Lagunitas Brewing Co.'s A Little Sumpin' Sumpin' Ale

I made a Spec’s run a few days ago after work, on the search for another great brew.  I keep a massive list of beers I’ve yet to try, so I had a pretty good idea of what to look for.  Next up on my list was Lagunitas Brewing Co.’s A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale.  When I got there however, I noticed this month’s beer special; $7.99 for all 6 packs of Left Hand beers.  That’s about $2 off the usual price, so I was stuck with a hard decision.  I decided to table the Left Hand until next time, and I went through with my first choice.

Wait your turn, creepy tiger

Lagunitas is one of the most praised craft breweries in the United States; they’re consistently rated well and often offered as recommendations.  So, needless to say, I was really anticipating trying some out.  I felt like I needed a good base point to start my Lagunitas assessment.  I picked out Lil’ Sumpin’ Sumpin’ because it was a starting point for many other beers they brew today: Sumpin’ Extra, Sumpin’ Wild, and even Sumpin’ Fuzzy (brewed with peaches).

Google says fuzzy beer = Fozzie Bear 

The original Lil’ Sumpin’ Sumpin’ is an American style ale, brewed with 50% wheat malt.  Similar brews have been called “the American version of hefe-weisen.”  Lagunitas were looking for something new and creative with this brew, and I think they were happy with the finished product, because it is now on un-limited release. 

When I first popped open the beer I was tempted to just start drinking it, but that’s just me being lazy, so I took the extra 2 seconds to pour it into a pint glass.  The pour produced about a finger and a half of standard white head.  I’d describe the color as orange tinted amber.  The beer was just slightly hazy.

The aroma was mostly just hop zest, but there was a slight fruit note present also.  I admit I always love a strong bouquet from the hops; it reminds me of perfect temperature spring days, instead of 103 degree afternoons.

This beer was pretty tasty.  The first sip brought some wheaty malt flavor, a split second later there was a tangerine fruit note, and then just after that came a strong spice from the hops.  Both the tangerine flavors and the oily hops bring a strong zest to this brew, although it’s not overpowering.

This beer felt alright in the mouth, it was definitely oily, which let the flavor stick around for a bit after the swallow.  This was a pretty addicting beer; because it tasted so good, I just kept having more, and before I knew it the glass was empty.  I’m gonna warn you now, Lil’ Sumpin’ Sumpin’ is misleading.  You don’t really taste the 7.5% abv, so if you drink it as fast as I did, you feel a little goofy afterwards.

Overall I’d give Lagunitas Brewing’s A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale a 4.5 out of 5.  This was absolutely an enjoyable brew and I’m very excited now to try more things from this brewery.  The hard thing now is making another tough decision at Spec’s.  Do I buy that one, or this one, or maybe…

Oh no, no no no no no. 20,000 students can be wrong indeed