Captain Lawrence Golden Delicious

Formerly brewed at Captain Lawrence Brewing Company
Style: Abbey Tripel
Pleasantville, New York USA

Thanks to the two people that sent this to me and to those that shared bottles at the Cleveland tasting. Pours cloudy straw colored with a decent white head. Aroma is brandy and oak, but brandy is overwhelming. Very hot alcohol flavor with some of the base beer coming through. A bit of wood as well. Palate is average. May need some time to mellow.

750 ml. bottle. Hazy golden color with a small white head. Nice aroma of apples, oak, brandy and caramel. The flavor was very much like the aroma, however it did not come together as well as the aroma did. Starts of nice and oaky, with the apple brandy flavor right behind as well as some doughy yeast and black pepper. I was beginning to wonder how lots of raters thought this was overly boozy because I didn’t. Then as the beer warmed, the alcohol presence made itself more known. I still enjoyed it quite a bit, and have had two bottles of it now, but it was much better closer to 45 degrees than it was around 55 deg.

Shared at Cleveland tasting 3/15 Bottle: Pours a hazy gold with a white head. Aroma, yeasty notes, brandy, sweet malts. Flavor, brandy, some fruits, yeast, a bit of apple, some floral notes.

Cleveland tasting

One of these was popped open at Mike’s apartment. I wish I would have tried the Xtra Gold later on; this one was way out of balance overall. The brandy aspect totally dominated things to the point where it was hard to pick up on the base beer beneath. While not bad it either needs age to calm down or more time in the barrel.

Aroma / Appearance - The cloudy golden body swirled lightly around the glass releasing wood, apple and pears. The alcohol was strong even from a distance. It could have been a bit more cohesive but overall it was very solid.

Flavor / Palate - The booziness dominates things from the start. After a while one can pick up on the apple which stands out most in the finish. The hotness tickles the throat making this one a great way to get a buzz quickly. If it were a little more balanced I would like it more. As it stands it is too boozy to finish off more than ten ounces in a sitting.

Bottle shared at the Cleveland tasting. Poured a dark gold. Smell was a spiced apple. Taste was wood and sour apples. I enjoyed this.

75 cl bottle from Dickinsonbeer. Thanks! Dark golden color. Strong apple juice, oak and calvadosaroma. Hint of pepper. Very alcoholic beer. Strong flavor of wooden barrels with calvados. Considerable dry out effect because of the wood and the alcohol. Peppery aftertaste. Out of balance because of the overwhelming alcohol but still a pleasant, complex and tasty beer. Try again with an 8% tripel?

Pours a light orange color with a white head. Aroma is grain, honey, green apple, alcohol, oak, vanilla, and some sugary sweetness. Flavor is grainy, honey, green apple, sugar, alcohol, and a sugary green apple finish.

Whew. Hot, sharp, nearly boozy apple cider and apple and pear brandy nose. Very strong smelling, very powerful. Flavor is more of this intense apple and pear brandy, with actually very little of the Xtra Gold noticeable underneath the thick layer of the barrel character. Warming, moderately thick on the palate (but not frothy at all, rather thick like a liquor), very clean and unblemished, with little yeast apparency, finishes warm, sharp and boozy. There’s a lot to like about it, especially the novelty, but the brandy character is a little overbearing.