Captain Lawrence Smoke from the Oak (Wine Barrel)

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

Thanks to MrBendo for this. 750ml, batch 2. Gusher. Pours black with an eleven fingered tan fluffy head. Sheets of lacing on this bad boy. Aroma is fruity, oaky, peppery, funk that is Jolly Pumpkin-esque in nature. In a blind tasting I would confidently think this is a JP beer. Cocoa, a brett inspired nuttiness, plastic, and a slight cherry aroma are also noted. Certainly does not have too many porter characteristics and certainly no smoke left to it underneath the oak and funk and wine. I find the wine presence to be most noticeable the warmer the beer is but even at warm temperatures it is subtle. The oak, if anything, is underdone as I think some tannic, vanilla oaky qualities could add to this beer. They are present but they could be more forceful.

Taste is extremely fruity, complex with dark chocolates, cherries, wine, and a nice tartness that leaves a lingering finish. Somehow, even though this beer was a ridiculous gusher, the mouthfeel does not feel overcarbonated. It is certainly carbonated, well so, but it works with this beer. Body is medium and though the taste is fruity, sweetness is kept in check.

The fruity tartness in the taste is the most unique and best quality about this beer. It still has the chocolatey porter qualities but the wine and funk and oak creates a vinous fruity tartness that couldn’t be achieved through a standard grain bill or by other means. Yet it is not so funky or sour that it is anything other than a recognizable porter. Bravo.

Zeeland 08’ tasting. Drank this around the fireplace, so I really didn’t see the color. Aroma smelled like my grandmas attic. Musty and full of treasure. Taste was tannic, roast, chocolate, with a nice underlying funk. I hope the score I am giving doesn’t discourage anybody from trying it, because this was really interesting, and they certainly pulled it off.

Bottle shared at 2008 Indy Microbrewers Fest - Aroma or red wine, dark malts, oak and sour yeast goodness. I could keep my nose in the glass all day. Pours dark brown with a nice bubbly brown head. Never had the base beer, but I think it’s the barrel I’m in love with. Flavor matches aroma and that’s a good thing. Palate is creamy with a dry tart finish. Awesome brew.

Pours a dark brown color with a thin light brown head. The aroma has wood, brettanomyces, sourness, some sweetness and a distant wine quality. The flavor is solid, wood, brettanomyces, sourness and yeast blend well together. The body is medium with a vinous texture and gentle carbonation. As usual, Captain Lawrence delivers a very good product.

Courtesy Cheeseman. Batch 2 bottle. This one gushed out a bit, and poured a deep mahogany color that is almost black with a thick, foamy tan head that shows good retention. Thick sheets of lacing are left behind. The aroma is spectacular on this one with vinous red wine, oak, roasted chocolate and caramel, and funky brett blended together. The flavors follows with more of the vinous red wine flavor blended with the roasted and dark chocolate and burnt oak on the back end. Medium-full bodied with subtle carbonation and a slightly tart mouthfeel. The finish is long and dry with some chocolate covered fruit left behind. This is a very well crafted brew and a pleasure to try. I hope I get to try this one again, awesome stuff. Thanks again Dan.

Bottle... Post RBSG ’08 O-Town/Vero Beach Throwdown Chapter 8... This beer rocks!... Pitch black with a small, creamy, off-white head. The nose provides chocolate, black cherries and lactic acid. Full-bodied with a silky mouthfeel and lively carbonation. Chocolaty and tangy. Lengthy, tart, dry finish. Big time thanks to TheCheeseMan for giving me the chance to finally try this excellent, world class brew!

750mL bottle, batch 2, courtesy of beerbill. Sure enough, we’ve got a gusher! Pours dark, dark brown (and full of foam) out of the bottle before settling in to a black in the glass with a huge tan head that lingers forever and leaves blankets of lacing. The red wine and slight funk hit me from across the room as it gushed out. As it settled down, the aromas of the porter, with its roasted malts and dark chocolate, came out a lot more. The initial sour red grape taste dominates everything else. There are faint hints of the porter in the background and a bit of roasted coffee and chocolate in the finish. The mouthfeel is medium bodied and uber-carbonated which leaves the palate tingling with the sour red grape taste. This is extremely complex and tasty brew, though I wish the porter came out a tad more in the taste. Nonetheless, original and enjoyable.

I am a firm believer that almost anything aged in a barrel, no matter what kind of barrel, is going to be good. Will there be exceptions to this rule, very much so. But, when a beer is made right and properly aged in a barrel, the result is absolutely mind-blowing. This brings me to the Captain Lawrence Smoke From the Oak ~ Wine Barrel.
My Smoke From the Oak poured a rich dark brown into my glass with a decent foamy head, also a pleasant light brown color. It faded slowly, and let furthering evidence of her presence along the sides of my glass in both rings and some decent Brussels lace. Her nose spoke of fine cognac notes with hints of vinous red wine tannins and lightly smoked esters. A definite tart tannic pucker as she greets my lips and mouth for the first time. A mild smoked flavor makes her presence known without overwhelming the rest of the beer’s profile. A tinge of dark chocolate and espresso bitters show up later in my brew along with a hint of dark cherries. Smoke From the Oak finishes rich, smoky, and with enough pleasing red wine tannic notes and sour pucker to leave me craving more.
I’m not a big wine fan, though I do enjoy a good rich tannic red wine on occasion. It is a palate I am still developing and one which will never be as passionate to me as beer. A good beer aged in barrels of wine and other spirits should be a standard practice because I would love to have access to more on a regular basis.