Captain Lawrence Nor’ Easter Winter Warmer

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

750 ml bottle - Batch #1 from a trade with The_Epeeist. Thanks Chris! Pours a dark brown color with a huge tan head. Aroma of bourbon, elderberries, and alcohol. The vinous taste is strong and overwhelming. The bourbon and alcohol are up front and predominate and really makes this hot brew hard to fully enjoy. I agree with what was stated already in the fact that this needs to be cellered for awhile so it can settle down a bit.

25 oz bottle, via adrian910ss, Batch 1. Pours a dark mahogany brown body with some cola like highlights under a most beautiful creamy dollop of brown head. Extremely fine bubbled visible carbonation. A nice fruity and dense aroma. Fresh squeezed elderberry/blueberry with raisin, heavy yeast influence, vanilla, and a nice restrained bourbon presence. Whoa! The bourbon is all over this beer in the flavor though, with just a light fruity hint on the finish, almost everything else is obscured. There’s also a ton of alcohol, leaving a very warm finish. Mouthfeel is medium to full bodied with a nice soft carbonation level giving a great creamy texture up front. A little too much alcohol burn on the finish. This started out awesome, but it just got too overwhelming with all that bourbon. I couldn’t bring myself to finish the whole bottle.

750ml bottle from MrBendo. Batch 1. Aroma: Rich maltiness with strong caramel notes. Oak jumps out pretty strong with some woody, nutty, and vanilla notes. Subtle bourbon. Raisins and cherries. Some yeasty breadiness. Light alcohol as it warms. Appearance: Dark, dark brown in color with small chestnut highlights. Medium tan head was full and foamy with decent retention. Fair lacing. Flavor: Bready maltiness upfront with some nice caramel notes. Raisin and cherry. Strong oakiness with notes of coconut and vanilla. Borbon and alcohol come through strong. Sweet finish. Palate: Full bodied. Moderate carbonation. Alcohol warming all over mouth. Overall: There’s some nice flavors in here, but the bourbon, oak, and alcohol just dominate. This needs to mellow out alot.

Batch #1. Dark brown color with a slight reddish tinge and a nice size tan head. Aroma is powerful and sweet - bourbon, wood, vanilla, some dark fruit, and bits of chocolate and coffee. Taste has some woody & berry sweetness upfront combined with rich chocolate and coffee. The bourbon flavor is prominent, but not overwhelming. Alcohol is noticeable, but works well with the brew. A pleasant and tingly aftertaste lingers. This one is just a really well put together beer that, despite its youth, is complex and well crafted. I’m psyched to try this one as it ages and am very happy to see these guys producing such quality beers! Rerate on batch 2 - 5/2/2008 - All the same goodness with a smoother, more balanced finish. Wonderful. Always good to see a great beer improve from year to year.

Aroma rich with bourbon character with subtle fruit backing, hints of alcoholic strength exagerated by bourbon aroma. Dark brown in color with a rich tan head, good clarity. Flavor doninated by bouron character initially then added dark chocolate and some ethiopian coffee notes. Beer finishes clean with a strong warming sensation indicitive of the ABV. Finish is clean and short, sense of alcohol persists as palate sensation. Fully body with appropiate carbonation. The highlight of the Captain Lawrence visit to my homebrew club’s meeting.

Thanks Todd for the chance to try these Captain Lawrence brews, I will be looking for more in the future. My #200 BIG BEER: Bottle and served in my Unibroue tulip: Pours a deep ruddy brown topped by a long lasting frothy tan head and excellent lacing. The nose displays a fruity element which I guess is the elderberry and some raisin and apple esters; a bourbon barrel influence (vanilla, oak, booze); hint of leather, tobacco and mocha malts vapours and even a note of peat-bog moss.

The flavor profile starts with a quick punch of acidic and ripened fruits followed quickly by vanilla and toffee sweetness. The finish is sadly dominated by the alcoholic nature of the combination of bourbon barrel and base big beer. Just raw, hot and overwhelming to the point all finesse is lost. The mouth feel also suffers from powerful alcohol abuse, very dry on the finish, peppery too. I would like to see what about 2 or 3 years of aging would do for this brew, for now I can’t really recommend this beer unless to cellar.

25.4 oz bottle. Dense and dark purple brown with a clingy tan head. Grape and wood. Deeper notes of raisin, bourbon and spice. Wow! This is one rich brew. Tangy candied orange peel, dry berries and caramel. Finishes like a chocolate bourbon toddy. Tasty and intriguing. Very satisfying but still a bit hot. I’ll be sipping this one all afternoon.

Crazy to think this beer is already up to its 49th rating, considering that besides the brewery location, this bottle only got out to a select few NYC stores. Good traders, I guess! So here I am, having drank it the first day out of the barrels, finally opening a bottle and rating it months after others.

Bourbony peat aroma, blueberries and jam, slight saltiness. I’m not getting much out of the aroma. Pours very very dark brown with almost no head. Chestnut and almond in the taste, bourbon and fruits, fairly complex and very big. A little too caramelly in the finish is kinda boring. Still very hot, though for 12% bourbon barrelled beer, that’s hardly surprising. A fun beer, though I must admit I don’t really regret trading away all but 2 of my bottles. Though this should age nicely, I don’t see that much more interest developing over the years. Certainly doesn’t hold a candle to the wine barrel Smoke from the Oak, or Cuvee de Castleton, in this reviewers humble opinion.