Beer Review: Captain Lawrence Hops n' Roses

On a recent trip down to Westchester County, New York, north of the city, I was able to stop into the Captain Lawrence Brewery in Elmsford, NY.  Had a short chat with the guy manning the bar/growler filling station.  I didn't see any of the beers on tap that I needed a full growler of, but I was intrigued by the little 12 oz bottle with the cool label on the shelf behind him.  He gave me a quick run down of the beer and I was sold.  The price tag was a little bit of sticker shock at $15, and I thought about how I might be better off with something from Drie Fonteinen, but whatever, I had made a lot of money that day!

Got around to drinking it the other day, and it was the only beer of the night.  I cut up some cheeses that I had lying around to cleanse the palate between sips.  I was extremely impressed with the artwork on the bottle as you can see its very psychedelic and colorful.

The beer pours out looking like a kriek, which is odd.  I was a little surprised, albeit pleasantly, because of how pretty the tangeriney/red beer looked.  Minimal head and lacing, looks very well carbonated.

I much prefered the smell of this beer to the taste, although that does seem to be the standard response at online beer review site: BeerAdvocate. The fruit/flowery smell was absolutely fantastic, and I could send the barnyard funk present.  I enjoyed the taste of the beer, but it was definitely closer to a wild than a sour.  There was certainly a bit of a sour tinge, but not enough to satisfy my cravings for a really sour beer.  I did get a bit of the "Roses" portion of the beer although the "Hops" left something to be desired.  I am not a fan of Guns n' Roses, but Hops n' Roses, definitely delivered.

B+