Bottle. A- Brown sugar, caramel, bready, citrus, hoppy. A- Dark amber red color, clear liquid, off white head. T- Brown sugar, caramel, citrus, bitter. P- Medium body, average texture, average carbonation, slight bitter finish. O- Wow. The name is not misleading on this one. From the first whiff and the initial sip you get loads of brown sugar. It then quickly turns to a citrus taste and then once again leaves you a soft lingering bitterness. In my opinion, this is not a barley wine at all. Not sure what it is, but more of a Strong Ale to me. Overall, it was quite good.

Reviewed from notes.
The appearance was a hazy brown colored body leaving a one finger white foamy head that appears and leaves some nice slightly thick yet spotty lacing in rings around the sides of the pint glass. The body is too hazy for any carbonation to be seen rising.
The smell had the hops up front to form a mostly bitter aroma. The malts play nicely in the background coming more forward as the beer warms.
The taste was excellent as the hops and the malts combine just about perfectly.
On the palate, she sat about a slight sticky feel in my mouth and on the tongue, ranging on the medium side. Though the ABV is pretty high, this is quite drinkable.
Overall, I’m thoroughly impressed and most likely will have this again.

Growler from Joe Canal’s in Lawrenceville, NJ. Pours a hazy garnet color with a big rocky beige head. Leaves a wonderful clinging Belgian lace. Aroma has notes of brown sugar (yup!), brandy and butterscotch. Tangy, sweet malt flavor. Big notes of dark dried fruit, more butterscotch and vanilla. Buried in all that complex maltiness is a noticeable citrus happiness and warming alcohol.

Poured from 12 fl oz bottle. Clear copper yellow with beige head. Aroma of hops and light caramel malt. Taste starts with some mild hops and moves into light alcohol and caramel malt with subtle resin notes. Simple, very smooth texture, medium body.

Hard to believe this was considered a mistake. Dark amber with Thin beige creamy head. Aroma is subdued malt and molasses. Taste comes on a bit stronger, palate aftertaste stronger still. Slight hint at alcohol warmth. Very good on a cold winter’s day.

From Jun 2008

I got this bottle from russpowell. Thanks Russ!

It pours from 12oz bottle a hazy amber colour with a slight tinge of orange and a 1 finger head of off-white foam. Lots of lacing and the head retention is quite good. It's a fine looking brew in the glass.

Taking a few whiffs, I get a lot of sweet caramel and sugar with an almost equal amount of citrus hops. Nice. I'm also getting a touch of fruitiness.

The taste is just as impressive. Super sweet notes of caramel and brown sugar that seem to be heading to beyond what I like but....there's that citrus doing a fine balancing act and bringing the tastes back in order. Very tasty. The finish has just the slightest bitterness to it and that works fine for me.

The body is on the light side and the carbonation is medium light. The alcohol is *very* well hidden and because of that, the contents of my glass are disappearing at an alarming rate. Oh well. That's a problem I'll deal with and I give a salute to Lagunitas for brewing a fine American Strong Ale. I'd drink this again, no problem.