5 Years Later - Captain Lawrence Brewing Co.

diddly

New York

4.1/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured from the bottle into a tulip - dark, dark black, with a nice tan head.

Very rich flavor, with hints of alcohol, but surprisingly smooth. Most of the flavor definitely comes through from the malt, but with some subtle hops in the back. There's also some very nice smoke.

The aroma, though, is powerfully hoppy.

Overall, a very good beer.

Very happy that I have a few more bottles of this to hang on to - can't wait to see what this is like later on.

Serving type: bottle

02-25-2011 04:02:29 | More by diddly

jkane101

New Jersey

4/5  rDev -1.2%

05-15-2013 00:51:16 | More by jkane101

resistdefy

District of Columbia

4/5  rDev -1.2%

04-07-2013 21:29:44 | More by resistdefy

Shilt

Virginia

4.25/5  rDev +4.9%

03-27-2013 00:27:23 | More by Shilt

Justin_Neff

Ohio

4.09/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Poured from a bottle into 50W tulip glass - bottle received from zipper8650

A: Pours a very dark brown with a beige, 2 finger, silky head. In a couple short minutes the head settles into a thin, creamy ring. Leaves a good, sticky lacing.

S: Nose is very piney and hop forward. A good amount of roast which comes off as more chocolate than anything else. A hint of citrus notes as well. Hints of molasses and dark figgy-type fruits as well.

T: Very hoppy. High bitterness. There is a lot of sweet and roasted malt at the finish, which balances to the hop bitterness well. Coffee, mixed with some smokey pine, and bites of licorice sticks.

M: Medium body. Dry. High Carbonation. A little boozy.

O: Captain Lawrence continues to impress me. This one has a great balance of hoppy and malty with a high level of complexity.

Serving type: bottle

02-26-2013 01:13:22 | More by Justin_Neff

Willytee3

New York

3.94/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

750 ml Bottle into tulip

Pours a dark chocolate brown with red highlights in light. Rich foamy latte colored head.
Smells of rich milk chocolate with bitter dark chocolate notes. Some toasted Malts, a touch of blackstrap sweetness. Foamy bubbles cling with some sticky lacing.
Tastes of coffee with chocolate undertones, dark bitter bite. Dry bitter bite, stovepipe with a touch of sweetness followed by licorice and earth. Unsweetened chocolate finish.
Feels medium body and chalky.
A touch of booze comes through as it warms.

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2013 05:33:00 | More by Willytee3

thebouch01

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -1.2%

11-30-2012 15:26:28 | More by thebouch01

imperialking

Illinois

4/5  rDev -1.2%

11-13-2012 19:30:18 | More by imperialking

DoogeeZ

New York

5/5  rDev +23.5%

10-07-2012 00:41:39 | More by DoogeeZ

meaghan2k

New York

4.75/5  rDev +17.3%

09-27-2012 17:52:57 | More by meaghan2k

marshmeli

New York

3/5  rDev -25.9%

09-17-2012 19:49:17 | More by marshmeli

t0rin0

California

3.5/5  rDev -13.6%

09-09-2012 22:46:59 | More by t0rin0

dextermcgurk

New York

3.5/5  rDev -13.6%

07-08-2012 17:26:26 | More by dextermcgurk

DaveHack

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -7.4%

07-07-2012 22:01:58 | More by DaveHack

nickfl

Florida

4.48/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A - Pours with two fingers of light tan foam on top of an opaque, black body. The head settles at a moderate pace and leaves excellent lacing on the glass as it goes.

S - Spicy, dark malt with some peppery chocolate in the background and hoppy notes of pine, juniper, and mustard.

T - Pepper, clove, and dark, smoky coffee up front. Some very dark chocolate notes in the middle and more pepper with a hint of pine hops. Finishes with dark chocolate, smoke, pine and juniper hops along with a lingering note of spicy mustard.

M - Medium-thick body, moderate carbonation, and a slightly sweet finish.

D - Wow, this beer is huge and complex but also unlike any other black ale I have ever had. Great malt character with hops that keep things balanced and set the sugary notes off in just the right way. Really well done.

Serving type: bottle

06-28-2012 03:16:24 | More by nickfl

kylehay2004

Florida

4.1/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: single finger off white head with nice lacing on a very dark brown body with light getting through.

S: roasted malts, light coffee, vanilla and nice brown sugar presence. nice strength to the aroma.

T: roasted chocolate malts, brown sugar, molasses, vanilla and bitter, earthy hops mostly in the finish. very nice oak wood note throughout.

M: moderate to high carbonation and thick body. fairly smooth and semi dry in the finish.

Overall: This is a very good beer. Complex and very complete.

Serving type: bottle

06-28-2012 03:13:30 | More by kylehay2004

chugalug06

Colorado

3.7/5  rDev -8.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Great caramel/brown head! Even better head retention. Brew is very thick black. Well laced too.

Great big hops come out in the nose. Tons of pine and Caramel. This one help up nice with time.

Very smooth and delicious. Zero bitterness and tons of unique milky smoothness. Vanilla and Bourbon stand out. Chocolate and caramel too. Dry and strong. More like a old ale then ABA, but still nice. Heavy carbonation. Slight rubbing alcohol/rubber flavor.

A good brew, but slightly off style... Recommended, but not worth hunting. Very strong, but not offensive.

Serving type: bottle

05-24-2012 01:31:45 | More by chugalug06

virinow

New York

4/5  rDev -1.2%

05-18-2012 23:29:06 | More by virinow

brystmar

New York

2.8/5  rDev -30.9%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Bottle shared by blatantdream, thanks!

Dark brown/black pour, off-white head, beady lace. Ultra boozy aroma; masks most of what's here honestly. Needs work.

Taste is similarly dominated by alcohol. Deeply roasted malta and hints of hops are hiding in the corners, but my god is this boozy. Time to go back to the drawing board guys.

Serving type: bottle

05-09-2012 00:39:49 | More by brystmar

ithinkimasofa

Washington

3/5  rDev -25.9%

05-07-2012 02:32:47 | More by ithinkimasofa

pezfiend

New York

3.78/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

750 ML bottle into Captain Lawrence stemmed glass. Just bought the bottle today to celebrate my promotion to sales this morning so the bottle's already about a year old.

A: Pitch black with a good 3 finger head lacing all around the glass as the foam dies down.

S: Dark Chocolate, coffee mostly. The bottle's a little older by now and lost most of it's hop aroma, almost like a strong stout now.

T: Once again, chocolate, coffee, caramel notes, minor bitterness from the hops. There's almost a chalky charcoal taste I get which is not necessarily bad, oak, burbon.

M: Coats the mouth like an oil slick very chewable beer. If drinking before 12pm wasn't so looked down upon in certain areas I could see this replacing my morning coffee on a work day.

O: Great beer, was not what I expected at all. I'm used to American Black Ale's with a lot more hops. The hops are pretty much all gone and with time it's become a great strong stout.

Serving type: bottle

04-17-2012 17:28:59 | More by pezfiend

Rhettroactive

Virginia

3.58/5  rDev -11.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

From 750mL bottle to Bruges hybrid glass on 4/4/12
*From notes

A: Rich and dark. A good pour yields a 1.25 finger head that fades to a decent collar and moderate lacing.

S: Ouch. The hops have faded quite a bit, and it gives off a Pine-Sol quality. A solid dose of chocolate malt lingers in the back of my nostrils, adding a needed perk to the bouquet.

T: Big, bitter pine oil and more of that earthy, chocolaty malt. Quite nice, really. It's much better then I'd hoped for, and at eight months of age, I'm happy with it.

M: Thick and dense, plenty of weight and complexity.

O: I can't believe I buried this one (accidentally) in the cellar for so long. When fresh, I imagine this was the tits. It's got a lot of potential. Sure it's currently past it's prime, but it ain't bad as-is, and one you need to consume ASAP, granted you're still holding.

Serving type: bottle

04-05-2012 22:14:21 | More by Rhettroactive

brez8791

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -7.4%

03-09-2012 02:28:28 | More by brez8791

Phyl21ca

Quebec (Canada)

3.53/5  rDev -12.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle: Poured a deep dark burgundy brown color ale with a nice light brown foamy head with good retention and some good lacing. Aroma of pine and astringent hops with notes of caramel malt with some toffee notes. Taste is a complex mix between some pine and astringent hops with some sweet malt notes with some caramel and toffee notes. Body is quite full with good carbonation and no apparent alcohol. Interesting though not something I would feel the need to drink on a regular basis.

Serving type: bottle

02-27-2012 03:16:04 | More by Phyl21ca

mindspin315

New Jersey

3.65/5  rDev -9.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Huge light brown head and sticking all over the glass. Dark body not quite black but close. Brown around the sides and bottom of the glass.

The aromas blend together and smell like a IPA, Barleywine, and Stout hybrid. Upfront on the nose piney hop notes. The blend of hoppiness and graininess of a Barleywine come through almost simultaneous with the pine aroma. Dose of chocolate malt and caramel midway. Toasted bread and roasted malts as well. Would like to know the 5 hops/5 malts used to make this beer.

This is not the freshest of bottles, so I would love to see how the hops were on this one fresh, but they definitely are playing a big part here. Flavors of chocolate, caramel, pine, and citrus. A bit of grain and hops through the middle. Finished with a wash of bitterness and a bit of dryness. Touch of heat in the chest. Light smoke and ashy quality at the end and in the aftertaste as well.

A bit more hops upfront on the taste would improve this beer a lot for me, but I still found plenty of aspects to enjoy. (Granted I'm not drinking this fresh so the hops most likely have faded a bit). The aftertaste is very good. This beer blends together aspects of different beer styles quite nicely. This beer falls under the Black Ale category and I find it to be one of the better versions of this style. Not the best of, but certainly a top the mix. Better as it warms.

[87/100]

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2012 07:36:30 | More by mindspin315