Captain Lawrence Smoke from the Oak (Bourbon Barrel)

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

2007 Release; Sampled March 2008
The beer gushes just a bit as soon as I pop the cap, not much, but just enough to let me know this is a bit over carbonated. A careful pour yields a three-finger thick, cocoa stained, tan colored head. The beer is a very dark, concentrated brown color, but does show some brilliantly clear, ruby highlights when held up to the light. From the aroma you can definitely smell the Bourbon barrel influence. There is also quite a bit of sourness in the aroma, nothing overwhelming, but it makes me think that this has some wild bugs in it. The Bourbon barrel is the dominant influence though with notes of warm alcohol, buttery oak, spicy wood and ample vanillin (especially if you dig around a bit). There is a bit of sweetness here, reminiscent of prunes and wrapped up in the Bourbon notes, but to be honest I can’t smell much of anything except the barrel influence here, even the sourness seems to have dissipated with time.

Well carbonated, this foams up quite a bit as it hits my mouth. A quick swirl of my glass gets this to a more manageable level. Ample spicy oak up front yields to a tartness that seems to be heavily influenced by oak. I could almost be convinced that the noticeable tartness is just a product of this beer being so light bodied, with the roast malt character and such a big barrel character, but if I had to guess I would say that some souring bugs got into the barrel. Speaking of the body, this is definitely on the thin side, some more heft would certainly help it to stand up to the Bourbon barrel. The base beer definitely plays a supporting role here; it picks up some toasted malt notes towards the finish, perhaps a touch of smokiness (though this is hard to separate from the barrel notes) and some dry, chalky, slightly astringent burnt flavors and roast notes in the finish. The Bourbon barrel also provides a bit of alcoholic heat to the finish of this brew.

As the beer warms up a bit the Bourbon flavors seem to soften just a touch; it really becomes a bit smoother, though they are still easily the most dominant thing about this beer. This is most definitely wee-beast influenced, the sourness here is pretty clean, as I don’t get any other funk derived notes, though it may be that the loud Bourbon barrel characteristics drown this out. What brought this to a head was the fact that I started to nosh on some fresh baked bread, which really brings to the fore the sourness of this brew.

An interesting beer, but the base beer just doesn’t seem to be able to stand up to the Bourbon Barrel aging, or put another way, this was aged for too long in the barrel for my particular tastes. The sourness, while interesting, clean and nice, just clashes a bit too much with the Bourbon character: I think that the base beer would do well when paired with either of the two, but not both at once. I personally like the barrel to play a supporting role to the flavors of the base beer. Having said all that, this is still enjoyable if you appreciate a good sour mash Bourbon from time to time.

Batch 1 bottle shared with jarspag in Whistler amongst the beers that we almost had taken at the border by Mr. Douchebag Customs Officer. I’d really like to try their regular porter to compare, because this was just straight up whack for the enticing label description. Medium strength aroma of bourbon and light smoky chocolate and an ashy funk. Black color with maroon edges and a fizzy beige head. Chocolates dominate the flavor with more ash and a hint of citrus, and a surprisingly unpleasant finish that lacks any barrel qualities or bourbon character for that matter. More like port wine gone bad, with charcoal and a vinegar tone injected in the mix. Overall, just disappointing for the style, and the tartness is confusing. Almost like a brown sour ale that went wrong, with a hard-water finish.

750 ml bottle at the cascade lodge. Thanks broseph! Aroma was fairly subtle with a whispy smokey espresso chocolate fragrance. Flavor was tart berry (red wine like) w/ roasty chocolate. Very intriguing, but out of place flavor. This actually tasted dirty. Just not good, period. Where is the porter? Where is the bourbon? Where is the body? Not only could I not get excited about this confusing beer, I didn’t like it either. Darn, I had my hopes up too....

NorCal Feb ’08 - This was just alright with me. Yeah, I know...kinda Doobieish. Can’t help it. I mean, I know it’s well done but like it’s brother the "Rum Barrel", this too really had so many red wine character that it was tough to remember I was drinking a beer. A huge aroma of wood, big bourbon, some ragged molasses notes and that twang from cheap red wines. Appearance is dark brown in color with some reddish edges, a medium thick head without any real staying power. Flavors were red wine twangy, alcohol, bourbon, vanilla, some wood, some sweet chocolate-like sweetness. I think I’d like to try their regular porter and compare the two. I bet their porter is really tasty, and by putting it in the barrel it’s changed into some that I can appreciate for it’s inventiveness, but not necessarily it’s substance.

Bottle Batch 1. Thanks to Todd for the trade. Poured a nice black body with huge head. Infact this was way to carbonated. Aroma is light cocoa, smoke, and wood. Flavor is chocolate, wood, vanilla and light bourbon taste. Very carbonated with a thin mouthfeel.

My Bottom Line:
Raisins and dates burgeon from the bourbon’s sagacity, as velvety roastiness analyses the vinous tartness which laces the finish. This unique creation is nothing like a Porter, but it’s a smashing quaffer nonetheless.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-An obscenely generous head of foam sticks to the ochre-laced darkest brown.
-The porter within seems fragile, but the barreling job is just perfect.
-Salami rears its meatiness within the subtle smokiness.
-A wooden dryness accompanies the fruity tartness in the last half.
-The more I drink this bottle, the more I am reminded of a smaller version of their stupendous Nor’Easter Winter Warmer.
-The body is svelte and the carbonation frothy, making for a decent but uneventful mouthfeel. I would have preferred a chewy body with such a flavor profile.

Bottles.

Thanks to Pantanap for this sample at an "Evening with Pantanap #3". Lighter brown than the rum with large ta head. Bourbon arom awith some malt. Sweet bourbon flavor with red fruit, very barrel forward. Thin body with medium carb. Not bad, but I like the rum more. Thanks Kan!

Hazy dark brown/black body with a a medium-sized tan head, lasting. The nose is roast, smoke, cherry, bourbon, baker’s chocolate and molasses. The flavor is lightly sweet, lightly tart with baker’s chocolate, bourbon, light lactic acid, roast, cherry and molasses. Medium body is very soft with light carbonation. Terrific stuff.