876. Lagunitas – Little Sumpin’ Extra! Ale

Posted By kkozlen on Oct 7, 2017 | 0 comments

I just finished up a huge project at work yesterday and the cross-country season is over for my son. He also had his second-to-last soccer game of the season today. So fall is starting to wind down a bit. I was very productive around the house last weekend, so I’m relaxing a bit today. I’ve had this beer several times before and didn’t realize I hadn’t reviewed it yet. My wife loves Lagunitas Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ so when I saw this on store shelves again this year, I knew I’d better get as much as I could. It’s part of Lagunitas “One Hitter” series, which are their random one-off beers like The Waldo’s Special I had earlier this year.

Location: Poured into a TEKU pint glass at my home in Bloomington, IL.

Numbers: 8.7% ABV, 72.51 IBUs, 1.082 OG, ~290 Calories

Appearance & Aroma: It’s golden yellow in color and pretty clear with a big soapy textured white head that had pretty good retention and lacing. The aroma is lightly citrusy with some hints of light breadiness.

Taste & Feel: The body is medium and the mouthfeel is a bit creamy from the head and little oily from the hops. The flavor up front is fairly citrusy from the hops, but a yeasty-bready maltyiness comes through in the middle, with a little bit of honey-like maltiness. The finish has a good amount of citrusy hop flavor and bitterness with a little bit of grassiness, with a good balance of each. There’s a bit of citrusy-grassy hop bitterness in the aftertaste that lasts for a minute or so.

Food Pairing: With a good amount of citrusy and grassy hop bitterness, this beer is best paired with something hearty, like a steak or burger. I paired it with a ham, bacon and sausage pizza, and the sweetness and saltiness of the meat pizza contrasted the flavors of the beer nicely.

Overall Impression: This beer feels a lot lighter than it is, as the body and flavor is lighter than you’d expect from a beer this big. I like the citrusy hop flavors in this beer, with a little bit of grassy-like flavors. Between the hoppy flavors and bitterness, the flavors tend to win out, which I like. I liked their Sumpin, Sumpin, and this beer is definitely a little extra. It’s a great beer, and whenever it comes out, I’ll definitely try to grab some more.

My Rating: