Captain Lawrence Xtra Gold

Bière #14 au Mondial 08 (29/5/08), bouteille. Blonde brumeuse, petit collet. Arome de malte sucré, un peu épicé avec un zest de citron. Goût plutôt sec, un peu d’herbe, malte crèmeuse et aucune sensation d’alcool.

Newest Release? Sampled May 2008
Quite well carbonated, the beer starts to foam a bit as soon as I pop the cap, I have enough time to careful pour some off into my 25cl tulip glass without losing any beer though. The careful pour yields four fingers of head that continues to rise another finger above the rim of my glass. The head is a light tan color that leaves ample lace on the sides of my glass and capsizes with interesting, structural textures. the beer is a clear copper color, but shows an almost brilliantly clear, gold color when held up to the light. The aroma is a mix of funk and fruity notes. Surprisingly the funk leans toward Brettanomyces like aromatics (sweat-laden leather notes), but the fruitiness is all Amarillo hops (apricot, pineapple, bergamot and even some kiwi notes). A nice, pale malt character adds a subtle influence to the nose with notes of fresh crushed pale malt, saltine crackers and a fresh grain note. The funkiness seems to die down with time, making me almost wonder if I ever noticed it in the first place.

Sweet tasting up front, which accentuates fruity, Amarillo driven flavors of apricot, lychee and pineapple. The carbonation has died down some, but still provides a prickly texture that can’t quite overwhelm the soft creamy body that this brew has. A solid, yeast-derived funkiness resides here; it is not quite as noticeable as in most Tripels because of the ample hop character, but still plays a very important role. Funky notes of phenolic soaked, musty cotton balls are lightly noticed as are some light clove notes, an earthy-musty flavor, a touch of sweat-cured leather, . There is a touch of warming alcohol in the finish that at times adds a spiciness to the beer reminiscent of a mix of white pepper, ginger (that is also accented by the hops), clove and something I can only describe as fruity / estery / spicy higher alcohols.

My second pour is still excessively carbonated, this time I end up with a finger and a half thick crown of foam that floats above the rim of my glass. I am quite happy that a tulip glass allows me to get to the sweet nectar below, despite the almost six fingers of foam. With my nose newly tipped with a bit of foam, my first sip of this lightly orange-tinged and hazier beer lends a bit of rounded yeastiness to the flavor profile. This beer just keeps on getting better and better; I truly am a sucker for Amarillo & when combined with Belgian-inspired beers, well I am just about in heaven.

Despite being so hop driven, I really like how funky this beer is. I wouldn’t guess that this was infected by Brettanomyces necessarily, but with the funk & excessive carbonation it certainly does a good job of faking a subtle Brett influence. I really like the over-the-top Amarillo character as compared to the first batch I had that was quite muted in its hoppiness comparatively. The hops do tend to drown out some of the complexity, but this is far more well integrated than my last experience & for that I am quite pleased. This is definitely exactly what I was hoping for when I heard that the brewer was increasing the dry hops in this beer. I liked this the first time around, but now I am really digging it.

Second Batch (definitely not first), Sampled September 2007
3.7 8/4/7/4/14
Very well carbonated, despite a very careful pour the beer produces a 7 finger thick, pale tan colored head that is able to maintain itself a full three fingers above the top of my tulip glass. The beer is an orangish tinged, darkish, gold color and is lightly hazy because of tons of swirling, streaming, fine carbonation bubbles that are apparent when held up to the light. An interesting mix of dry, musty cotton-like funk, and fruity hop notes greets my nose as I pour this brew. Spicy esters and phenols really mute the hop character quite well; said another way the ample hopping here does not dominate the aroma as much as it would in a less fermentation driven beer. Interesting aromatic notes of white pepper, ginger, grains of paradise, a green herbaceous character, candied citrus peel, lychee, are all quite noticeable. Some austere malt notes are also noticeable underneath the yeast and hop notes and they really are noticeable towards the finish; I sense a biscuit like malt character, some honey-like grain character and some bread-like aromas.

The beer is quite a bit drier than I was expecting, yet is fairly full feeling on the tongue, despite the ample carbonation. The dryness really hides the super fruity hop notes that I was expecting from the hops, yet they are still noticeable as flavors of lemon zest, apricot notes and some tangelo. The spiciness of this brew is quite apparent and in fact higher alcohols contribute a piquant, approaching even harsh at times, warming to the finish of this beer. Phenolic notes also contribute to the finish, almost contributing a tongue numbing turpene-derived character (clove is definitely apparent) as well as a hint of a plastic note. Between the higher alcohols, the phenolic notes and a substantial level of esters, this is one spice driven brew; flavors of pepper, ginger, kefir lime leaf, menthol, nutmeg, Hatch green chile and a touch of chive.

As the beer warms and loses some of the carbonation, it begins to soften a bit and become a bit more well integrated. The fruity hop notes pick up a bit (in the flavor, and especially in the aroma), as does the previously ignored malt flavors. The malt lends some honey like notes, some dry, soda cracker flavors and flavors of fresh cracked pale-kilned malt. The aroma actually becomes quite a bit more driven by the über-fruity Amarillo character, though the hot, higher alcohol notes are still readily apparent.

This beer is incredibly complex, and for that I am quite exited as I always enjoy a challenging brew, but somehow it is not quite as well integrated as it should be. Said another way, if all of the complexity combined into a harmonious explosion of flavor, instead of the slight cacophonous mix that is here, this would be an incredibly good beer. Still, even as it is, this is one tasty beer, from an obviously talented brewer and I would be happy to drink this beer, tasting exactly as it is, on a regular basis. I can’t wait to get more of these beers.

Tasted at the May Northern California Beer Tasting. This Belgian Triple pours a medium orange gold color from a 750ml bottle. Medium to large sized white foamy head. The aroma is fruity, biscuit and sweet. A medium bodied Triple. The malts are fruity and sweet. There is a touch of yeast. The hops are spicy. Kind of citrusy, lemon peel and grapefruit in front of the biscuity malts. Nice balance. Good carbonation. Hides the alcohol well. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and crisp. Aftertaste is slightly sweet.

Quite a nice pour with a sweet fruit and biscuit nose. The flavor was quite one diminsional, but sweet, fruit like and smooth.

750 bottle poured into a Trappist glass has a dark golden color with steady carbonation and a thick white frothy head that became a thin layer with good retention. aroma has the most wonderful lemon peel citrus hops, sweet pink grapefruit, tropical fruit, yeast, and honey. mouth feel is medium with great frothing. flavor is all the luscious hops from the nose with yeast and grass. American tripel is really fitting as this has all the qualities of a great Belgian tripel with those yummy American hops to put it over the top.

Draught at Beer Table. Slightly hazy, gold with a slight amber tint. Taste is sweet, spicy, cloves, caramel malt, yeasty breadiness, and a very distinct dry, hoppy mint. First drink of the night, passed it around, 4 out of 4 in our group all identified minty quality. It was like a mix of a particularly hoppy, golden Belgian beer with mint. Unique and delicious. Finished dry, crisp minty hop bitterness.

750 ml from JB175; after almost a year in my cellar! Nose of light apples, peppery spices, and a light funky note; clear copper with a huge off-white head; flavor is very spicy with nutmeg and pepperiness, candi sugar, fruitiness, yeast, and a tiny smidgeon of hops in the finish, but the must have mellowed after 10 months in the cellar!

Ordered from Canal’s in NJ. May have been leaking a bit through the cap as the bottle was a bit wet. No serious sign of beer loss. My first response was: NOOOOO. Another beer with a long standing ethos. All those ISOs in the trade forum. The hops make the taste heavier and more aggressive than a Belgian. And I swear I taste a bit of funk. The yeast? I don’t think this bottle is skunked because I get the overall tripel the way it should be. Very good overall.