For this edition of Tasting Notes, we push through the midweek daze and craze with a little help from A Little Sumpin’ Hazy from Lagunitas Brewing Company (Petaluma, California).

Released back in July as an “au naturel” take on the “classic wheatly-esque-ish-ness . . . you know and love” from A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’, A Little Sumpin’ Hazy is a “juicy” and “catty” brew that has underwent a “special dry-hopping of Cashmere, Citra & Mosaic on a bed of Centennial and Chinook.” Built upon a solid base of “shlarfy” grains, A Little Sumpin’ Hazy (7.2% ABV) is guaranteed to have an eye-catching haze that will work beautifully with your favorite Instagram filters.

A Little Sumpin’ Hazy is available now for a limited time.  You can expect to find this Limited Release available in 6-packs of 12 oz. bottles and on draft at select craft beer-friendly retailers, bars and restaurants located in Alabama, Florida, California, Illinois, Washington and throughout the rest of Lagunitas Brewing Company’s distribution area.

Now that we have properly gone over all that background info, it appears that it is finally time to get comfortable, succumb to the haze and get into these Tasting Notes!

Tasting Notes for A Little Sumpin’ Hazy from Lagunitas Brewing Company

Appearance: Although it is undoubtedly hazy, A Little Sumpin’ Hazy pours a more IPA-traditional light golden yellow in color rather than that orange-juice-like appearance all the cool haze kids seem to be after these days.  That haze still allows some visibility and reveals a lively carbonation presence cascading within.  A somewhat vigorous pour produced right at two fingers of creamy white foam.  Retention is solid, falling gracefully to a chunky half finger that leaves the glass coated with a broad sheet of lace when completed.

Aroma:  This thing hits hard and fast with an extremely juicy presence of sweet orange, mango, pineapple, mixed berry and melon.  A gently floral undercurrent supplies some more traditional hoppy character, but it is dialed in just right so that it only balances and supports that juiciness.  The malts are muted here and only slip in a whisper of biscuity sweetness near the end of the profile.

Taste:  Just like the nose, juiciness takes point and bombards the palate with sweet fruit notes of orange, brûléed grapefruit, melon, berries, pineapple, lemon and lime.  The grains support those juicy hop flavors with some biscuity sweetness while piney hop notes mix things up a bit by providing some balancing hop bitterness.

Mouthfeel:  Somewhere between medium and full bodied with a medium carbonation level, this beer is soft, smooth and creamy on the palate.  As expected, it leans to the sweeter/juicier side but still maintains a touch of hop bitterness.  The 7.2% ABV is quite sneaky, making this beer dangerously drinkable.  Aftertaste is orange juice with a hint of pine.

Final Thoughts:  A Little Sumpin’ Hazy might fall short for some in the haze department (to be honest, we actually appreciate that it still has a touch of clarity), but it more than makes up for that in the areas of flavor and aroma.  This beer’s overall juiciness is intense and wonderfully pronounced, giving you all that you expect from a Hazy/Juicy IPA.  With that said, it still reminds you that it is indeed a Lagunitas creation by somehow holding on to some old school IPA qualities (floral and pine notes and just straight up hop bitterness). It basically unites both schools of thought on the IPA – West Coast vs. New England/Hazy/Juicy – in a subtle but incredibly tasty way.

All in all, A Little Sumpin’ Hazy is a widely available, reasonably priced hazy brew that is built for ultimate crushability and accessibility.  What else could you possibly ask for when dealing with summer heat indexes this insane? Be sure to get you some before this brew’s Limited Release comes to an end.  Prost!