As a much needed pit stop in the middle of a long week G-LO and I took a “Thirsty Thursday” trip to one of our favorite pubs, The Pour House in Westmont, NJ. Among the brew I sampled during this session the highlight was Lagunitas Brewing Company’s A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale.
The guys at Lagunitas say this about their beer:
“Sneaky Smooth with a Touch of What We Call Wheatly-esque-ish-ness. Crispy Wheat and Pale Malt flavors with a Big Round & Juicy Hop Finish. Everyone Needs A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Sometimes.”
My observations:
- Appearance: A hazy pour with a pale orange/golden color
- Aroma: Fruity and floral like a beer truck crashed into a fruit stand and drove it into a flower shop.
- Taste: Medium carbonation. Tongue splitting hops but not in a bad way. While this has great hop flavor it is somehow still light and refreshing.
- Style: American Pale Wheat Ale
- ABV: 7.5%
First a few words about the Pour House: I enjoy just about everything that flows from the taps at the Pour House but every once in a while I find something new, surprising, and fantastic. The Pour House always has about 20 interesting brews on tap, countless bottles, and awesome beer snacks and pub grub.
Usually I am guided through their endless brew menu by our local beer Sensei, the Ale Monger, but this night I was on my own. I started the night with a favorite standby the Terrapin Rye Pale Ale and then moved to the Anderson Valley Winter Solstice. The Rye Pale Ale was great but the Winter Solstice did not excite me. So when I selected the Lagunitas A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale I was hoping to recover from a bad second choice.
The Sumpin’ Sumpin’ did not disappoint. My reaction to the first sip left G-lo to ask,”Good or Bad? I cannot tell if you liked that or not”. I liked it alright. It had big hop flavor but not in an overpowering way. Plenty of carbonation and a crisp balance of bitterness, citrus fruit, and sweet hop finish make this beer refreshing. This is a hop-head’s thirst quencher. A very drinkable beer with tons of flavor. This will be a great addition to my summer beer line-up as the weather gets warmer and the beer fridge gets restocked with heat relief liquid.
Categories: Brew Review, Lagunitas
AMKrouse
The Alemonger
G-LO
limpd
The Wookie
The ROK
Sarah -BeautifulTangibleThings
The Astounding Prism
It's just the booze dancing... 
Now I’m wishing I had a third beer. Though the Stone Smoked Porter and Smuttynose IPA were delicious, I hate when I might be missing out on something good. Why oh why did I err on the side of caution? If only The Pour House were within walking distance.
On a positive note… I did see this beer in bottle form at Wine Works, so even if I can’t find it on draught again, I can eventually get my hands on this very tempting sounding brew.
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Always err on the side of caution when drinking is concerned! Remember the Booze Dancer motto …
“If you are going to get F’ed up do it where you can take public transit or walk home!”
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With a name like “little sumpin’ sumpin'” I thought it would be sort of on the milder side. But this beer can knock your socks off! Good call on the flavor-meter.
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Just cracked open a bottle. All I can say is that you were right on the money! A tongue tingling and delightful brew. Dee-lish! 🙂
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It’s a great brew!
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I think “hop head’s thirst quencher” is a perfect way to describe this beer. You could definitely crack a few of these at a ball game or after mowing the lawn.
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I plan on doing just that this summer.
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