Captain Lawrence Barrel Select (bottle)

Formerly brewed at Captain Lawrence Brewing Company
Style: Sour Ale/Wild Ale
Elmsford, New York USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

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Barrel No. FO/BB; Bottled 2/10
A steady pour into my large Tripel Karmeliet tulip produces an almost three-finger thick, amber tinged, tan colored head. the beer is a dark plum color that is quite opaque, when held up to the light the beer shows a murky, light-brown to amber color. As I pour this the aroma smells fruity and lactic. A closer inspection confirms these being the most noticeable aromatics, but there are also some dusty malt notes, a light mustiness, some light acetic notes that accentuate a berry like aroma as well as a firm backdrop of buttery, woody and hint of vanilla oak aromatics. The buttery oak mixes with a generally funkiness that reminds me a bit of ripe, somewhat rustic cheese. If you really dig around notes of plum, slightly oxidized apples and even a touch of something that reminds me of kiwi fruit is noticeable in the nose. A toasted maltiness really starts to become much more prominent as the beer warms up, it almost becomes one of the more noticeable aromatic notes.

Nicely tart, the sourness here is predominantly lactic in nature. There is also a viscous, fullish texture to this beer that is contributed by slick lactic acid, structure from the oak and some residual malt character. Speaking of malt, there is a subtle, toasted malt character in the finish that can be hard to notice under the more expressive, spicy oak, tannic astringency and biting acidity, but it is there and adds a nice touch to the finish. This has a nice general fruitiness to it that is not really of a specific variety, but leans towards richer fruit notes of raisins, plums, perhaps a hint of berries and maybe even some cherry like nuances. The oak contributes a light spiciness as well as the woody flavors, but it is not overwhelming, despite being noticeable and it works in balance with the other flavors here. The malt is not overtly noticeable, but there is that toasted note, as well as a vague, perhaps caramelized, sort of biscuit like flavor.

This is a very nice beer, it doesn’t blaze any new trails, but what it does do is done very well and strikes a nice, integrated balance of flavors and aromas. With the malt and the darker fruit notes this reminds me of a Flemish type of sour. The oak is of course much more heavy than one would expect in that type of beer, and even the flavor isn’t quite as malty as those can be, but if I had to stick it in a style that is what I would call it; clearly though this is its own thing, some sort of American interpretive style and I hope, actually I would guess it to, that these will be different each time they are bottled.

Shared by Allen, a real treat. The beer pours a medium brown. Smells sour and sweet, there are some barrel notes in here as well. This one tastes like sour candy to me and I think it is one of the best sours I’ve had. Slightly acidic but just enough to make it over the top. Really enjoyed it.

1/21/12. 750mL bottle courtesy MaxxDaddy! Nice red pour with a solid khaki head. Wonderful tart aroma with wood, vanilla, sweet tarts, and tart cherries. Nice sour, tart flavor as well that parallels the aroma. Nice!

bottle thanks to Chris... a really nice easy to drink dark sour, well worth trying but let it age a bit

Name: Barrel Select, Brett and Oak
Date: August 11, 2010
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting
Appearance: muddy dark amber, creamy beige head
Aroma: spicy funky aroma, touch of caramel sweetness, light chocolate
Flavor: sweet and tart flavor, sweet malt, big fruity tartness
Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.4/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **+ /4

25oz bottle. Tasted just after the release last year. Looks fantastic red/brown darker hue, white head, great lacing. Aromas are potent, funk/tart/sour notes, cherry, ripe plum, woody, earthy. Amazing palate, sour fruit, with an acidic finish. This will get better over time, I’m happy to have 5 more where that came from.

750mL shared by Bill, the geekest beer geek in KC. I got the bottom of the bottle. Aroma is lots of acetic and acidic berry fruitiness but not over the top. The flavor is thinner that I would like but not too thin. The thinness that usually comes from bad acetic beer. A little low on the carbonation. The beer is tart-sour, acetic mainly but not too much. I like the berries that come out of the flavor. A little thin and just a bit of a novice sour beer. I like it but it needs to be better.

Hazy copper color/ lingering beige head. Big dry wood, tart cherry, lemon, musty earthy aromas. Medium bodied with soft co2. Nicely tart lemon, cherry, wet wood bug flavors with some toasted caramel sweetness--bottle FC/BB Feb2010

Bottle. Pours brown red with a yellowish head. Nice tart taste of strawberries. This is a well made beer but not my favourite style...

Bottle. Pours red-brown, small head. The aroma is sweeter than the taste. Both the aroma and the taste has some strong strawberry notes. The taste has also got a touch of wood. Fruity. High drinkability.

750ml shared at a small CL themed tasting. Pours a dark hazy light brown. Vinous notes, some caramel sweetness and toastiness on the smell. In taste, I get sour notes, some tartness, and sweet dark fruit with lots of depth. Dark red grapes and light oakiness dominate the tongue, but it’s extremely well balanced. One of my favorite CL sours alongside Castleton, Barrel Select has continued to impress me the last 3 times I’ve had it.