Captain Lawrence Pale Ale

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

Growler provided by kmweaver. Clear golden body with a large white head. Flowers, herbs, apple juice and honey nose. Lightly sweet, lightly bitter with caramel, light tea, orange rind, flowers and honey. Medium body is very soft with gentle carbonation. Nice.

Growler, courtesy of jjpm74. Thanks, John! Pours a clear, bright golden-orange color; whitish head with great retention and fine-bubbled lacing; a very nice pour. Very delicate, pleasant aroma: citrus and orange hops; oily and resiny with a bit of spice. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: a fair amount of weight in the mouth; oily, chewy hops (citrus, orange, and earthiness) with a good balance of maple syrup and candy sugar; there’s a lot of heft and flavor in here for 5.6%; well balanced and very drinkable. Medium finish, showing sugar and oily citrus hops; very nice hop character.

Tap. Another good Captain Lawrence beer. More hoppy than I expected. Really well balanced other than that. Slight sweetness in there. Just really well done and hugely clean. Rerate - growler from Bowery WFM. Great, drinkable beer. A balanced and slightly toasty/caramely IPA, which I guess is why it’s a Pale Ale. Nicely done.

On tap at the brewery. Aroma is piquant waft of rosemary and seared herbs, blended back with earth and spice. Floral. Pours pales gold and a good, really pillowy head. Flavor is mostly as expected, but really defined. There’s a good fresh biting edge of hops, but then a spritz of citrus and really affluent spice, coriander, etc. It’s especially clean and the alcohol and yeast sides are really pleasurable and add to the experience of the beer. Malt finds its perfect center in this beer. This really reads as the what Sierra Nevada Pale Ale should really be, without all the minimalism and confusion. Probably the most exemplary and traditional example of the style I can think of.

On Tap at Brass Rail in Hoboken. This bueatiful example of a hoppy pale ale has a beautiful color and head with a medium-full rounded paalte. The aroma is great with citrus, hops, and honeysuckle. Flavor has that golden nectar sweetness that really shines in a pale ale. The hops soon takes over and dominates the finish with an enjoyable, but perhaps over the top for a non-imperial bitterness. Reminded me of Dogfish Head 90 IPA more than anything else. Has a little more complexity though, with some lemon, orange and peach flavors. Overall, it’s like sipping peach-pineapple juice through a pine tree. Re-Rate: Wasn’t quite blown away after the first try. Later samplings have seemed a bit less sweet and overall, less enjoyable. Still a great beer.

On tap at Barcade. Dark sun colour, decent head. Floral citrus aroma, hoppy and IPAish. Three C-hops. Good medium mouthfeel, active carbonation. An easy drinker. Not the best pale, nice beer.

Draft at Barcade. Pours amber with decent off-white head. Leaves a good deal of lacing at the top of the glass. Aroma is of piney hops predominantly, followed by a slight malty sweetness. Tastes is quite hoppy and bitter. More of the pine than grapefruit, with a bit of a caramel malt back. A thicker than average mouthfeel with a dry bitter finish. Another hit from the Captain.

In short: Superior crisp and dry Pale Ale
How: Tap at various places (brewery, Puck fair NYC, more...)
The look: Clear golden body with a medium beige head.
In long: Intense citrusy and coniferous nose. Crisp caramel with crunchy sweetness and tasty fruity/woody hoppiness providing a long, dry and rather bitter finish. Lively carbonation. Could pass as an IPA. This is one hell of a session Pale Ale. As well balanced as a juggling unicyclist on a tight rope.