Unrepentant beer drinkers, rejoice! Each week, Clean Plate Charlie will
select one craft or import beer and give you the lowdown on it: How
does it taste? What should you drink it with? Where can you find it?
But mostly, it's all about the love of the brew. If you have a beer
you'd like featured in Beer of the Week, let us know via a comment.
For my birthday in September, my fiancee gave me a little sumpin'. I hope to get sumpin' again in about a year. God, was it good.
You know what I'm talking about, folks. I'm talking, of course, about Lagunitas' seasonal brew Little Sumpin' Extra Ale. She got me a big ol' bottle of it that we split the other night, and damn was I an instant fan.
California-based Lagunitas does almost a dozen seasonal brews
throughout the year, and Little Sumpin' was its September to December
offering. Of course, there may still be a few bottles of this brew
hanging around ABC or Total Wine, and if so, you'll want to snatch them
up right away.
Do that, and you'll be rewarded by a very, very big beer, one that
hovers at 8.7% alcohol and 72 IBUs (that would be International
Bittering Units, the measurement for hoppy bitterness in a beer that
caps off at 100). But unlike other "double" style beers, this big ale
is hella-balanced. Don't get me wrong, you feel that alcohol warming
your throat as it goes down and those hops will tingle against your teeth. But you also taste ripe citrus, honey,
peaches, and vanilla. The balance between sweet malt and bitter hops is
almost flawless, and with a very high carbonation and lazy, foamy head,
it's a highly drinkable brew. I honestly loved this beer from the first
sip to the last; it looks like a bunch of Beer Advocates did as well. (That, by the way, is a lot of praise for a beer that's only been available for a few months.)
Perhaps best of all, any bottles of Little Sumpin' you do find on the
shelves won't set you back that much -- this one cost just under $5.
Shoot, I knew I was cheap. But I didn't know I was that cheap. Still, I
hope my fiancee gives me a Little Sumpin' Extra again this time next year.
