Captain Lawrence Golden Delicious

Brewed by Captain Lawrence Brewing Company
Style: Abbey Tripel
Elmsford, New York USA

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip

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Courtesy Dickinsonbeer. Thanks Paul! Pours a cloudy, light golden brown, with a smll white head. Smells of nice apple orchards, definite brandy, and other citrus fruits. The malt seemed heavy as well. The flavor is actually pretty intense, the brandy barrels seem to be in full effect. The apple is pretty apparent, along with some of the Xtra Gold characters, like the candy sugar, and other citrus fruits. Not overly stinging on the palate, but definitely had some heat. I really liked this idea, and the beer didnt disappoint. Quite tasty.

UPDATED: FEB 17, 2008 Mgumby, brings the beer but no sea gull hat. Pours a light caramel color, very little head. Aroma is very solid, grains, yeast, brandy, green apple, milk caramel. Flavor is a bit harsh to me, with the alcohol burn being a bit too much. This one is just not for me.

poured hazy amber. apples,alcohol to the nose. tastes like a cider with 50% brandy in it, and it sure warms you up. This one should sit for a while and then be drank.

Thanks to JoeMcphee for picking up a few bottles of this for me - hazy copper/gold beer, with a fizzy head that disappears almost completely, leaving a beer that looks quite a bit like unpasteurized apple cider - the brandy is strong in the aroma, as is some sweet caramel, giving the aroma an initial caramel apple character - underneath this there are some spicy and floral aspects, with hints of cinnamon and nutmeg, making it more like apple pie filling - a really good start with the aroma - not as sweet as expected, and it is actually semi-dry and spicy at first - a strong alcohol/boozy presence swells up underneath this fast, though, giving the beer an occasionally antiseptic property (my mouth is tingling, like when I use listerine) - the alcohol astringency continues throughout, and kind of squashes a lot of the good stuff lurking underneath (lively spices, touches of vanilla and oak, a pleasant fruitiness, apples being most prevalent, an almost toasted coconut character) - mild diacetyl develops late, as does subtle apple skin tartness - I don’t know what the problems were with this beer that delayed it’s release, but I don’t think Scott fixed them all - maybe age will mellow this - but it will need a lot of it.

Sample Hotshots Feb Indy tasting - Aroma is apple brandy, alcohol, vanilla, bready yeast and a touch of spice. Pours transparent gold with a small head and decent lacing. Flavor matches aroma with the alcohol being a little too much and knocking it down one. Palate is so soft and smooth for such a flavorful brew. Very nice and something that I think will be even better after the "hotness" fades.

750 ml bottle purchased at Captain Lawrence. After my experience with the Ten Fidy on Friday, I was a little nervous trying another beer that I was very excited about. This time, however I was not disappointed. Pours almost the color of apple cider with a few floaties with a thin whitish head that faded to a film after about one-third of a glass. Very pleasant aroma of fresh apples and oak. The flavor I thought was amazing with apples, oak, vanilla, caramel and just a hint of spice (cloves I think). Really superb. Very nice buttery mouthfeel reminiscent of a good chardonnay. There is some alcohol present, but at 10% abv, I thought it was fairly well restrained. Overall, an excellent beer and worth the wait!

Despite the hype over this ale, I pressed on to find this at my local beverage store on the day of its release. It looked interesting with resemblance to a natural pressing of apple cider mixed with ale. The aroma was nearly overpowering with the apple brandy and the slight elements of tripel playing second fiddle. In my chalice, the creamy head looked very pleasing a I went for the first taste only to find one of the stranger ales I have encountered recently. While I understand that brandy barrels were used to condition the ale, this was a unique one. I was mildly grateful that exposure to air calmed the ale down after 1 hour. The others I shared this with thought better of it than I , and remarked that it might be a good with turkey heros.

I have to go against the grain on this one, which is unfortunate since Captain Lawrence is one of my favorite breweries and I have been looking forward to this release. Pours a deep murky orange in color with a medium to large off white head. The aroma is just a ton of apple brandy and is very boozy. Taste is again a ton of apples and booze with alot of the tripel’s characteristics overpowered. I am sure this may mellow out a bit with long term aging, but as of now, I can’t say I enjoyed this.

UPDATED: FEB 17, 2008 Nice golden pour. Nose is mostly apples and alcohol. A very warming tripel with apple flavors in the aftertaste. Has a spicy oak flavor to the apples. Tastes like a roasted apple with brandy flavoring. Quite an interesting beer, will drink this one again. Can’t wait to try it about 6 months from now.

If you want to meet apple brandy then this is your beer. Strong aroma of brandy. Lots of brandy flavors with some apple hints. Finish was a little dry. This thing needs to age and it will be more amazing than it is right now.