A must stop whenever I attend an A’s game is the Pyramid Brewing booth. They would usually have something interesting on tap, although you could never go wrong with their IPA or DPA. Alas, this year the booth is no more. However, there’s something possibly even better in its place.
It’s a shared booth now, with Anchor Brewing, Lagunitas Brewing, and some other mega-brewer that doesn’t need mentioning. In an inspired move, one of the Lagunitas taps is dedicated to a seasonal selection. Anyone who’s familiar with Lagunitas knows they come up with some rather esoteric seasonal brews, and the offering I had at a recent game may be the coolest beer I’ve ever had at a ballpark.
Lagunitas Little Sumpin’ Wild Ale is a variation of their Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale. They describe the Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ as a summer wheat ale, although with the use of “every hop that begins with the letter ‘C’” it can easily be a Pale Ale. The Wild Ale varies the recipe by using a Belgian yeast, which gives it a floral, almost perfume-like nose, along with the typical banana and clove flavors found in a lot of Belgian ales. You can almost call it a Belgian Pale Ale, if there were such a thing, although that oversimplifies things a bit.
Whatever you call it, it’s fantastic, and it’s absolutely amazing to find it at a ballpark. Kudos to the A’s!