'. 8% abv. 63.21 IBU. Brown Shugga' Substitute Ale. Yellow-orange color. Thin white head that gradually falls to a sustaining collar. Moderate retention, excellent lace. Nose of sweet roasted malt. Front taste of light roasted grain, light caramel, sweet bread. Aftertaste of bitter fruity hops, toffee, toasted grain. Medium body. Mouthfeel is warm, slightly sticky, some carb.
This is an excellent beer, roasty and sweet without being syrupy sugary sweet. Nice balance of bitter and malt in the aftertaste, with the fruity hops coming through and sustaining well. This beer was created to help tide us over until the legendary seasonal Brown Shugga' is made available each year's end.
Some beer enthusiasts love one and detest the other, if only because tribalism demands such extremes (think Ford vs. Chevy, PC vs. Mac, Star Wars vs Star Trek, etc.). However, the more reasonable among us love both beers while still preferring one over the other. I love Brown Shugga' for being such a unique, big, bold beer with an amazing somewhat aggressive taste, and I love Sucks slightly less only because its similar flavors are not quite as tall as its predecessor. You may like that the hops in Sucks are not as forward, and the brown sugar taste is not as present. I urge you to try both. You will likely be adding two more beers to your personal Top-20. Highly recommended.
From the brewery:
"Originally brewed in 2011 as a Brown Shugga’ substitute, due to construction-induced capacity issues. But we liked it so much it had to make a return trip."
[source: lagunitas.com]
"E.K. Ross would have enjoyed our suffering in 2010 when we saw we couldn't brew our Brown Shugga. But in that time of deepest despair, as is common to artists everywhere... broke, hungover, abandoned by the muse and prepared to take a job at Arby's, we found in that darkness the spark of inspiration that would yield up this nearly sanctified recipe!"
[source: bottle]
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