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.

Batch #1. WOW. Very distinct PFFFT when I uncapped the bottle. Then a very slow rise and evacuation of the bottle with a dense light brown foam. The BASTARD started gushing on me! Slapped the lips over her until I got the goblet out. Poured about 3+ inches of head . Light brown in color of varying sized bubbles. Kind of sloppy. Sweet malty aroma with lots of blackberry and anise aromas. Kind of weird. Alcoholic rum notes as well. Color is a very dark brown. Very lively in the mouth. Lots of carbonation which actually takes away from the mouthfeel a bit. Some sour notes, roasted grains, sweet malts and some rum again. I am not a big rum fan so this is not going to be a winner in my book. Really the rum dominates the brew and totally takes it away from the porter aspect. Finishes strong alcohol (even though it really isin’t) and sweet. Not the best offering from Captain Lawrence. Wow, just caught it before a smoke stack of bubbles protruded from the bottle. Have to drink this one quickly!