Captain Lawrence Smoke from the Oak (Rum Barrel)

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

Bottle. Poured a med dark brown, no head. The rum is very strong in the nose, and pretty obvious in the flavor. It is very lightly carbonated, with some small bubbles. Definitely has a port type feel to it, it is a sipping beer for sure. The alcohol is pretty present. Finish is on the dry side.

[Bottle] shared by Stine. Pours deep brown with a huge tan head. Aroma is rummy sweetness, alcohol, roasted malts, and chocolate. Flavor is rum, bittersweet chocolate, and slightly smoky. Very boozy with a dryish finish.

GABF 2008, Dr. Bill’s tasting and Bomb Factory tasting. Pours dark brown with a spare, fizzy, off-white head, mostly diminishing with spare lacing. Aroma is heavy malt (cookie, caramel, toffee), average hops (flowers, herbs), average yeast (leather) with notes of wine and wood. Medium bodied, creamy texture, average carbonation, and a bitter finish. Average duration, moderate sweetness, light acidity and bitterness.

Bottled, thanks PilsnerPeter! Near black, beige head. Aroma of rhum and chocolate sauce. Fairly sweet with rounded mouthfeel Some syrup, some milk chocolate. Rhum is ever present, but not overpowering. Fairly low bitterness.

This was a really nice beer. Lots of dark rum flavor blends well with the roasty porter base. Chocolate and a fruity plum flavor blend well with the rum barrel flavor. Some excess alcohol present, but wasn’t that distracting.

Batch 2. Bottle. Even opened in a big room the rum scent pours from the glass. You don’t have to raise the glass to get the big scent. Aroma is all rum. Dark brown with a light but lasting head. Smooth. Tastes like a rum-beer hybrid. Turns it almost Chimay-like. Alcohol burst and then big smoke finish.

Bottle into snifter. Pours a pitch-dark brown, slightly translucent around the edges, with no head to speak of. Aroma is vanilla and oak, sweet brown sugar, bit of boozy rum - big and delicious, and a bit more complex than some bourbon-heavy barrel-aged aromas. Taste is sweet and roasty up front, roasted malt pairing with a sweet molasses note, hint of licorice or star anise, underlying smoke helps to balance the sweetness. Bit of alcohol emerges towards the finish, with vanilla, smoke and charred wood, rum, bit more licorice. Mouthfeel is pretty much still, almost no carbonation, with a medium body. Could have used just a hint of carbonation. Really nice beer, but the aroma certainly writes a check the taste has a bit of difficulty cashing. Add just a hint of soft carbonation to lift the flavor up and the beer jumps up significantly in my book.

Batch 2. Thanks to my buddy Joe for the hookup. After reading about the gushing problems of previous bottles, I was careful when opening and had the opposite effect, nothing. I was a little worried until i tasted it and then I knew it was alright. Pours a thick chocolate brown with no head. Huge barrel and vanilla aroma with nice hints of spicy boozy rum. Chocolate malt body, little carbonation with a tangy rum taste. Nice smooth barrel notes, not aggressive. Just a really great beer.