Lagunitas Undercover Investigation Shutdown Ale Beer Review

Undercover Investigation Shutdown Ale

Review Date 3/6/2008 Last Updated 10/2/2011

Try? Re-buy?

Maybe you don’t know it, but a funny thing happened on the way to the Lagunitas brewery a few years ago (in March of 2005 actually). As many breweries do, Lagunitas holds tastings periodically, and happened to advertise them as being held at 4:20 PM on certain weekdays. And of course with Lagunitas beers being as good as they are, they attracted large crowds. The fact that the beers were $2 a pop and food and music were generally provided gratis didn’t hurt, either.

Apparently, however, it wasn’t just fans of Lagunitas beer that were attracted. Agents of the California constabulary, in undercover guise, showed up repeatedly and attempted to purchase marijuana (for which 420 is sometimes used as a code name) from brewery employees. Unsuccessful in their repeated attempts, they nonetheless managed to trump up charges and shut down Lagunitas ability to sell beer for 20 days.

All this, of course, left a bitter taste in the mouths of the staff at Lagunitas. And in return, they decided to leave a bitter taste in ours, with Lagunitas Undercover Investigation Shutdown Ale, a strong ale (over 9%) not for the faint of heart. Lagunitas brews this ale to commemorate the infamous event, albeit seasonally on draft and in 22 ounce bomber bottles. It’s next scheduled to be offered in August of 2008, but you may find a few bottles floating around from 2007, and the very high hopping rate and alcohol content should keep them fairly well-preserved, assuming they haven’t been sitting in a beer shop window or perched atop a space heater.

Lagunitas Undercover Investigation Shut-Down Ale pours to a bright coppery orange color with a thick, creamy sudsy head formation and a brightly floral, citric hoppy nose. Not one to be intimidated by a beer, even one described as “especially bitter”, I dive right in and take a sip. My taste buds are greeted right away by a surprisingly light malt body. There is a little caramel malt, to be sure, but not so much as you’d find in a lot of beers of this strength.

This, I suspect, is by design. Keep the theme of this beer in mind. They’re aiming for a bitter beer, and a bitter beer thou shalt receive. The hops here are a tad herbal but mostly bitter, indicating a mostly early addition to the boil. But they do arrive, and they’re faintly herbal, and very, very bitter, lingering in the finish with a long, dry, puckering kick. There’s plenty of alcohol warmth here, too.

As I said, not for the faint of heart, but a noble beer worth your time for the hopheads out there. Why not show the brewery your support against the forces of reaction and government tyranny by buying a few? And, at $3 to $4 a bottle, this is a bargain as always from Lagunitas.

Update, October 2 2011: I enjoyed this beer on draft tonight at my local Taco Mac. As always, it's a puckeringly hoppy delight, bitter, aromatic, herbal and delicious. The beer is deceptively drinkable but very warming in the finish, and made a perfect companion to spicy Buffalo wings along with an afternoon of football. At $5.25 for a full mug pour (no short pours here), it's a bargain, too.

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft

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