On being a hophead

Lately I have been making a concerted effort to not just drink pale ales and IPA's. I definitely dig on many beer styles and I have a desire to expand my pallet, but if I'm not paying attention I will fall back on old habits. Like today. I was off from work and kinda bored. I got in the car with the intention of driving to Target to buy a new toothbrush. Somehow I ended up at a beer store in Westfield that has a pretty good selection. I meandered around for a couple minutes checking out what they had to offer. I picked up one bottle, picked up another, looked around some more. Before I realized it I had nearly $50 worth of brew at the checkout counter, all of which were IPA's, but one. I'm not complaining because I got some good stuff (Celebration Ale, Sierra Southern Hemi, Ballast Point IPA). Sometimes, though, I have to force myself to buy other styles, even if I know I will like it. Like, I have no idea when the last time it was that I bought a stout at the beer store. I just love those hops. The way they taste, the way they smell, even the way they look (fresh). So I'm asking my readers (the six friends i have that pay attention to this thing) to suggest non-pale ales for me to try over the next month. I have an IPA in primary fermentation right now that will be ready in about a month, so I'll be back on them lupulins by then. Help me mix it up in the mean time.

What I'm drinking: Various IPA's
What I'm listening to: Celph Titled

Captain's Orders

A few months back I was hanging at a brewery, drinking some beers. I was talking to this dude about beer swapping. He told me to check out this brewery right over the border in New York that puts out some sought after craft brews, good for the trading. I had had a few drinks at this point and when I went to write down the name of the brewery in my phone I typed Cap and Lawrence. I searched for the brewery online but couldn't find it. What I did find was Captain Lawrence Brewery located in Pleasantville, New York. The pictures on their site and videos I found on youtube made this place look pretty dope. They look to have a really nice set up with pretty tanks and a swanky tasting room. I have been meaning to get up to their open house for a couple months, but being a retail shmoe it is hard to get off on a Saturday. Last week, however, as I was perusing the wares of the beer store by my work, something caught my eye. Captain Lawrence Captain's Reserve, Imperial IPA. I immediately snatched one up with wide eyed anticipation.

This beer comes in a 16.9 oz bottle. Kind of a weird size. I put it into a unit conversion program and it comes out to about half a liter. It clocks in at 8%. It pours a darker full gold color with a big creamy white head. The first thing that hit me, aroma wise, was a smell very similar to liquid malt extract. I'm not sure why that is, I think the beer was still breathing when I took my first whiff. This aroma gave way almost immediately to pure hop goodness. Strong citrus and pine scents dominated. Flavor was similar. There was a lot of lemon, pine, and grapefruit with a toasty malt backbone. It leaves a lot of hops in your mouth to finish. Very tasty, a true triumph. This beer reminded me of Russian River's Pliny the Elder in that it holds back on the malt. A lot of double IPAs will bulk up a bit on malt in order to provide more fermetables as well as counter strong hop flavors and bitterness. Captain's Reserve, like Pliny, manages to accomplish this while staying lighter in body and malt flavor. It is also very lemony, like Pliny. I recommend both and would say that Captain Lawrence, Captain's Reserve might be the east coast answer to Pliny the Elder. I'd have to have a few more of each to really be confident in that statement.

So a couple days later I was in Whole Foods Middleton. I had been promised a meal of red Thai curry that night, so I looked for a beer that I thought would compliment the meal. They had Captain's Reserve on the shelf, so I picked one up. It seemed like a good match. Beeradvocate lists American IPA's as a good pairing for Thai. Unfortunately the spiciness of the Thai food washed out the strong character of the beer. I think it would pair well with a Pad Thai or a lighter curry. You win some, you lose some. Cheers and check out this beer.

Beer with curry and mango accompaniment