Captain Lawrence Nor’ Easter Winter Warmer

Brewed by Captain Lawrence Brewing Company
Style: American Strong Ale
Pleasantville, New York USA

Ordered from Canal’s. Wow. Really interesting. Give it a color: burgundy. That’s what it tastes like. The taste is like a deep color. The bourbon comes through. Very rich. I’m only sorry I opened this in May and not December.

750mL bottle, Batch 1. Notes from 07/12/07. Black with a thin beige head that fades to a ring and film. Aroma of bourbon, sweet fruits--elderberry jelly and raisins--some roasted malts, and a little alcohol. Flavor was fairly hot alcohol and elderberries, some tobacco, cherries, and some light tartness toward the end. The alcohol did mellow after the first sip. Fairly rich. Full body with low carbonation. Very good beer.

Bottle. Nearly the entire 750 in fact. Took me 2 1/2 hours. Wow. Aroma was relatively heavy on the bourbon, with lots of roasted malt as well, alcoholic/fruity sweetness, probably bourbon related, but of a different nature than straight bourbon. Flavor was super, super complex, largely as the bottle describes, with vinous notes from the elderberries, Belgian yeast notes sneaking in in the background, and a bourbon that added both sweet notes and dry notes at the same time. A truly unique brew that brought together so many different aspects of brewing and aging. Went from this utter complexity, to bourbon dominated, to roasted malt dominated over the course of 2 1/2 hours of drinking and warming. the elderberry notes as fruit faded after the initial burst, but the vinousness, and to an extent tartness, they added remained, to varying degrees, throughout. These notes also worked well with the woody notes, which I haven’t mentioned to this point, but surely if taken away, the beer would completely change. I must say even over 2 1/2 hours, the bottle has me rather buzzed, and clearly I was unable to keep comprehensive notes throughout. Overall, though, a brew whose excellence combined with uniqueness makes it a must try.

Bottle, batch 2. Pours dark black with no head (only slight bubbling from an extremely vigorous pour). Aroma strongly of bourbon, oak/wood, some sweetness. The flavor was slightly less bourbon, but it still dominates. I didn’t get any elderberry fruitiness, just sweetness from the alcohol, producing a roasty, alcoholy, sweet taste. My throat was warmed after just a few sips. Unfortunately, this was too bourbon-dominated for my liking. If I do ever develop a liking for bourbon-aged beers, I will revisit this one.

Bottle: Pours a dark brown with light crimson accents. Large, creamy tan head. Aroma is rich and sweet with dark fruitiness, roast, and bourbon. Flavor profile is centered aroun the barrel aging, but still retains a little character from the fruits and roast. Nice creamy palate. Thanks to a generous, but forgotten Ratebeerian for sending this in trade.

Batch 2. Thanks Todd for sharing this gem of a beer. The beer pours to a pitch black body with a tall creamy tan head and nice lacing. The aroma is very nicely elderberries. (and yes, I know what those are as I got stung by 5 hornets while picking some for my mom when I was a kid). A balanced chocolate malt and fermented elderberries and other dark fruits. The berries are a great addition and complement the base beer very well. Black patent malt. Much of the same on the flavor, but it’s not overly fruity with all the chocolate malt. Rich malty, thick, and nicely textured. Has a nice lingering sweetness. I thought the barrel aging was subtle.

Bottle: Nice ebony brown color with a puffy tan head, nice lacing and a beautiful luminous ruby hue through the light. The nose is fruity with some blackberry and ample bourbon with some oak, chewy cherry and toffee notes. The flavor is strongly bourboned, lots of vanilla, oak and light sweet fruit and astringency to balance. I LOVE bourbon, and this is so 1 dimensional I lust after it while simultaneously wanting to slam it for not being versatile. Then again, it’s fun to have something to use now and again for 1 certain thing, right?

750ml bottle-pours a retaining rich brown head and black color. Aroma is bourbon, vanilla, dark malt, oak, slight acidic. Taste is bourbon, vanilla, sweet dark malt-licorice, oak, slightly acidic, anise, dark fruit-(dark berry) alcohol, some yeast. A lot going on but straight forward. OK/mild carbonation. Thanks to jwc215(BA) for sharing.