brew dog blog

I’m down in Maryland visiting with my wife’s brother’s family. They’re the best — totally relaxed, steaks in the freezer, brews in the fridge, two adorable kids, nice big relaxing house, beautiful yard to hang out in, the works. But make no mistake, my wife’s family isn’t a normal family. They’re a Zappa family. They had a case of Miller Light in the fridge, which I don’t typically go for, and I was ready to do that until I noticed something else entirely lurking in the corner — a bomber of Lagunitas Lumpy Gravy in a brown paper bag. Nate had brought it to show his dad in case he hadn’t seen it, being a Zappa nut, but since I know he knows about the Zappa beers (we brought him a Freak Out or two when they first came out), I was offered the beer and went for it.

Now I may be biased by the positively idyllic environment in which this beer was consumed, but I really enjoyed it. 7% ABV is totally obscured by a mild flavor, sweet and “flowery” as bro-dog put it, but not extreme in flavor at all. A hint of bitterness mixed with the rest of the flavor profiles made it truly enjoyable, smooth drinking, and awesome. A great Brown Ale that was probably a bit sweeter and less bitter than most beers I typically reach for, but for certain, I’d definitely hit it again. Lagunitas offers so many quality brews that it’s a real shame how many of them we can’t get up in NYC. In this case, it’s a great thing that I have my regular family, and my Zappa family, who always do right by me when I come to visit. Now if I could only get into the tunes as much as I could his namesake beers…