Captain Lawrence Brown Bird Brown Ale

Brewed by Captain Lawrence Brewing Company
Style: Brown Ale
Pleasantville, New York USA

Cask at GBBF 08. This really blew me away out of nowhere! It starts like a standard American brown ale, sweet and malty, but then it hits you with lots of late fruitiness and a great dry finish. Colour me impressed.

On tap at Brouwerij Lane, Brooklyn. The aroma is chocolate, nutty, toffee, very nice. the flavor follows exactly. the appearance is a deep brown, almost totally opaque, tan head. The finish was a mild hop bittering, mostly an earthy type of hops. Awesome thick and creamy mouthfeel. Excellent representation of the style.

Growler courtesy of kmweaver. Clear brown body with a small beige head. The nose is toffee, cookie dough, golden raisins and herbal/floral hops. Flavor is lightly sweet, lightly bitter with herbal/floral hops, caramel, cracker and raisins. Medium body is soft with light carbonation. Good one.

Growler. Pours a bright, deep cherry-cola color; pleasant light tan head with solid retention and fine-bubbled lacing. Pleasant amounts of roasted malts, dried fruits, and cola in the aroma; tasty, clear brown ale expression. Medium mouthfeel: toasted / tea-like malts, dried red fruits, cola and a touch of breadiness; like the aroma, just a very clear, very clean expression of all the good things about a brown ale: drinkable as all hell, nothing sticky, and a very solid malt character. Medium finish, showing cola and tea-like malts and a bit of bread.

Cherry wood, maple and sweet caramel in the nose, along with a smaller amount of toasted bread crust. This bread crust/toast really comes out in the flavor, along with a resinous, chewy hazelnut malt profile, moderately sharp but firm, very vibrant and fresh, and very well made. One of the best straight brown ales I’ve had in a long time.

On tap at the brewery on Castleton release day 2008: Pours a transparent copper amber with a spotty-lacing light tan head. Aroma of lightly sweet toasty caramel malts with nice nutty notes. Body starts semi-sweet and smooth with good toasty nutty flavor and a drier, slightly earthy finish. True to style and enjoyable.

Pours on the light side for a brown ale- mostly a deep amber with some light woody brown hints- head is off white foamy, and lasting - nice lace. Aroma is mostly toasted dry malts with nutty hints and light herbalness- clean and not yeasty or dirty at all. Light sweet caramel, and nutty dryness comes in later- with some light chocolate malts. Good herbal hop bitter finihs. Smooth overall. Not outstanding- just a well made easy drinking brown ale.

Tap at the brewery - I’m not normally a fan of this style, but this stuff was solid - a pleasant nutty character, and a caramel sweetness tempered by an almost coffee-ish bitterness - hints of dried fruit character - a smooth and well-balanced session ale.