Lagunitas Brewing Company — Kill Ugly Radio
It’s been a while, but I thought it was time to hop back up on that pogo stick. You know, open up a bottle of good brew, throw a little rouge on, tuck the sack back, and write a review.
Finishing off the last bomber of approximately three cases of Kill Ugly Radio by Lagunitas Brewing Company. Although hindsight is always 20/20, I must say that shelving hoppy beers doesn’t do anyone justice. Living in California is truly a blessing with so many outrageous brewing companies constantly offering fresh, hoppy, uber-spectacular beers. (Sorry about the allusion to Germany, I still have the boot on my mind…) However, always being one for experimentation, I thought that I would hang on to a couple of these to see how well they would stand the test of time.
Overall, the characteristics of this beer have changed immensely after such a long storage. Drinking this beer fresh offers a citrusy schwill with a subtle malt backbone. After one sip, you know that this is a spectacularly fresh and enjoyable beer! Light on the palate with a medium body, this flavorful delight explodes with an initial burst of mango, grapefruit, orange, and apricot, then follows with an understated malt finish.
However, after storing this beer for several months, these fresh and fruity characteristics after have faded into the backgroud while the malt has taken a primary role in the taste of this beer. Although emminently drinkable, it just doesn’t pack the same citrus wallop that it did when right off of the production line.
Chalk it up to experience. In the future, I know that I won’t be rat-holing any super-hoppy beers. What’s the point really? We all want the freshest beer possible, so it just doesn’t make much sense to store a beer of this hop quantity for such a long time.
Overall Score:
95/100 when fresh — AWESOME!
80/100 after several months of storage time
The moral of the story? Drink those hoppy beers within a month; otherwise, the flavor starts to fade.
L’Chaim!
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(6 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
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I almost cried when I drank my last bottle for two reasons: 1. The sheer nostalgia for all of those bygone bottles (cases and cases) and 2. The last bottle was a shadow of its former self. Mazel tov on the kick ass review of a formerly kick ass beer.
I was equally disappointed in the aging of the KUR (pronounced “cure,” as in the cure-all for hop-deprived taste buds- well, at least it was in its prime (My lacrimal glands just almost secreted some watery fluid! RIP KUR).) This makes me want to go drink all of my Sculpin right NOW. If we had reviewed this beer before its image was tainted by its decline into malty mediocrity, I would have scored it in the 98 range, just a hair below Sculpin.
I think that Sculpin and KUR are very similar beers, although I would have to agree that Sculpin is just a tiny hair (of the gray pubic variety) above a fresh KUR.