Lagunitas Dark Swan
An experimentally hopped sour ale fermented with dark red wine grapes
Observers of yestercentury once doubted the existence of the Dark Swan, stating the fair-feathered fowl was the only color of its kind. Explorers eventually upended that theory, shocking the world and shining light on the Dark. This beer might just do the same. It’s a sour ale fermented with dark red wine grapes, giving it its uniquely deep and rich purple hue. Then it received the signature Lagunitas treatment with a healthy dose of experimental dry hops. This might just shock your taste buds!
Observers of yestercentury once doubted the existence of the Dark Swan, stating the fair-feathered fowl was the only color of its kind. Explorers eventually upended that theory, shocking the world and shining light on the Dark. This beer might just do the same. It’s a sour ale fermented with dark red wine grapes, giving it its uniquely deep and rich purple hue. Then it received the signature Lagunitas treatment with a healthy dose of experimental dry hops. This might just shock your taste buds!
3.6
248 reviews
Petaluma, United States
Community reviews
12 oz bottle. It pours a dark violet with a purple head. Ther is malt in the scents beneath the sour grape. Very funky barnyard over the sours and a lingering bitterness in the dry finish. Low carbonation. So much stuff going on its hard to sort out. But pretty good once you find its groove. Not for everyday but pretty cool.
4/3/19 (Chicago): $6 12 oz draft pour into snifter. Dark purple pour, light off-white head leaves creamy lacing. Light grape aroma, taste consistent with aroma, somewhat sour taste. Light texture, mouth feel and carbonation, easy light drinking. Crisp and clean, overall solid pour.
12 oz bottle. Pours pink with tall, long-lasting, foamy pink head. Nose is of citrusy hops, plums and barn yard. Body is full and tangy. Taste is sour, bready malt, funky yeast, herbal hops and lemon zest. Finish is long and bitter-sweet. Too sour for me.
I was disappointed in this beer. First, the details: it pours a dark cherry red with a medium white head. The label calls this a sour ale, but I found the flavor to be more in the nature of an overly sweet dark cherry pie. Syrup came to mind. Lagunitas is an excellent brewery, but this beer does not match its reputation.
Bottle. Pours a dark purple with a purple head and aroma of dark fruits. Taste is very sour, lots of oak, plum, and dark fruit notes into the sour finish
Light Pinot noir color with a modest sized head of lavender colored bubbles.musty grape scents. Flavors are quite subtle with very dry sparkling rose notes.a picnic by the lake with smoked salmon and cheese.
Bottle 35,5 cl. Pours a hazy, dark red with a creamy, purple head. Nose appears berry tart, but also somewhat chemical. Medium body, a little low in carbonation, tart berry notes - actually very tart - but there's also a buttery note. It's kinda challenging to drink, to be honest. 090119
Pours a dark purple-red colour with ruby highlights. The big head is frothy, kind of creamy, pink-coloured, with good stay and tiny spots of foam. Aromas of dark malts with red wine notes, alcohol and other fruits. The taste shows molasses from the dark malts. Not really sour, just a tad. More bitter. Lightly dry mouthfeel. This is quite interesting and highly recommended for people who drink more red wine than beer.
Blah, tastes like bad, flat wine. Not a good sour. I thought I would try it cause the price was cheap but I wish I hadn't. Couldn't even finish it. Wife didn't want to finish her glass either.
Black with red-purple hues. Flavor is more red fruit forward and sweet than expected.
Bottle. Deep purple body, thin dissipating off-white head, eventually headless. Nose modestly tart with grape, cherry, and other berries; also wisps of alcohol. Unusual body, like grape Pixy Stix but not sugary and weirdly bitter and tannic in an agreeable and familiar way I couldn't quite place.
Merlot champagne. Beautifully balanced and light. Slight sour.
Bottle grabbed at the Newport News Costco because it was a great price! Appearance is slightly purple hued. The aroma and flavor has some red wine and grape juice. Nice enough.
Nice dark purple color. Fruity front leading to vinous and woody body with a tart finish. Not especially subtle pretty tasty.
Bottle. Pours clear purple. Berries, red currants, lemon, funky, red wine. Somewhat astringent. Lightly tart
Pours a dark purple color with a light pink fizzy head. Aroma of fruit, funk, and grain. Red wine flavor with berry, and grain. Very nice.
DATE: September 27, 2018... OCCASION: watching The Office after a Liberty back-to-school night... GLASSWARE: La Fin du Monde tulip... a dark purple body, intimidatingly dense, but a half-finger of brownish off-white head that resiliently stays creamy and foamy... deep merlot, cranberry, rich dark chocolate, bitter and slightly boozy with a subtle hop fruitiness.... this draws as a medium-bodied live wire, effervescent and bold, with a punchy entrance and a long, dry finish that leaves a smooth, wine-like experience.... the flavor profile is strong, and at 8.5%, a powerful collection of strawberry, cherry, dark red wine, rich lilac, blackberry, and a light hint of oat and malt... a BIG experience from a 12 oz. bottle, this retains that Lagunitas hop thought while slowing the roll on each sip with a buzzing at the teeth and a warmth at the throat... worth sipping, though its profile does muddle at some point, making the experience not as memorable as some others... that said, what doesn't Lagunitas do well....
0,3 litre Bottle from Systembolaget Charlottenberg. Reddish Dark brown with little head. Malts, hops, sour, cherries
Bottle from Safeway in Redwood City, CA. Aroma is horse funk, weird funky fruit, oak, dark berries. Taste is almost salty up front, earthy red wine, musty berries, tannic, oaky. Earthy and vinous with some great funk (on the nose and palate) and a smooth medium-ish body.
22 oz bottle 9/17/18 (Binny's-Naperville)-48° in tulip-Pours a plum black with a small tan covering for a head. Aroma of hops and fruit. Taste begins with a bit of sourness followed with some hops. This light bodied brew is well balanced and not an over the top sour but still very tasty.
Sampled on draft at 3 Rivers this beer poured a plum black color with a huge foamy pink-purple head that left very good lacing. The aroma was red wine and berries. The flavor was tart with dark fruits, berries and red wine. Medium length finish. Moderately full bodied.
22oz bottle. Pour into glass. Medium high small lingeringn carbonation. Body on lighter side. Pucker up Tart, not much barley not much hops. Cherry, plum, pomigranite. No alcohol taste. Nice change.
From tap. Pours hazy amber. Off white head. Aroma is mild fruity. Toasted malty. Sour, fruity, wineous. Citric and fruity. Lingering fruity finish.
(22oz btl) - Pours a pretty light purple head. Ruby red body. Not extremely carbonated. Sourness is present. But, not a slap in the face presence like a typical sour. Little horsey. Some winery characteristics, like a watered down Cabernet or Merlot. Warming in the tail.
12oz bottle. Pours dark dark purple with a moderate purplish pink head. Aroma is lactic acid, red grapes, lactic sugar, grass, alcohol, and feet. Taste is grape, lactic, alcohol, light blackberry, some yoghurt, and a little wood. Sweet with something vaguely/barely tart at the end. Dries at the finish but there is a residual unpleasant, sticky sweetness. Light-medium body. Medium carbonation. Thin, crisp-ish mouthfeel. Awful.
Draught at Taphouse.
Dark brown colored with a small beige head.
Fruity aroma of caramel and berries with notes of hops and acidic notes.
Fruity and light acidic flavor of berries.
Fruity finish.
22 oz bottle pours a slightly hazy dark purple with quickly vanishing lavender head that leaves no lacing. Aroma is fruity, with blackberries and overripe red grapes. Taste is sour and tart, with a long dry finish. Body is medium with average carbonation and a crisp mouthfeel. I enjoy most of Lagunitas' offerings, but this one didn't do anything for me other than deliver the alcohol.
Tap@Skaal, Copenhagen - Very dark reddish brown pour with a off white to lightly pink coloured head. Tart fruity with notes of red grapes, dark fruity, some wooden accents, medium body, tart fruity finish.
From tap at SKAAL. A ruby coloured beer with an off-white head. Aroma and flavour of malt, yeast, spice, fruit, berries, grapefruit and with a bitter finish.
12 oz. bottle, consumed on 7-16-18. Strawberry scent. Sweet, fruity, perfumed aroma. Strong smell but not what I’m seeking in a beer. Not a notably sour aroma. Pours a dark rose to maroon with a small to moderate amount of short-lasting, beige to lavender head. I wish the head lasted longer, but the liquid is a very cool color. Dry, tart, and floral flavor. Strawberry. A touch of balsamic vinegar but not particularly sour. Medium body. Smooth in the palate. Enjoyable palate effects. Unusual yet somehow still boring. Doesn’t do much for me, although it looks cool and has a likable palate. 5.4.6.4.12=>3.1