Captain Lawrence Cuvee de Castleton

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

375ml bottle Batch 3 -

Aroma - oak barrel, lemon/grapefruit juice, lacticy-tartness, and something that reminded me of rice wine vinegar.

Apperance - cloudy yellow body, intial 2" head with very quick disipation melted into zero head

Taste - unripened grapes, grapefruit juice, both tart and sour with a noticeable oak prescence

Palate - sharp, biting acidicness, mineral water like finish

Overall - very enjoyable. Not a top of the line sour ale, but extremely enjoyable and would love to be able to enjoy another bottle.

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

Bottle: Poured a cloudy dirty yellow color ale with a very small bubbly head with no retention or lacing. Aroma is quite complex with loads of musky white wine notes with some funky barnyard notes and a light oak and tart finish. Taste is very much complex with again some musky white wines notes with definitive Brett notes though not as much as expected and some tart finish with hints of oaks. I was expecting more sour character but still very much enjoy the final product. Body is full with limited filtration and not much carbonation with alcohol being very well hidden. Great experience and while not being an everyday kind of beer it is surely something I would wish to have more often.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 10 | Overall: 10

I was told this would be a grand drinking experience, and they were right. The beer poured a cloudy golden yellow colour with a thin white head. The tart apple aroma grabbed the nostrils quickly and gave way to some perfumey hints. The flavour was a beautiful mixture of light fruit, sour notes, and nice bitter finish. A very refreshing sour ale, not too heavy at all.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Sampled on 12/12/2008. This sour ale pours a light gold color from a 750ml bottle. Small to medium sized white foamy head. The aroma is fruity, grapey, a touch tart and a little funky. A medium to light bodied sour ale. The malts are fruity and sweet. The hops are floral. Kind of a subtle and delicate beer, from the subtle nose to the dry and bretty finish. There is a touch of grape throughout. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter and very dry.

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

Bottled, thanks to omhper. Pours out in a very hazy pale yellow with a small white head. Extremely tart of lemon and horse blanket. Tart and really dry flavour of grapefruit, brett, lemon-rind, stable and hay with a a whiff of acidic tropical fruit. Puckering tart long finish of grapefruit, green apples mild wood and plenty of brett. Wow, simply fantastic!

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

Bottled. Hazy yellow colour, small white head. Aroma is fruits, hops, yeast and some caramel & earth in a wellbalanced mix. Flavour is sour fruits, some wood and acidic notes. Some tropical fruits lurking in the background balancing it up to a refreshing brew.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Original rating: Bottle from jjpm74, a very generous dude. The pour was hazy golden in color, head initially pretty spritzy, gushing, quickly diminishing to a thin head to nothing. Aroma is super aromatic, smelled far away from the bottle, in the glass though a nice blend of grapes, sour citrus, and wood notes. Funk and horse blankets pretty soft, though. The flavor was muscrat grapes with lemon tartness, bret notes, finishing with a yeasty bready malt support that was pretty phenomenal. I love the malt support in these sours, and this didn't take the amber to brown track, but sure was enjoyable. Mouthfeel was spritzy, pretty drinkable within style. Thanks, John, and great sharing w/ ya, Bert. Woo hoo! Re-rate, bottle from Cletus, as beer number five in a killer July 09 Super Secret Sour State Line Tasting (SSSSLT) featuring (first to last by my counts): Supplication, Consecration, La Folie, Dissident, Cuvee de Castleton, Red Poppy, Lambic de Hill, Festina Lente, Panil. Bottle opened and white grapes jump out, strong pop sound. Spices in the finish with some cellar-mustiness. Floral notes alongside this one too. Excellent, well done, a novel brew, props points for the originality. Pretty drinkable, hardly that sour/tart after all these others in this run. Thanks, John!

Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 6

Pear juice with a real fizzy white head that fades away completely.
Strong yogurt lactic aroma. Soapy.
Very sour, yet not offensive.
Light body. Tongue washed with scrubbing bubbles.
Not something that I really need to drink again. I’ve read some of the other review and wonder what the hell was I drinking.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 10 | Overall: 8

Batch Number 1, Sampled July 2007
Topped by a large bubbled, pale, white froth, that starts out about a finger and a half in height, but disappears fairly quickly to a thin, not quite layer of froth. The beer is deeply hazy, despite having rested in my fridge for a month, and is an orange-tinged, straw color. The aroma is distinctively funky, with notes of uriatic acid, bitter mushrooms, musty-tea-infused damp leather and a distinct nutty note. The nutty note comes on towards the end and reminds me of a woody mix of almonds and Brazil nuts. An acidity / tartness reminiscent of a funky Sauvignon Blanc makes me wonder if this is contributed by the yeast or by the Muscat grapes. The nutty note, while distinct at times, is at other times overwhelmed by the Brett aromatics. I think that nuttiness may ultimately be some woody / spicy oak character coming through.

A prickly carbonation, which despite its bountiful presence, is probably at a medium level of carbonation. Somehow, despite being quite dry seeming, this beer has a medium fullness to it; the body of this brew somehow sticks to the mouth, yet never seems sweet, or even remotely cloying. Perhaps it is best described as being a light beer with a viscous quality to it that allows the beer to cling to the palate. Tart, with lots of green grape notes; slightly herbal, yet with hints of kiwi, a touch of lime (the mix is something like star-fruit actually), and some green apple notes as well. A backdrop of funky Brett character finishes the flavor profile of this beer off; musty cotton balls, moldy leather, and sharp, mushroom-like fungal character are among the Brett contributed notes. As my palate gets used to the first few sips, a soft, green-fruit sweetness becomes noticeable; this helps to accentuate the fruit notes previously mentioned as well as accenting some notes of apricot. Hints of oak character around the edges combine with some of the fruit notes to evoke thoughts of nutty apricot pits

The apricot notes and thus the sweetness become more noticeable as I work my way through this bottle; the sweetness never becomes overt though. The aroma also pick ups some dry, toasty grain notes that are reminiscent of biscuits & soda crackers.

The oak character in this beer is absolutely stunning; I don’t think I have ever had a beer that got the oak character so perfectly. It is not intrusive, nor is it even overtly noticeable, but it adds another layer of flavor to this beer that is an integral part of this complexly compelling brew. I also find it quite interesting how the grapes have added a sort of viscous quality to this brew without making it overtly sweet. A definitely interesting brew, in fact it is the best marriage of white grape and beer I have had yet. The best thing about this beer… I get to go pour myself another glass right now!