I post my tasting notes of good (and bad) beer that I find in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. I don't write snooty or nuanced reviews, nor do I only drink one style of beer.

I'll generally rate beers on this purposefully crude scale, with a few accompanying tasting notes:

0 = offensively bad
1 = bad
2 = meh (mediocre)
3 = good
4 = exceptional

Follow me for an eclectic mix of beers and info about where to find them. A single beer is auto-posted each day from a queue, hopefully with no more than a few weeks' lag (beer on tap is bumped to the top).

I am Stephen Goggin. When I'm not writing about good beer and drinking it, I'm a PhD candidate at UC Berkeley.

 

Lagunitas Little Sumpin’ Wild. A 4 of 4. Amazing Belgian IPA - had it plenty of times before, but figured I’d have it again to give it a numeric score. Massive citrus and a touch of pine in the nose, along with some fruit esters. You can tell this has booze in this on its first sip, but it’s not too boozy - and has some nice sweetness to balance. Drinks easily and leaves your palate with just a touch of dry yeastiness. At $3.99 a bomber right now (because it’s not the freshest), it’s still amazing. The hops aren’t as fresh, but the strength of the body and how well-integrated this is makes it worth it.

Lagunitas Little Sumpin’ Wild. A 4 of 4. Amazing Belgian IPA - had it plenty of times before, but figured I’d have it again to give it a numeric score. Massive citrus and a touch of pine in the nose, along with some fruit esters. You can tell this has booze in this on its first sip, but it’s not too boozy - and has some nice sweetness to balance. Drinks easily and leaves your palate with just a touch of dry yeastiness. At $3.99 a bomber right now (because it’s not the freshest), it’s still amazing. The hops aren’t as fresh, but the strength of the body and how well-integrated this is makes it worth it.

7 months ago