You will recall that I have family in southern upstate New York and that one member of the family, Mike Malone, is a writer who has turned his mind to the beers of Captain Lawrence. Well, despite the rotten map, you will see that we have made the trip and spent a happy evening watching cousins play, catching up and trying some of the brewery's beers as we talked.

Which may lead to the question of compromise. Ten hours of travel? Family? Other things on my mind? Well, sometimes like you I really want an excellent beer or two that meet my needs in that sort of moment. And so I did. I was handed a glass of Liquid Gold - their 6% perhaps runner up flagship, a Belgian single - and really liked the ease with which I was greeted. A reasonably rich malty brew with nods to apricot and peach that had a nod of spice to, perhaps, saison. Floral aroma. I thought of white pepper though I am pretty sure there is none in the brew. Cod was the word that came to mind. Beer made to go with cod. Later, a growler of their brown ale was opened. A couple of notches lighter at 4.8%, there was plenty of dry cocoa, a bit of date as well as an creamy maybe even yogurty tang from the yeast. If I was being geographical I would say southern English but where do these things get you? In disagreements. And this is no beer for that sort of thing.

I liked both beers and, at a sensible $11 a half gallon, would make them regulars if they reached to the northern counties of the state, the bit near my house. They are the kind of beers built to be regulars. Both well regarded by the BAers, I am taking away a couple of bottles of their slightly more complex siblings for the road. Which beckons. More tomorrow.