Captain Lawrence Captains Reserve Imperial IPA

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Sampled at GABF on 9/17/2010. This Imperial India Pale Ale pours a light gold color from the tap. Medium sized white foamy head. The aroma is fruity and sweet, touch of floral hops. A medium bodied double IPA. The malts are fruity and sweet. The hops are citrusy and grapefruity. Not a lot of bitterness, especially for an double IPA, nice hop flavors with some bitterness at the finish. Decnet carbonation. Nice balance. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and crisp. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Pours out in a clear golden colour with a rich eruptive white head. Rich and firm aroma of lemon-zest, red grapefruit, pine-needles and peaches. Nearly full-bodied with crisp hoppy notes of peaches, grapefruit and grass. Long crisp bitter finish of flowers, pine and grapefruit. A stylish IIPA.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

1 pint 9 oz bottle courtesy of a trade with Emmasdad into a S.A. Pint glass. Poured a golden yellow with a large but quickly settling head. Lacing wasn’t heavy but present throughout. Nose was subtle citrus and some grassiness - not the best part of this brew. Taste was toward the sweet side for an IPA, a lot of lemon and orange with hints of grapefruit and malt sweetness. For people who want a very dry and bitter IPA, this is not it. Beer was medium bodied, lightly carbonated, and had a very creamy mouthfeel. The 9% was a shock ‘cause it is absolutely not evident. Even as sweet as this was, I could do more than one of these for sure. This beer was not on my radar but I will certainly keep an eye out for it in the future. What a nice surprise!

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

1 pt. 9 fl. oz. bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is not stated on the label. Deep golden colour, moderate white head. Intense aroma of fruity and piney American hops. The flavour has loads of piney hops with a massive bitterness, but it is not too extreme (pretty close, though). There is some malty sweetness, but the beer is not as sweet and alcoholic as many other American Imperial IPAs. Good stuff.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Bottle: Poured a clear golden color ale with a nice foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of dominant citrus hops with light malt backbone. Taste is also dominated by loads of citrus hops with some definite bitter notes and a weaker then anticipated malt backbone. Body is about average with good carbonation. Well made though more malt presence would have benefited this beer.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Poured a clear amber/gold color with a medium-sized offwhite head and some light lacing. Aroma is hoppy and surprisingly sweet and fruity; oranges and caramel malts. Flavor was definitely hoppy, but also malty enough to even things out -- mildly toasted malts. Piney hops are still in the forefront. Very fruity still too, with oranges, grapefruit, peaches?. A delicious and easy-drinking IPA.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

A cloudy amber colored ale that had initial aromas of lemon, orange, bread and a sense of the alcoholic strength. It had a white head which did not produce any lacing at all. Then on the palate I tasted lemon, grapefruit, and herbs that was well balanced by the malts. A delicious beer.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

Served lightly chilled at about 58ºF (14ºC); Five days since being filled
Pours from the growler a brilliantly clear (so brilliantly clear that it is almost ridiculous or even suspect), deep, cranberry color. It is topped by a frothy, initially fat-two-finger thick, tan colored head that leaves a thin layer of lace as it falls back into the beer. The beer is quite noticeably hoppy; as I pour this brew the sweet smell of hop-induced fruit & citrus is easily noticed. Aromatic notes of candied orange peel, candied peaches, tangelo, lychee, apricot concentrate / preserves; there is just an über fruitiness to this brew that is so typically American. Behind the up front fruit notes is a backdrop of lightly herbal notes and a touch of sharp pine. Lest we forget about it completely, there is even some malt character noticeable in the aromatic finish. Aromas of toasty, freshly milled biscuit malt, caramel malt notes and a quite noticeable, crushed soda cracker aroma let me know that the brewer put enough malt in this brew to stand up to the hops, but also be noticeable (though not enough to lessen the overwhelming hop focus of this brew).

The taste is somewhat sweet, yet bracingly bitter from the get go. At first the bitterness is balanced quite well by the malt character, but it quickly starts to bite, with an astringent, slightly rough, yet mostly clean bitterness that becomes more prominent as the beer leaves my mouth and slips down my throat. Quite malty still in the taste, with flavors of caramelized malt sugars, a solid soda cracker maltiness and even has a touch of lightly toasted grain flavors to it. This beer is of course all about the hops though, and even though I have not mentioned the flavors yet, the hop flavors clearly are the main course here. The flavor is not quite as fruit focused as the aroma, yet it is still the most noticeable aspect of it. Fruit flavors reminiscent of lychees, tangelo, ruby-red grapefruit, Curacao orange peel are all noticeable. Actually the fruit notes leaning towards concentrated apricot and peach notes is quite a bit more muted than it was in the aroma; really the citrus-like notes play a much more prominent role in the flavor profile. The alcohol is held pretty well in check, a touch of warming flavors intermingle with the sharp hop notes in the finish. The beer certainly has some heft to it, a fair amount of body, but no where near what I would characterize as a Barleywine. Still with the ample malt, and over the top hop character, this is definitely not quite a quaffing brew.

A sharply herbal and even a touch of pine tar flavors, adds to and melds into the bitter finish of this brew. Aggressive, with enough bitterness and astringency, a bit of an exercise in self flagellation, scathingly hoppy, yet still overall balanced towards the smoother, this is a great example of a Double IPA. This is a damn fine brew, it is very well balanced for a Double IPA, drinkable, yet engagingly hoppy.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

Poured a clear, golden amber color with a small, off white head that left sticky lacing on the glass. Aroma of pine, marijuana, resin, floral hops, caramel malts, and citrus fruits. Taste of the same, with grapefruit, more citrus, pine, and tobacco. A bit of alcohol in the finish.