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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Served lightly chilled at about 58ºF (14ºC); Five days since being filled
Pours from the growler a brilliantly clear (so brilliantly clear that it is almost ridiculous or even suspect), deep, cranberry color. It is topped by a frothy, initially fat-two-finger thick, tan colored head that leaves a thin layer of lace as it falls back into the beer. The beer is quite noticeably hoppy; as I pour this brew the sweet smell of hop-induced fruit & citrus is easily noticed. Aromatic notes of candied orange peel, candied peaches, tangelo, lychee, apricot concentrate / preserves; there is just an über fruitiness to this brew that is so typically American. Behind the up front fruit notes is a backdrop of lightly herbal notes and a touch of sharp pine. Lest we forget about it completely, there is even some malt character noticeable in the aromatic finish. Aromas of toasty, freshly milled biscuit malt, caramel malt notes and a quite noticeable, crushed soda cracker aroma let me know that the brewer put enough malt in this brew to stand up to the hops, but also be noticeable (though not enough to lessen the overwhelming hop focus of this brew).

The taste is somewhat sweet, yet bracingly bitter from the get go. At first the bitterness is balanced quite well by the malt character, but it quickly starts to bite, with an astringent, slightly rough, yet mostly clean bitterness that becomes more prominent as the beer leaves my mouth and slips down my throat. Quite malty still in the taste, with flavors of caramelized malt sugars, a solid soda cracker maltiness and even has a touch of lightly toasted grain flavors to it. This beer is of course all about the hops though, and even though I have not mentioned the flavors yet, the hop flavors clearly are the main course here. The flavor is not quite as fruit focused as the aroma, yet it is still the most noticeable aspect of it. Fruit flavors reminiscent of lychees, tangelo, ruby-red grapefruit, Curacao orange peel are all noticeable. Actually the fruit notes leaning towards concentrated apricot and peach notes is quite a bit more muted than it was in the aroma; really the citrus-like notes play a much more prominent role in the flavor profile. The alcohol is held pretty well in check, a touch of warming flavors intermingle with the sharp hop notes in the finish. The beer certainly has some heft to it, a fair amount of body, but no where near what I would characterize as a Barleywine. Still with the ample malt, and over the top hop character, this is definitely not quite a quaffing brew.

A sharply herbal and even a touch of pine tar flavors, adds to and melds into the bitter finish of this brew. Aggressive, with enough bitterness and astringency, a bit of an exercise in self flagellation, scathingly hoppy, yet still overall balanced towards the smoother, this is a great example of a Double IPA. This is a damn fine brew, it is very well balanced for a Double IPA, drinkable, yet engagingly hoppy.

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.