UPDATED: JAN 11, 2022 I use old bottles for my home-brew so was wondering about some old lagunitas brews like hairy eyeball and brown shugga, then come across this. a bit lighter in color, less sweet and a little hoppier than what i remember. aromas of toffee, resin, powdered sugar. flavors of burnt sugar, toffee, sawdust, alcohol--a bit cloying and drying, and the sawdust resom clashes a little. fairly light on the palate. boozey finsih

UPDATED: JAN 9, 2022 12oz bottle consumed at home on a Sat night. Pours a healthy copper with decent sightly off white lacing. Aroma is malty and bready with caramel and brown sugar. Taste also focuses on the malty, caramel notes with a lean into the sweeter end of the spectrum. Alcohol presence definitely felt. This is a big strong ale or big barleywine depending on what you want to call it. Overall it's a good rendition of the style.

UPDATED: JAN 8, 2022 Pretty darn nice for a big, burly barleywine, offering up loads of caramel, cane sugar, orange marmalade, and a little custard, with a moderate piney bitterness on the back end and lingering notes of sugarcane and candied citrus zest. Tasty.

UPDATED: JAN 7, 2022 Pours a clear golden amber into tulip glass. Nice creamy white head that settles uniformly, leaving a bit of lacing. Medium nose of candied sugar, malts, citrus and pine. Great mouthfeel, full and rich. Decent carbonation. Taste is a satisfying blend of sweet malts, caramel, figs, apricot, and hoppy bite that is clean with a long bittersweet finish. Very much like a tweaked barleywine. Compares favorably to Lagunitas Brown Shugga'... Unrefined Shugga' is a bit more candy forward than the molasses vibe in the former. A winner!

UPDATED: JAN 3, 2022 Pours clear, deep amber into a tulip. White conglomerate head with good retention recedes leaving no lacing. Hot caramel, molasses and pine aromas. Thick with sour, earthy pit fruit, hot caramel and overripe tropical fruit upfront turning to dry, earthy pine resin and bark finish.

UPDATED: DEC 30, 2021 Clear, amber color. Medium-sized, off-white head.Caramel, dried fruits, malt, and some alcohol in the aroma. Sweet, malty start with lingering hoppy bitterness in the end. Not the best from Lagunitas, but still something new in the era of hazy beers.

UPDATED: DEC 29, 2021 Bottle at Holiday Beerfest. Poured clear amber, off white head. Aroma of caramel. Taste was mild sweet, bittersweet, malty, caramel, hops.

UPDATED: DEC 25, 2021 12oz bottle from Windsor Hy-Vee, in a Pretentious Sequel glass. Aromas of biscuits and brown bread, caramel and toffee, candied apples and plums. Pours a deep amber with copious carbonation streaming up from the bottom of the glass and three fingers of fluffy khaki head with great lacing and retention. Flavor is sweet and malty on entry, with overripe fruit on the mid-palate, and a long finish of foresty green hops with a hint of caramel. 10% ABV very well concealed. Medium-bodied with a slight hoppy astringency on the gums. A nice twist on the Brown Shugga recipe. Very well made, just a few nice little extra notes adding a small amount of complexity to a well-balanced and satisfying base. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect brew for Christmas Eve. Merry Christmas raters!

UPDATED: DEC 20, 2021 12 ounce with no bottling date evident. Pours a clear, shiny copper with a two inch spongy head. Faint aroma of cake and vanilla icing with a hint of citrus zest. Flavors of the same but bolder and with a touch of cherry. Wooden hop and a touch of booze in the finish. Medium bodied with smooth mid-level carbonation. Decent balance with the sweet start matched by a dry-ish ending.

UPDATED: DEC 17, 2021 12 oz bottle 12/16/21 (Jewel-Osco) 39° in Shaker. Pours clear amber with a small covering for a head. Aroma of roasted malt, caramel, toffee, and sugar. Taste of the same with hops coming in the middle and finishing with sweetness. This full-bodied brew is well balanced and damn tasty.