Captain Lawrence Series entry 2: Ales and Pales!

I love a hoppy beer. American craft beer has gotten hoppier and stronger, hoppier and stronger, until we regularly see 8, 9, 10% and more ABV (alcohol by volume) beers at the pub. (There has also been a bit of a backlash against these super-strong beers; some breweries have started focusing instead on so-called “session” beers, which run at an ABV in the 5% range or so, which means you can have more than one of them in a sitting!) Also, pales are sometimes described in IBUs, or International Bitterness Units, which can be helpful if you are sensitive to the bitterness that often comes along with hops. India Pale Ales tend to be hoppier and stronger than their pale ale cousins; hops have preservative properties and IPAs were initially manufactured with extra hops to be able to keep fresh on the journey to India from England, and to stay fresh in the Indian climate. Hoppy beers, especially IPAs, have several flavor profiles: sometimes they are pretty neutral, sometimes they are really piney, and sometimes they are really citrusy, for example. (There are approximately 7 gazillion types of hops, and beers are often brewed with combinations of hops as well, so a lot of variation is possible, according to the brewer’s taste.)

In this review I’ll be checking out three of Captain Lawrence’s pale ale offerings: the Freshchester Pale Ale, the India Pale Ale, and the Captain’s Reserve Imperial India Pale Ale (which is the strongest of the bunch. Note: “Imperial” often means “strong/high ABV/be careful.”)

Freshchester Pale Ale- 5.5% ABV, IBU 35

For me, the difficulty with pale ales (as opposed to India Pale Ales) is that they seem to be more likely to have background flavors I don’t love, including a slight skunkiness.

According to RealBeer.com, the various pale ale styles can be more susceptible to skunking. And guess what: it comes from light hitting beer in bottles, and the reaction produces the same chemical found in actual, for real, skunks. The more you know!

The Freshchester that I got did have a bit of that skunkiness, unfortunately. So I will have to get a new bottle and try it again. To be continued!

India Pale Ale- 6.5% ABV, IBU 65

The IPA’s smell is gorgeous. SOOO piney- and I have a real love for piney beers. I seriously sat and smelled the beer for a couple of minutes. I commented to my boyfriend, Mike, that it smelled ideal. I gave him the glass to smell. And this was all before I took a drink!

My turtle bottle opener from Fiji!

When you do drink it, it’s very crisp, with a lot of hoppy bitterness up front. (As you can see, the IBU is a lot higher for this one than for the Freshchester!) However, it doesn’t have as much body as you might expect. The mouthfeel is pretty crisp and clean too. Once you swallow, though, you still get reminders of that piney flavor on the back end. It’s sort of funny that way: you have initial strong flavor, then less flavor, and then strong flavor again. But you know what? It grows on you and you like it more and more! I’m pretty happy (hoppy? Sorry.) with this beer.

Imperial IPA- 9% ABV, IBU 90

According to Captain Lawrence, they brewed their Captain’s Reserve Imperial IPA first, and then worked backwards to create the regular IPA. But I decided to do the Imperial last, because it is the strongest and it would be hard to drink anything after it!

Trying to get a bit more creative with my photography

To me they taste pretty different. This one is quite strong, and also a lot less piney. In fact, it has bit of the essence of the Belgian Captain Lawrence American Tripel I recently reviewed. It stands up nicely against the spicy chicken dinner I’m having, too.

What I learned: “Skunky” flavors are called that because they are the same chemical skunks produce.

Bottom line: Absolute clear winner: the India Pale Ale! (With, of course, a potential challenge from the Freshchester at a later date.)