Captain Lawrence Freshchester Pale Ale

Brewed by Captain Lawrence Brewing Company
Style: American Pale Ale
Elmsford, New York USA

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker, Tulip

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Crisp copper coloured body with a thin off-white head. Aroma of light hops, yeast and a bit of malt. Medium-bodied; Nice fresh light hop flavour with pine and resin noticeable and quite a bit of herbs. Aftertaste shows some complexity for the style, with hay, grass, yeast and nuts all noticeable in addition to the malt and hops. Overall, a nice APA with some good characteristics. I sampled this twelve ounce bottle purchased from Liqour Outlet in Boonton, New Jersey on 24-February-2013 for US$1.34 sampled at home in Washington on 04-May-2013.

Pours a clear amber with a puffy off white head. Aromas of toffee and bittering hops, perfume. Taste is bitter toffee, some grain. Underwhelmed.

I poured a 12oz bottle into a tulip glass. There was no freshness date whatsoever.

Appearance: Dark copper hue with visible sediment in suspension. Forms a good sized, eggshell foamy head which mostly dissipates but does leave nice lacing on the glass.

Smell: An earthy aroma of tree bark, pine needles, and dark cereal grain.

Taste: I’m inclined to believe the bottle I’m drinking is old, however there is absolutely no markings of a freshness date on the bottle at all (if that’s not irony considering the name I don’t know what is). Therefore, if the brewery doesn’t seem to care about freshness then neither do I and all I can do is review what I have. That being said, Captain Lawrence Freshchester Pale Ale is not a horrible beer, but it’s definitely not a good one.

This beer claims to be a pale ale but has a palette akin to an amber ale. The hops are quite mild and the maltiness is too twangy for the style. It almost reminds me of a sorghum base as there’s a touch of sourness right on the finish. The label description mentions West Coast influence, but there’s none of that here. No citrus, no flowers; instead just a general earthy character of tree bark and light resin. There is a faint taste of caramel and toffee, but both are short-lived and mild and cannot save the beer from itself.

Drinkability: While I wasn’t a fan of the flavor, at least Captain Lawrence Freshchester Pale Ale is an easy beer to drink. The mouthfeel and body are both on the lighter side with a good amount of carbonation. It goes down smooth, but the aftertaste is a tad annoying: a combination of starch and residual bitterness. It’s perfectly efficient at 5.6% ABV, but it’s a moot point considering this is only a tolerable beverage.

Seemed to be an English hop character to this. A bit of caramel in nose and taste, decent, not overpowering, some maltiness, but taste just a bit off to me. Surprised reading the list of hops, I don’t detect the grapefruit.

22oz bottle. not really much to say but i love this. extremely fruity and very refreshing. excellent.

12 ounce thanks to UDBeernut. Caramel and sweet for a pale. Some fruit. Maybe even a little orange. Slightly off with esters.

Sample at tap room. Pours light orange with a thin white head that leaves a bit of lacing. Not getting much aroma on the nose. Lots of grapefruit on the tongue. A high amount of bitterness on the finish to cut the phlegm. Solid.

2013-04-05. Crisp orange body, small off white head. 3+ Aroma of lemons, musty grapefruit, sweet pink grapefruit undertones, generic fruit. Flavour is similar, fruity, sweet grapefruit, generic fruit. Muted resin, moderate bitterness throughout. 6++ Average palate soft carbonation. Probably not as fresh as it could be but bottle is undated, and I haven’t had it that long. Bottle from Premier Gourmet, Buffalo

Pours hazy copper with a mere finger of foam that fell very fast. Left only a thin ring and thin soapy lace. Nose is soft orange,weedy mild grass and earth. Muted. Some floral and light tropical perfume. Catty but not offensively. Malt is sweet caramel and biscuit with a breath of honey. Nice on the palate with grain and pale malt kissed by tropical fruits. Refreshing grapefruit and pine. Hops leave a little earthy and oily bitter on the back palate. Body is thin and carbonation was moderate. Very mild and it drank a little too easy. This was a very easy going pale ale.

Clear reddish gold with a thin white head. Aroma is sweet red grapefruit, and taste is unexpectedly dry with just a hint of bread, a bit of bitterness, and mild hop character without any sweetness of anything else. $2/12oz