Alt IPA
Captain Lawrence Brewing Co.

Brown color. Big , yellowish head. Nice aroma of American hops, caramel and cocoa. Some toasted caramel and hops in balanced taste with light sweetness at the beginning and decent hoppy bitterness. Interesting beer.

 

This pours with a huge, latte colored, somewhat rocky head. It stays for days and leaves a ton of lace, and clumps, streaking the glass all the way down as I drink. The fluid is a clear dark brown with little activity evident, but the excellent retention says otherwise. Lovely to gaze upon and this is in a plain old pint glass.

Nose is full of roasted grains and pine. Mild aromas of baker's chocolate and brown sugar. A bit of citrus chases the whole thing lightly.

Flavor is rich and satisfying in a way that is uncommon for an IPA. Lots of roast upfront with a note of pine tinged char. Sugar and light cocoa nibs. Deep caramel malt body. Some apple like fruitiness. Finish has some hop oil, pine and orange citrus notes, with a mild coffee bitteness. A bit of dark bread and hop oil lingering.

Feel is crisp and smoothly carbonated. Perfectly weighted for the winter. Highly drrinkable and thirst quencing with a swallow that has you going for more.

This is a great brew and a probably my favorite winter IPA. It reall does come out as a hybrid of an ALT and IPA. So easy drinking and delicious I can session this in spite of the higher abv. My hats of to Scott and thhe crew for a top tier take on an IPA. Of course ther are those whose rigidity will keep them from appreciating what a fine beer this is. I feel sorry for them. But not too sorry. More for me.

 

 

Poured from a 12oz bottle into a US tumbler pint glass.

A: The beer is a deep dark brown color, with a large off-white head that fades slowly and leaves a spotty lace on the glass.

S: The aroma contains roasted malts, chocolate, some hops and some citrus.

T: The taste starts out with mildly sweet flavors of chocolate, citrus and other fruits. Then a hearty roasted malt character comes in. The hops presence is a bit subdued for the style but brings a good balance. The after-taste is slightly sweet and slightly bready.

M: Crisp and smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is dry and slightly sticky.

O: Tasty, goes down easily, not too filling, decent kick, good variation of style despite tasting like an American Black Ale, this is a solid beer to drink for a while.

 

Interesting take on the IPA style - getting close to a black IPA. Pours a dark brown with a nice light brown head and a decent amount of lacing. Aroma is citrus and some darker malts. Taste is citrusy with some coffee/chocolate coming through. A little overcarbonated. Wouldn't say it's a must-try, but if you want to try an alt-IPA, I guess it's worth it.

Poured from a 12oz bottle into a Speiglau IPA glass.

Look is a beautiful brownish red with a big slightly off white color.

Aroma is very malty with a slight roast not much in way of hopping.

Delicious sweet roasted malt up front but gives way to a semi acrid roast malt at the end.

Not entirely bad, but not totally good either. Seems stuck in between styles.

 

A: Poured a dark, dirty brown color with a very thin layer of light brown head. No light coming through the glass and it's leaving a decent amount of lacing.

S: I was initially getting straight hops in the nose, but after a few minutes, I get a slight hint of a roasty malt backbone. There's also some brown sugar sweetness. A very slight hint of molasses as well.

T: Tastes close to a hoppy brown ale. There's a bit of dry hoppiness in there as well as some definite roasted malts.

M: Sticky throughout the entire mouth. The hoppiness is kind of in the middle.

O: Reminiscent of a hoppy brown ale, as mentioned above. Not much alcohol. It's got a bit of sugary sweetness as it goes down. I wish it had some more hoppiness, seeing as this is technically an IPA.

Captain Lawrence Brewing Co. "Alt IPA"
12 fl. oz. brown glass bottle, "BATCH B MPN 558 13:13:36"
$2 @ Weis Market, Conshohocken, PA

Notes via stream of consciousness: Alt IPA? Really? Cool, that sounds like a sticke alt. Nice color, very dark mahogany brown beneath a pillowy head of dark tan. Exceptional head retention so far. I can smell the hops from a hands length away from my nose, bright and lively with what seems like Cascade... citrusy with more orange than grapefruit, and resinous - as in hop resin, not pine resin - but with some pine as well. The flavor throws that off at first with a solid maltiness that's deeply caramelish and borderline becoming roasty, kind of like bittersweet chocolate, although the hops come back into focus after a second or third sip. As it warms it opens up to become a bit more caramelish and grainy, and its apple-like fruitiness becomes clear. Oh, geez, I just noticed the really remarkable lacing that matches the head retention, very nice. Wow! I'm kind of blown away by this. I could easily see this as a sticke alt in Düsseldorf, especially given the use of American hops. It's somewhat stronger and more bitter than a standard alt, and a little richer in maltiness of course, but it's so nicely balanced. Highly satisfying and immensely drinkable! I hope this receives the attention it deserves as I can't imagine brewing it that much better than it already is - 4.5 out of 5!