Captain Lawrence Rosso e Marrone

Formerly brewed at Captain Lawrence Brewing Company
Style: Sour Ale
Pleasantville, New York USA

Pros: Has some positive things going on. Nice oak character. Fairly long finish. Didn’t gush.

Cons: Really overly sour. Doesn’t have the softness, nuance and balance I prefer in the style. Harshly sour, masking so many other elements, like the wood and fruit. I like this style but this shows no finesse.

Bottle Batch 1: Pours a hazy ruby with a fading light tan head. Vinous aroma- fruity with buttery oak, some horsey notes, light boozy sweetness and grape. Slick and warming yet crisp and lively on the palate. Some bretty/leathery sharpness upfront- lots of buttery oak giving it a sweet background- it blends with a vinous fruitiness with sweeter notes of a currant like character. There’s definitely some alcohol warmth. Residual tannins and buttery oak. Some lactic character, only a touch acetic. Light solvent notes. A very nice beer, though it’d be even more complex if the ABV were lower.

Bottle, batch 1. Pours a deep, hazy rusty maroon color with zero head or carbonation. Nose was mostly sour cherries, oak, red wine grapes. Flavors of dry oak, tart cherries, cranberries, vinegar. On the palate the beer starts quite tart and acidic, at the very back of the throat I pick up a kind of buttery sweetness, nice. Capt’L is quickly becoming one of my favorite east coast breweries, well done boys, well done.

Batch 1; Sampled April 2009
A solid pour into my Tripel Karmeliet tulip produces a one-finger thick, fizzy, tan colored head that dissipates fairly quickly. The beer is a dark, murky, plum color that shows a somewhat hazed, dark cherry red color when held up to the light. The aroma smells of sour cherries up front (though not as vibrant as sour pie cherries would be), tart lactic notes, tannic wood aromas, spicy oak and lots of woody plank like character. This is quite fruity smelling, but it is hard to break out the exact fruits that the nose evokes; it seems comprised of aromas like cherry, cranberries, a touch of concord grape character, some currant notes as well as something that is distinctly fruity, but that I can’t quite describe. Towards the end of my glass (once the beer has warmed up quite a bit), musty Brettanomyces notes are noticeable with a touch of urea and some sweaty leather notes. The nose has a nice mix of wood and fruit, with a interesting backdrop of funkiness that boosts the complexity quite a bit.

The beer tastes tart as it first hits my tongue and the sourness becomes more gripping as it moves across my palate. The finish is a complex mix of tart, tannic fruit, wood, and berry-like notes. The carbonation adds a fizzy texture and there is also a tannic heft to the body of this beer that adds weight to what would otherwise be a light beer. This beer has an exquisite texture to it because of the oak and fruit; it really clings to the palate, with a texture that is beyond the finishing gravity. The oak adds some nice spiciness as well as an earthiness that is at least somewhat barrel influenced. As the beer warms up a light mustiness becomes noticeable, a touch of barnyard character also becomes noticeable though both are not much beyond a subtle touch.

This is a very nice beer; the grapes add a nice complexity that is boosted by the oak character and the ample, but not quite overwhelming, sourness. This is a nicely balanced beer, though the aroma really needs to warm up quite a bit before it becomes nicely complex from the underlying Brettanomyces influence.

Bottle courtesy of j12601. Pours ruby red with an off white head. Smells funky and sweet with some residual sugars peaking out. Tastes dry and up front acidic sour with some oakiness on the finish.

Bottle batch 1. Has an interesting aroma of mostly brett and tart acid. Has a nice touch of sweet grape in there, too. Medium light mouthfeel. Flavor is very sour. Probably the most sour beer I’ve tried from this brewer. Has fruit, lemon, funk that melds perfectly, and finishes leaving me wanting more. A huge thank you to Mike for opening this brew. Simply amazing.

bottle from batch 1. chocolate brown pour with a ring of cream froth. wow, nose is grapes, wood, funk, vanilla and sour. great on the palate with an awesome flavor of sour grapes, oak and funk.

Bottle, Batch 1. Pours with a hazed red with no head. Aroma of oak, grapes, sweetness, berry, caramel, tart, [unreadable], and plums, Taste is very sour with grapes, plums and vinegar. Dry, with light bubbles.