Captain Lawrence Series 1: Belgian style grudge match!

I’ve decided to begin with Captain Lawrence because I feel like I’ve never had a beer from them I didn’t like. High praise, indeed, and I wonder if that will actually turn out to be true - especially since I’m starting with a style I tend to avoid, Belgians. I assume they’re all going to be like Blue Moon (which, fair enough for some people, but it’s not my bag). Is this accurate? Let’s see, shall we!

Also I figured it was a great opportunity to try some of the rarer brews from this brand, which is stationed in Elmsford, NY.

My first step is to acquire supplies at Eagle Provisions in South Slope, Brooklyn, which is frankly one of the best places to get unusual beer (or any beer) in Brooklyn.

I hadn’t been in a few years and was pleasantly surprised again at their selection. The only drawback: you can’t buy loose beers from six-packs. So keep that in mind. They have a great selection of rarities, seasonals, and specialty beers, though, many of which are sold in single large bottles, so I picked up the Xtra Gold American Tripel Ale. I already had one of Captain Lawrence’s most popular beers, Liquid Gold, so I included that for comparison.

Liquid Gold – ABV 6.5%

According to the brewery, this is a “Belgian-style ale brewed with spices.” It looks golden in color and is pretty clear and filtered. As I said, I think of myself as not a fan of Belgians, but this one is so spicy and complex that I am won over.

The smell is lovely and malty – I always think of Belgians as wheaty, but really, apparently, according to the Captain Lawrence website, it’s malt, not wheat, that they’re working with.

(This is confusing to me as a beer drinker because I always think of malt as the predominant flavor of many darker European beers, but I suspect this may just be down to the brewing, the yeast, and the style of malt used, etc. Learning experience! Actually, the more research I do on this, the more I’m learning that “Belgian” is a term applied to basically thousands of kinds of beer.)

Also according to the website, they add hops to this beer toward the end of the brewing, so that you get hop flavor and not hop bitterness, and I think this is what makes the difference for me. This is why the beer is a crowd-pleaser: it’s got spicy and hoppy notes but it doesn’t have the bitterness that turns the Anti-Hops folks off.

There is a nice amount of carbonation, too, but not so much that you’d confuse this with a lager or pilsner-style beer (even though that is what the color might lead you to believe!). There is a tiny bit of lemon flavor, and a beautiful depth. This is a pretty fantastic beer, all around. 

Xtra Gold – ABV 10%

I was curious to see if, given my uncharacteristic love for Liquid Gold, Captain Lawrence could pull off converting me to a fan of Tripels. Tripels are an intense, strong style of Belgian ale, so, of course, I usually avoid them, assuming they will be extra intense versions of what I think I don’t like.

The smell of this beer is really different from the Liquid Gold. It isn’t spicy in the same way; it’s much sweeter. And it tastes really different! Wow. The carbonation feels much more pronounced, and the flavors are less perfectly in balance. According to the Captain Lawrence website, this is a blend of a Belgian Tripel and an American IPA, but I don’t taste a ton of the hops involved in an IPA here, and I wish there was more of a bitter kick. Also, it’s STRONG. (Seriously, I had like a third of a pint glass of it - see below - and then I had to take a break!) It really mostly tastes like a Tripel (rich, slightly sweet, malty), and that’s great if you like Tripels, but this beer doesn’t make me a convert, unfortunately. 

What I learned: “Belgian” means different things to different people. It doesn’t always mean “wheaty.” I like some Belgians if they have a sufficient hop bitterness to balance the sweetness of the malt.

Bottom line: These two beers do different jobs, but for me the clear winner is… Liquid Gold!