By Blaidd Drwg
I was recently at Chuck’s Beer Store on 85th in Seattle (a fine place for local beers and a great tap list – go if you haven’t been) and was talking to Chuck about a variety of beers, specifically IPA’s. Chuck was telling me about the Lagunitas “Christmas” Beer this year. It appears that something bad happened to their annual “Brown Suga’” beer and, as a result, they produced what is being called “Sucks! Holiday Ale”.
I am generally not a huge fan of Lagunitas beers. They are ok, but I don’t go out of my way to buy them since with just about every style they make, there are several beers that I like better.
Skeptical about Chuck’s praise for this beer, I sampled it. This beer is an IPA, an unusual beer release for a winter beer. There is a strong citrus nose initially, giving way to a pleasant hop aroma and slight bitterness finished off with a clean crisp palate with a little lingering citrus. This beer tastes like a fresh hop (although it isn’t listed as one) and comes in at only 63 IBU, so it won’t kill your palate. This is a beer that you could easily put back several in one sitting, but it might hurt – Sucks! Holiday comes in at 7.6%. I walked out of Chuck’s with a growler and gave serious consideration to finishing it myself that night.
This beer is at the end of its release cycle – Chuck’s only had it on tap and is expecting one more keg, so get it while you can. The beer was bottled, so other area bottle shops may have one or two still floating around. Definitely worth tasting if you can.
Rating: 4 Christmas cookies out of 5.
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