Lagunitas Sucks

This is an 8.0% ABV beer from the Lagunitas Brewing Company of Petaluma, California. Their motto on the bottle? Life is uncertain, don't sip! This beer was originally brewed in 2011 when they did not have enough capacity for their seasonal Brown Shugga' ale. It is one of the few, if not only (only one I know of) craft beer that comes in a quart bottle. I got the last bottle at the store where I bought it, so I had to accept the crappy torn label (fine for drinking, bad for beer blog pictures).

The beer pours orange golden in color, the color of dried apricots. There is a tall, thick, foamy white head. The aroma is very musky, very ripe, guava, passion fruit, tropical. The taste follows the aromas, sweet, tangy, musky, ripe, earthy, citrusy, tropical. The beer drinks smooth, round, full, easy to drink, but able to take on all those flavors too. The finish is moderately bitter. This beer is delicious!

 

2016 and now a regular instead of a seasonal:

And a throwback to 2012 when even the artwork was "seasonal" in style, but I got to the beer after its season: According to the bottle, Lagunitas Sucks is a holiday ale brewed as an apology that they did not have the capacity this year to brew their Brown Shugga' beer.  This 7.85% ABV beer pours orange golden in color with a short white head.  I got to this beer late and the aroma is of old hops, more geraniums and stale rye bread than citrus and tropical.  The taste is a balance of malt and melon, tropical fruit hops that are past their prime.  The finish is somewhat bitter but also thick and smooth in a pleasant way.  I bet this was really nice when fresh.  Did anyone have a chance to try it when fresh?  What did you think?