Captain Lawrence Imperial Smoke from the Oak (Rum Barrel)

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

Serve in Shaker, Snifter

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Pours dark brown, really fantastic head retention and lacing. Nose is fairly sweet almost grape like. I only get a hint of licorice and smoke. Ugh. Incredibly smoky, very unbalanced. Rum is not even noticeable. What the heck? A smoked beer needs to be balanced and this is like drinking a camp fire. Sorry.

UPDATED: MAY 2, 2013 In short: A roasted chocolaty black ale with of rum barrels overwhelming the smoked character of the porter. Good, but my least favorite variation.
How: Bottle 750ml, consumed a little over one year after its release (first and only batch so far). Bottle from my man Jay as part of the gift-set.
The look: Black body topped by a large dark-beige hear with low retention and leaving lots of lacings on the glass.
In long: Nose is mildly smoky (campfire), burnt cereals, hard-liquor barrels apparent. Taste has a crisp and highly roasted malts reminiscent of burnt croissant, a crisp chocolaty sweetness like the icing on a chocolate cake, intense rum barrels presence, light cinnamon bun sensation, alcohol burn in the finish. In the aroma the rum wasn’t very present (more like unidentified oak hard-liquor barrels) but in mouth the rum barrels are very obvious. Somehow this rum barrel treatment almost overwhelms the excellent base beer which was not the case with the two other treatments. Still a good beer, but my least favorite version of the BA Smoke from the Oak. Not saying the beer is not excellent, but if you say you were literally in heaven when drinking this beer, then I can only conclude you really love this beer and you literally don’t know what literally means.

bottle at Blue Monk, Dark brown black pour, roasted malt aroma, medium smoke, barrel aging is evident. Very flavorful, roast, medium not over powering smoke, woody. Very nice

Captain Lawrence beer dinner at blue monk. Dark black pour with an off white brownish head. Smells smoke, meaty, lots of oak, and a touch of rum dancing through. Definitely a boozy aroma. Tastes like a combination of smoke, rum, chocolate, woody..pretty smooth.

Bottle - pours cola with quite a bit of white head. Aroma is big, dominated by the rum and smoke. Taste is sweet with the bite of the alcohol on the finish. Solid.

Bottle from taproom. Pours black with an inch of khaki foam that leaves a bit of lacing. Big rum notes on the nose and the tongue. Only getting a hint of the smoked roasted malt notes on the tongue. Solid but not spectacular.

2013. Smokey aroma. Dark malts, deeply roasted, mildly smokey. Finishes dry and pleasant. Much better than the last few bottles of this I've had.

750 ml bottle from dmac. Thanks, dude. Shared in succession with the deyholla agenda. Pours a nice richer dark blackish pour, some good haziness, deeper opaque middle moves to some copper brownish glow on the edges, decent frothy tannish head sits atop and laces ok. Aromas are a nice smokiness, oak, sweeter brown sugar and rum. Mellow roast, cocoa, and more smoke. Smoke is firm, some iodine and peaty feels. Nice to see these aren’t infected. Some richer smoke, hotter rum, spirit, and oak. Initial is smokey, medium bodied, a bit thinned with nice roasty smoke presence. Mellow cocoa, some toffee, and gentle oak. Mellow sweetness, a bit thinned, the barrel isn’t hot and the beer isn’t girthy. Nice flavors as it thins out a bit. Backend shows some gentle toastiness, cocoa, and caramel. Oxidized backend thins out a bit. Which detracts a touch from the overall feel. Smokey element and up front are great but trails off into a more forgettable and a bit oxidized finish. Solid.

Bottle shared by Adam, thanks! Pours a near clear deep brown with a brown head that dissipates to the edges. Aroma has a bit of dark fruit with a nice rum note and some earthy dark grains and a touch of oxidation. Flavor has rum throughout with a touch of light fruit and a strong dark grain and roasted malt note.

Bottle, thanks Adam. Pours black with tan head. Aroma ashy smoked bacon, molasses, candied rum, paper. Flavor really oxidized, ashy, smokey bacon, rum raisin. Med bodied. Some booze but rather oxidized.