Captain Lawrence Captain’s Reserve Imperial IPA

Brewed by Captain Lawrence Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Elmsford, New York USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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09.12.06 Tap at brewery plus the growler I’m finishing right now. I hope I have appeased those who desire large sample sizes with this one, because I’ve just consumed a half gallon of this 8% (ha! at least!) IIPA and I’m feeling like rating is not currently my forte, but I’ll not have it again, so, here goes. Hazed golden amber with tangerine touches below ample off-white head (even by the end of the growler). Looks perfect to me. The beer is filling the room with lovely citrus (orange and grapefruit) and mildly resinous aromas. Flavors in kind with a true focus on hitting the good old benchmark for IIPA, I think. Well, too bad that benchmark has since been overtaken by bolder and more ridiculous west coast beers, but this one is excellent and, dammit, it’s just not a west caost beer, so get over it. Strong and sturdy maltiness represents with sweet and full cracker and biscuit notes, not at all too sweet and the malts melt nicely into the onslaught of lovely pithy and resinous hops. Long bitter finish is certainly not too dry or to sweet. In fact, the balance on this one is great. As suggested, I had this with an aged cheese (1yr old Crowley sharp cheddar from VT which is shockingly funky) and it just wasn’t a great pairing. I’d suggest a less sharp cheese with this beer or the big resinous/pithy hops will only be in competition. Body is full and plenty effy - especially full for an eight percenter, but that’s just another reason I don’t buy the 8% thing.

Bottle, thanks mom and dad, medium stable head with lots of lacing, clear rusty gold colour ,i don’t know if gold really rusts, but that best describes the colour, aroma of orange blosson, honeycomb and orange marmalade, flavour of grapefruit and pomello with orange marmalade, very strong bitterness balanced by an underlying sweetness that allthough is extremey bitter is wonderfully balanced, an extremely long candied orange peel like aftertaste. A great citrusy brew.

50 cl bottle @ home. Rated on 15.01.2011
An American IPA in a 50 cl German bottle. What? Aroma is rather hoppy and somewhat sweet with exotic fruits and resin – no surprises here. Flavour is sweetish with exotic fruits, resin, some biscuits and caramel. A bit too sweet for me.

On Draft. Pours light golden with a small head that dissipates quickly. Aroma of citrus hops and some pine. Nice balanced citrus hop and earthy malts on the palate, some sweetness is present but finished dry. Decent

50 cl bottle @ home. Pours golden amber with a large white head that slowly fades leaving a ton of lacing. Aroma is a lot of resiny and piny hops with a hint of malt. Taste is hops and a little malt with a bitter finish.

This beer is what got me to want to sign up for Rate Beer. I love this strong IPA not just for the hops but the complex flavors: the sweet resin, the creamy body, the pine and citrus notes. Outstanding!

Strange for an imperial. I can't quite pin down the flavor but a bucket full of pine cones come to mind. Clear, yellow-tinted color; dense light head that stays. Tasty, but a bit strange. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

For an Imperial, this IPA is really light, strong hoppy aroma, light hoppy taste, not the typical dark amber appearance as most IPA’s go.

Originally reviewed: 11/6/09. Huge thanks to calise1122 (BA) for this stellar beer in a recent trade! Pours a crystal clear pale orange. I expected this to be darker for some reason. Light bubbles rising throughout. Huge 2-finger ivory head rests comfortably on top and stays throughout the entire consumption. Great sticky globs all over the glass edge. Beautiful. Big citrusy scent bursts forth with notes of grapefruit, orange, and lemon zest. Some earthy tones balance this one out a bit. This smells wonderful! The mouthfeel is a bit thin. Has an oily aspect to it. Kind weird. I’d like a bit more carbonation on the tongue. This isn’t going to beat you over the head with harsh hops. Starts out quite sweet actually with a slight bitter kick on the finish. Aftertaste of bitter fruits and candy. This is very well balance which aids my drinkability quite. I was very pleased with this beer, my first from this brewery. Thanks again, Brett, for this awesome hookup.

Tap flight at Ginger Man NYC. Bright golden pour with a white head that faded but left a translucent film on the glass where it had previously existed. Dirty Earth hop aroma. Flavor starts off with Earthy hops but balances out EXTREMELY well with malt sweetness leaving a "sugared hop" flavor behind. This is tasty. I often find a lot of beers with tins if hops but no malt to make their presence more complex. Not a problem here. This is quite good. My tongue is sliding all around my mouth from a combination of the viscous body and the mouthwatering hops that don’t stop. Nice, nice, NICE!!!

From notes. Pours a golden straw color with an inch of white head that leaves great lacing all the way down. Aroma is citrusy with a bit of pine and a tiny bit of malt in the back ground. The nose overall is lacking, it’s making me question the freshness which I can’t seem to find on the bottle. Taste is better than the nose. Lots of citrus, some bitter fruit in there, pretty dry. I like. Medium light mouthfeel, lots of carbonation. Bitter hops resonate on the palate.