Captain Lawrence Imperial Smoke from the Oak (Apple Brandy Barrel)

Formerly brewed at Captain Lawrence Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Strong Porter
Elmsford, New York USA

Serve in Shaker, Snifter

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Thanks to Mike we had all 3 Imperial versions together... dark black with a light tan head... this smelled ok, not the best of the bunch, apple brandy with a light smoke finish... this one did taste the best, really great combo of apples with roasted notes... this is pretty good but does not improve on probably the best imperial porter out there

750ml bottle shared at a tasting - thanks to whoever brought this. Dark brown in color with minimal light tan head. Huge smoky aroma with some dark chocolate and some slight brandy notes. Good apple brandy on the flavor with huge rauchbier smoky notes. Dark chocolate and roast as well. Medium- full body with a dry mouthfeel and average carbonation or a bit less. Pretty good smoked porter that doesn’t hold back on the smoke.

Bottle. Pours pitch black with a small dark tanned head. Aroma is smokey fruity oaky peaty and salty ham. Flavor is sweet smokey soy bitter roasted and a bit coffee. Finishes bitter smokey and with a nice salty ham touch.

Bottle at Clusterfork #3. First actually smokey smoke from the oak. black pour. huge oblitterating smoke in nose and taste, too much, like lafroige scotch.

750ml bottle, pretty fresh, courtesy dchmela. Whoa Nellie....this stuff is an entirely different beast than the original version. Gone is the (assumed to be intentional) bretty funk and barely-there smokiness of the lower gravity brew, only to be replaced with about double the malt intensity and near Schlenkerla-like smoke levels. This new version sports a deep mahogany colored body, nearly black at the center really, with a small but steadfast gathering of khaki froth at the head. A few splotches of lacing cling to the glass. The nose simply explodes with intense woody smoke, as potent as just about any smoked beer on the market, though there is plenty of underlying chocolate and blackened caramel malt there for backup sweetness. I can’t say that much brandy comes through, as it is covered by the smoke and barrel char. Still, this stuff is robust and enticing all the same. Flavors largely follow suit, incredibly smooth and chocolaty despite the potency of the woody smoke. Caramel sweetness is nearly perfect, if not just a hair overly done. There is a light fruitiness in the background that I suppose could be attributed to the brandy, but it’s a stretch to call it distinct. The palate is medium-full, smooth, and easy going, with light carbonation and moderate sugar stickiness on the back end. It’s not hot in the least bit, which is quite good. Damn nice brew here. Again, it’s a completely different animal than the SFTO’s of yesteryear.

bottle from schiller 1/31/11. same dark importer color as the other two... big odd bleu cheese aroma initially.... followed by beef jerky/rich smoke, apple juice, roast, choco and a ton of spiciness. the flavor is the same though it is the sweetest of the three. spicy alcoholic finish. least fav of the barrels so far...7/4/7/3/15

75cl bottle shared with Kermis & friends. Thin tan head. Clear black pour. Clear alcohol and smoke in the aftertaste. Very nice brew!

Big heavy smoked nose, lots of peat, some chocolate, lots of dark fruit. The taste is moderately sweet, lots of dark chocolate, some chalkiness, some dark fruit, lots of peat and a touch

Bottle via Pineypower, thanks Dean. Poured a deep pitch black body underneath a thick chewy beige head. Aroma of smoke, camp fire, wet wood, booze, apple brandy. Palate is medium to ful bodied with strong carbontion. Flavor of mostly smoke, camp fire, booze, apple brandy, choclate,burnt dark bread. Iteresting stuff.

Capt law imp apple. 750ml bottle. Thanks to miketd for sharing during the JO’s bottle release... Pours a dark murky cola brown with a thin wispy tan pour... Aorma is big on smoke and lighter applely flavor tannins from the brandy barrel. Nice body and flavor between both aroma and flavor. I kinda liked this while diggin on the smoke and brandy barrel qualities. 8/4/8/4/15