Captain Lawrence Golden Delicious

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

750mL bottle. Pours a slightly hazy, honey-orange color; off-white head with patchy, fine-bubbled lacing. Dense, generous aroma: loads of the original, complex yeast character and breadiness and dough, softly coupled to a warming apple cider / brandy barrel presence with soft edges; much to enjoy in the aroma, with a touch of booze. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: loads of warming apple cider (minimal tartness, if any) / apple brandy character; toasty oak and dense, chewy yeastiness; people talk about hotness in this beer, there’s a bit of warmth, but nothing at all harsh here; softly boozy, at worst; loads of fresh apple, breadiness, and that gorgeous yeast character of Batch 1 Xtra Gold still present; spicy and warming. Medium finish, showing toasty dough, apple crisp, and some bread.

After the long wait I finally get to try this beer. I was first supposed to try this in the summer of 2007 on cask, did not happen. Then constant carbonation issues bu I finally picked the bottles up at the brewery drinking it now, 7 months later. It pours with a beautiful medium sized strong head that slowly fades into a thick lacing. The beer is full of carbonation bubbles shooting through the darker golden body.. Clear enough to see the beautiful bubbles (the last pour is ridiculously full of sediment and other junk). Aroma is very apple for me, nice thick cider like apple with a Belgian airiness. No felt hoppiness, as I like it. Taste is lightly apple sweet, light booziness, light oak, and some Belgian dough sweetness. All very nicely melded. There is the faintest heat at the end of the flavor left at the back of the throat, giving it some heft. Otherwise, its actually very easy to drink, the alcohol does into get in the way and the beer melds nicely with the base tripel. It’s not as groundbreaking as I hoped for but came out damn nice anyway. The last pour has a lot of apple muskiness.
Capped green 750mL, Duvel large tulip glass.

[Bottle, thanks Stine!] Pours hazy amber with a small white head. Aroma is light apple, some caramel malt, a lot of alcohol and some light oak. Taste is about the same, with the alcohol very dominant. Medium-thick mouthfeel with a long finish. Not a bad beer, but really not a whole lot going on aside from the strong alcohol.

Courtesy mgumby10. Light golden straw brown pour with light white lace. Delicious aroma of spicey almost like apple, hints of sweet yeast. Sour apple flavor that fades to nutmeg and abv. Very pleasant lingering flavor on the palate brandy comes through nicely. Very solid mouthfeel and carbonation. Unusual flavor combination that comes togehter to make this a very special beer.

Many thanks to Stine for sharing this. Dark gold color with a thin head. Tart hop aroma with plenty of citrus. The taste was very surprising... vinegary with a bit of dill. Some wheat and some sourness. Didn’t pick up any apples at all, other than maybe the tartness in the aroma.

Poured from a 750 ml bottle. Pale, dirty gold appearance; somewhat pasty and very murky. Lots of brandy and sweet apple sugars in the aroma; vanilla, and a wholly unexpected cache of wild, peppery spices; pungent cayenne, pears, honey, and a hint of something dank and intoxicating like coca leaves. Hemp. Flavors are very boozy, with a forceful vanilla and caramel brandy presence layering like a hot, chewy apple syrup over the fantastically well-balanced body of the Xtra Gold, which having aged has developed an intricate balance of french toast malts, doughy, musty yeasts, and sprucy hops that haven’t yet faded; a later pour yields some vinegar, cardamom, and honey. Palate is dryly sweet; medium to full in body; finishes with a generic, sterilizing alcohol flavor which is simply too strong and vodka-like in plainness. Though a very interesting concept, the barrel aging has done nothing to improve this already fantastic tripel; at this point, it needs to age for a quite significant amount of time if it hasn’t already been barreled too far into the ground. Thanks Jason!

Sampled at Cellars Wine & Spirits in St Paul, Minnesota, shared by Stine. Pours a hazy butterscotch caramel with a fast dissolving white head that leaves behind a thin film and white ring. Aroma of dark pitted fruits, some bourbon character, vanilla with a touch of yeast and lemon zest. Taste is mostly bourbon/brandy character, medium bodied, smooth, with flavors of sweet apples, vanilla, and some brandy. Finish is high alcohol warmth, with a brandy aftertaste on top of some apple character. Quite nice!

750 ml bottle. Pours a cloudy golden caramel with a medium sized foamy white head. Aroma of brandy, apple juice, vanilla and yeast. Taste of brandy, wood and apples. A huge alcoholic presence. Leaves a perfumy aftertaste. This one clears out the sinuses. Aging may better this one.