Lagunitas Little Sumpin' Wild Ale

Holy crap!!! This is some GREAT beer! I think this may be my new favorite hoppy beer. I put it up against Pliny or Hop Stoopid any day. Its brewed a bit different, basically an American PA with Westmalle yeast. Starts pretty big a 1.082, 8.85% ABV. Wow, doesn't taste that high in ABV.

IF you have been thinking about trying this beer, stop what you're doing right now, go back to the LQ store and buy lol

This, Lucky 13, Wilco Tango Foxtrot, Lagunitas has been making some of my favorites lately.

Wild ale without bugs eh? I'll still try it but that seems like false advertisement.

Yeah, I had it the other day and it was really good. Have nothing bad to say about Lagunita's, great beer and a great place to visit. But I agree with jmo, the name is a bit misleading.

I sort of agree with you guys, I was on a Wild/Sour buying kick last night and went by the name. Misleading yes, but the fantastic beer inside made up for expecting a tart beer.

Greetings Forum... I write the recipes and design the labels at Lagunitas... The false advertising thing is interesting... In the very old world of wine making, WILD, means fermented with the wild (non-culture) yeasts found on the fruit when crushed. No bugs invited or allowed. I chose this name because in the academic brewing realms, WILD mostly refers to a specific gene that separates classic Culture yeasts from Wild yeasts. Brettanomyces has that wild (POF or Phenolic Off-Flavor producing) gene and so do most every recognizably Belgian yeast. I used the Westmalle Yeast. There's no doubt that beers fermented with bugs are wild (with a lower case 'w'), they really are, but they are not in the least the exclusive determinant of Wild-ness, at least not technically. I'm glad you're digging the beer either way!

Cheers

Welcome to the forum!

Like I said, these have been consistently pleasing to me.
If I go to the liquor store, and I'm not sure what I want, I know that the Lagunitas is going to be good.

Being in the graphic design field, I also like the labels (my wife always accuses me of using the labels to decide which wine I get her).

tmagee said:

Greetings Forum... I write the recipes and design the labels at Lagunitas... The false advertising thing is interesting... In the very old world of wine making, WILD, means fermented with the wild (non-culture) yeasts found on the fruit when crushed. No bugs invited or allowed. I chose this name because in the academic brewing realms, WILD mostly refers to a specific gene that separates classic Culture yeasts from Wild yeasts. Brettanomyces has that wild (POF or Phenolic Off-Flavor producing) gene and so do most every recognizably Belgian yeast. I used the Westmalle Yeast. There's no doubt that beers fermented with bugs are wild (with a lower case 'w'), they really are, but they are not in the least the exclusive determinant of Wild-ness, at least not technically. I'm glad you're digging the beer either way!

Cheers

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First off, love the beer and the labels!
Agree with much of what has already been said. Only thing I'm confused about is that I thought the original Lil Sumpin was fermented with a Belgian yeast strain as well? Am I incorrect about this? We've been referring to it as a Belgian Pale Ale because we were under that impression. I have a bomber of the Wild in my fridge right now, which until just now, I expected to be a sour beer.

Anyways, just like to get some more info on the original since this is by far my favorite beer Lagunitas has put out. I can drink it like a session beer, it's that good. Of course, after 5, I realize that it's most definetly not a session beer!

Keep the great artwork coming.

Cheers!

I went and purchased the remaining stock at the store lol. I still have 5 left and I'm holding onto them for at least.....3 or 4 more days

Tony,
Love the beer and thanks for all of the support for the home brew community!

I think that the BN is going to feature either this beer or Little Sumpin in an upcomming Can You Brew It. I can't wait to give it a try.

tmagee said:

Greetings Forum... I write the recipes and design the labels at Lagunitas... The false advertising thing is interesting... In the very old world of wine making, WILD, means fermented with the wild (non-culture) yeasts found on the fruit when crushed. No bugs invited or allowed. I chose this name because in the academic brewing realms, WILD mostly refers to a specific gene that separates classic Culture yeasts from Wild yeasts. Brettanomyces has that wild (POF or Phenolic Off-Flavor producing) gene and so do most every recognizably Belgian yeast. I used the Westmalle Yeast. There's no doubt that beers fermented with bugs are wild (with a lower case 'w'), they really are, but they are not in the least the exclusive determinant of Wild-ness, at least not technically. I'm glad you're digging the beer either way!

Cheers

Click to expand...

MileHighBrewer said:

Holy crap!!! This is some GREAT beer!

Click to expand...

I totally agree. Ive always been happy with lagunitas, but recently, they've really put out some nice beers.. I loved lucky 13, I loved WTF... so, naturally, when i saw little sumpin' wild, I grabbed a bottle (grabbed another one the next time I went too). I havent tried it yet, but im sure I wont be disappointed.

At this point, I feel confident in saying that lagunitas is my favorite california brewery, bar none. Hoppy like a NW brew, but not gratuitously, nicely balanced, and... I love the crazy rants they put on the labels, and even more how they dont always have anything to do with the beer.. or beer in general. The WTF was my favorite... "are we in the red, the black, the brown?"... classic.

So, naturally i was super psyched when this guy chimed in:

tmagee said:

Greetings Forum... I write the recipes and design the labels at Lagunitas... The false advertising thing is interesting... In the very old world of wine making, WILD, means fermented with the wild (non-culture) yeasts found on the fruit when crushed. No bugs invited or allowed. I chose this name because in the academic brewing realms, WILD mostly refers to a specific gene that separates classic Culture yeasts from Wild yeasts. Brettanomyces has that wild (POF or Phenolic Off-Flavor producing) gene and so do most every recognizably Belgian yeast. I used the Westmalle Yeast. There's no doubt that beers fermented with bugs are wild (with a lower case 'w'), they really are, but they are not in the least the exclusive determinant of Wild-ness, at least not technically. I'm glad you're digging the beer either way!

Cheers

Click to expand...

So naturally, i had to post something.

tmagee--- Im what you would call a bit of a horder--- I had a beautiful bottle collection, before I got married. My wife suggested taking pictures, an awesome suggestion, because I really just want the labels. Now I have many many pictures of labels,... and a lot less bottles (edit: actually.. technically I have a lot more bottles now since I didnt brew when I had the bottle collection... haha, jokes on her).

That said, your labels are some of my favorites... funny, artistic, interesting. They make me want to touch.. and usually purchase, and subsequently drink said libation. I love the parchment style paper, the earthy colors.. everything just works.
Please keep up the good work, I look forward to what you.. and the brewery come up with next.

cheers and welcome to HBT.

Bought a bottle of this today, honestly because it was the cheapest bomber sized beer in my local supermarket. I quite like it. Not an everyday brew by any means, but interesting and pleasant. I have a very poor sense of smell, so I'm sure some of the nuances are lost on me, but when first opened it has a very nice almost pine smell to it. Anyone else pick this up or am I crazy?