Lagunitas is one those brewers you know that you can trust to produce a great beer. This a beer that has been around for awhile but has that strange name. There must be a story here.

This is what Lagunitas has to say about this beer:

We brewed this especially bitter ale in remembrance of the 2005 St Patrick’s Day Massacre and in commemoration of our 20-day suspension that followed. The ABC conducted an undercover investigation of our brewery, finding us guilty of operating a “Disorderly House.” We did the crime. We did the time. We got the bragging rights.”

Legend goes back to 2005, when Lagunitas use to have a regular Thursday evening beer tasting. Some of the partipants were seen smoking marijuana on the site. This led to a police investigation which eventually resulted in a 20-day suspention.

It pops in at an aggressive 9.75% ABV and 66 IBUs. It has received excellent ratings on the major sites:

91pts at Beer Advocate

98pts at RateBeer

If you want to get more behind the beer and the unusual name, Beer Street Journal offers a more in-depth story behind it.

So here is the bottom line, the beer is great. You'll notice the dark amber color as it pours with a nice tan, persistent head. It has an excellent hop-forward flavor which mellows in the finish. Nice citrus with a blend of caramel.

As with many of these seasonal Lagunitas brews, you need to get while you can because they don't stay on the shelves long and when they are gone - well the opportunity has been lost.