Captain Lawrence Smoke from the Oak (Wine Barrel)

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

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.

Deep brown colour with a light brown head. Malty, tart fruity aroma with a light roasted note and hints of wood. Malty, light tart fruity flavor with some earthy notes.

Batch#2-750ml bottle-open the bottle, Old Faithful! After settling, it pours a light brown head and dark brown color. Aroma is weed, vinuous, some earthy hops, dark malt-anise, some acidic. Taste is not up to the aroma. Peppery, some alcohol, wood, vinuous, some earthy hops, dark malt-anise, some acidic, tannins. Semi dry. Mild carbonation. Thanks to Joe-jwc215 for picking this out.

Thanks again to xmarcnolanx for sharing another elusive brew. Pours dark brown with a tan head. The aroma has lots of sour traits, plenty of red wine notes along with roasty malty porter notes. Medium smooth body with subdued soft carbonation. The flavor starts with a strange mix of roasted malt, dry red wine, spritzy spice and funk ~ it all blends well together. The finish is more on the wine side due to some tannic presence. A very nice porter.

Muddy brown. Vinous, chocolatey aroma with plum and pear...near endless depth of complexity. The body is a lttle bit spritzy, but really vibrant. Great flavours - wood, wine, chocolate, pear, smoke, Ting, and on it goes. A real masterwork.

750ml bottle sampled side by side with Rum barrel and Bourbon barrel. Thanks Axilla. Spewed when opened. Poured cloudy brown in color with a small tan head that lingered longer than the other ones. Aroma of vanilla, light fruit and a little roast. Tastes had some lacto sourness, vanilla, oak, red wine notes, with a little smoke and roast. My favorite of the 3 bottles.