Captain Lawrence Smoke from the Oak (Bourbon Barrel)

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

Bottle, sampled at stevo’s. Pours mahogany with huge beige head. The aroma is vanilla, a touch of barbecue, molasses, ripe fruit, some coffee, and some straight oak. The flavor starts out a little bit like Pepsi, then gets a little fruiter. Then comes sweet chocolate and a mix of molasses and smoke that resembles barbecue sauce. It’s a little bit acidic, which gives it a refreshing feel. Lots of vanilla appears as it warms. The finish is seriously oaky, and leaves a lingering spiced-coffee aftertaste. This beer is excellent.

MN Ratebeer Winter Gathering, January 12, 2008. Thank you Stine for bringing this one! Black color with a thin head. Light bourbon aroma and a little sweet malt. Strong bourbon taste, but not overwhelming. Some vanilla and a little sourness to go with the bitter roasted malt. I did not get any smoke at all, unfortunately. Still mighty tasty.

dark brown with some red hints and fine brown head. Aroma has a bit of funk and some wood. Palate is well carbonated and fizzy which makes it feel thicker than it is. The flavour is very good and really interesting. Brett is apparent and adds a pot of interest to the fruity flavour. Some bourbon burn.

Oak funk on the nose but minimal bourbon characteristic. Which rocks!!!! Solid brown body with whispy white head. Solid oaky body with hints of vanilla and faint burnt malt. A spectacular porter. Thanks to Stine.

Courtesy of Notalush. Pours a dark brown with a tan creamy head. Hints of tasty yeast, bourbon, sweet wood, dark fruits, sour light fruits, and spice. Finishes with a thick mouth feel. Has sour, but yet smooth finish. Very good.

Pours jet black into the English pint with a huge three inch fluffy tan head that really stuck around. The scent was very interesting, with notes of chocolate, toffee, malt and Dr. Pepper??? A prickly sweet sensation up front with some tart sour notes. A very dry oak flavor to finish. Not a classic porter taste, more a combination between a porter and a abbey dubbel. The oak flavors are more apparent as the beer warms as is a slight hint of bourbon. I found this beer very drinkable and enjoyable a sharp, sour finish adds to the flavor.

Bottle: Nearly pitch black, large frothy light beige head, clumpy lacing.   Very dark, dark enough that if it were handed to me I would have thought it a stout.   Tart nose, very Oakish and lovely.   Smells just as much a Gueuze as it does a Barrel aged Porter.   Where’s the beef?   Tart on the tongue, somewhat sharp, quite woody.   The presense of Porter is minor.   Difficult to tell the underlying style.   Very welcoming on the nose, and on the tongue, if you are like me and enjoy the simple aspects of barrel aging... tart, dry, and woody.   Finally picks up some resemblance to a Porter near the finish.   Very minor roasted malts at this point.   Still fairly sharp in its tartness and oak factor.   Body and mouthfeel moderate to full.   Finishes quite tart, a little puckering, but not a whole lot of resemblance to a porter.   Certainly Oak oriented, but wheres the beer?   Enjoyable, even if a bit lopsided in favor of wood.   Didn’t get any Bourbon on this one, just straight up Oak.   If it was Bourbon, it was used very little.   Good, enjoyable, but moreso a Oaked aged beer versus a Porter.   Not as complex as I would have thought based on the scores.   Good, but would be better if they toned down the barrel aging and brought in a bit more Porter.   Thanks John for this special treat!

750 ml- Pours almost cola like with a nice long lasting tan foamy head. Scents similar to red wine-Obvious hint of smoke but not overpowering-touch of chocolate-unfortunately no bourbon detected in this bottle-Thanx Jimmack-still a good beer