Captain Lawrence Smoke from the Oak (Bourbon Barrel)

Brewed by Captain Lawrence Brewing Company
Style: Porter
Pleasantville, New York USA

Outstanding for style. Another smooth creamy full mouthfeel,great drinking sipper from this brewer. Dark colour, agreeable aroma.

Bottle shared with HogTownHarry, blankboy, jerc & tupalev - courtesy of blankboy. Deep ruby-brown with a small tan head. Aroma of roast malt, oak and bourbon with a faint sourness in the background, as well as a bit of smokiness. Medium bodied. Flavour is interesting, quite sour (in a good way) with hints of smoke, wood and bourbon, and faint roast. A somewhat confusing beer, but ultimately pretty enjoyable.

750 ml bottle, batch 1 - shared at after4ever’s tasting alongside wine and rum; maybe the smoothest and best smelling of the three; not much more to add to the previous two ratings except to reiterate the overall disappoint of the 3 SftO’s; certainly look forward though to the 2 other editions and future batches

Bottle shared with Jerc, Hogtown Harry, GregClow, and Blankboy, courtesy of Blankboy. Pitch black, small to medium creamy tan head. Incredible aroma - oaked smoke! Strong, just perfect really. Taste is a let down from the terrific start (aroma and appearance) - where is the smoke? It tastes like a porter on steroids and the balance is way too off - unbalanced and thin, this leaving the oak to overtake everything. Damn it - this started world class. As is, ok.

The pour reveals a dark brown color with a medium, light brown head. Superb aroma of bourbon barrell, roasted malt and chocolate. Excellent flavor of bourbon barrell, roasted malt, chocolate and some fruity esters. The body is medium with a liquorous texture and lively carbonation. Great.

My bottle (750ml) shared with HogTownHarry, GregClow, jerc & tupalev -- courtesy of the First Annual Canadian Festivus! I’ve had the bottle for about 5 months, no idea how old it is. Pours dark brown, almost black, with a large lasting frothy tan head. Good lacing. Aroma has some oak, smoked caramel malt, mild sour fruit, chocolate and bourbon. Flavour of lightly sour fruit, quite malty, with some notes of smoke, bourbon and oak. Bitter, slightly astringent finish. Medium bodied. A somewhat odd beer (smoky sour Porter?) that started awesome but finished just pretty good.

750ml bottle from Brent and enjoyed in my Expedition snifter: Deep brown with reddish highlights topped by a fizzy fading head and spotty lace. Wow, I did not expect this much sour character in this beer. Noted sour cherry, oak, smoked malt, chocolate, light bourbon, walnut, prune and red grape, and a musty yeast ester.

The taste follows suit with a sweet and sour combination of cheery and grape over a layer of roasted and chocolaty malts. I do detect some bourbon and oak but not nearly as strong as I would have thought initially. This is developing into a big sour brown if you ask me... on purpose, not to sure, but Mikey Likey this flavor profile a lot! Some light handed smoke and nutty notes upon the finish. The mouth feel is sprite and refreshing with a light astringent finish. Well, I like this but really for all the reasons I did not expect. If you expect a robust malty beer then look somewhere else.

2008-05-01. Black body with a big creamy tan head. Big woody aroma, light bourbon notes, light tangy sourness in the presentation of the smoke. Tangy malt starts of the flavour, muddled oak with light smoky notes in the middle. Bitter finish is enhanced by light alcohol, morphs into a moderately sour tangy aftertaste. The warmer it gets the more the smoke induced tang comes out. (6+) Medium bodied smooth palate. Interesting, but frankly a bit less assertive than expected, and I did not care for the smoke/tangy aspect much. Bottle shared by Blankboy<P>"Your God can take it." - Blankboy