Captain Lawrence Smoke from the Oak (Apple Brandy Barrel)

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

Serve in English pint, Shaker

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22 ounce bottle opened the bottle up, pure gusher, lost a third of the bottle, oh well.... Poured a dark brown, almost black color, aromas of bacon, light brandy, tart sour roast, and some earth. Flavors were the same, infected as well, disappointing, wish there was a fresher bottle, had a ton of potential. Even with all the flaws, still a decent beer overall. Could not imagine what this would be fresh.

Batch 1 Bottle received in trade from alpinebryant, thanks for the opportunity! This eventually became a dark brown/black liquid after the tan head that filled most of the glass subsided. Yup another disappointing infected and over-carbonated beer from Captain Lawrence. Smells of tart fruit, funk, a hint of alcohol, a bit or earth and ash. Very little if any porter left in there. The flavor is actually a little better than the SFTO’s from the previous two nights, there’s a hint of porter left in the flavor. A little bit of roast and chocolate with a lot of tart cherries and lemon and strangely still a hint of alcohol burn. Medium body with an asinine level of carbonation and a tart ashy mouthfeel. On the plus side I hear they have gotten better at barrel aging these days.

All four variants of Smoke From The Oak served side by side at my tasting on May 29, 2010. Thanks to Pete, Chris, and Brad for supplying the bottles. Review is from notes. This beer is a dark brown color. It has a decent sized head that fades quickly leaving very little lacing. Aromas are smoke, oak (go figure), fruit (not necessarily distinguishable as apples or apple brandy) and liquor. The flavor is pretty nice. Everyone pretty much agreed that this was the best of the four bottles. The beer was sour, but not overly so. There is some noticeable heat in the finish. Although, I would drink this again, I wasn’t especially impressed by any of the Smoke From The Oak lineup.

Bottle shared. Pours black with a beige head. Aroma is smokey, roasted, brandy, chocolate, coffee and caramel. Flavour is heavy sweet and medium bitter. Oily thick mouthfeel, full bodied with light carbonation.

Originally reviewed: 2/2/10. Bottle received as awesome bonus from calise1122 (BA) in a trade awhile back. Thanks! Popped the cap, and this beer foamed all over the counter. Because of this, it took me about 10 minutes to pour a standard pint glass’-worth. Dark ruby-tinted cola colored, with a frothy tan head on top. Retention was fair. Left little lace on the glass. Scents of old apples, vinegar, pineapple, and a weird chemical twang. No smoke, and nothing resembling a Porter by any means. The body was full and creamy, but it had such a sour puckering taste that it gave the mouth a bit of a sharp bite on the end. Flavors of extremely tart, old apples. A bit of a stomach-acid flavor in there as well, which is not pleasant going down. Vinegar in the mouth in addition to the nose. I am getting no smokiness, no roasted malts from the original Porter, no hop bitterness. Nothing. As other BAs have noted, this beer is so far gone from a Porter, it’s a shame it even claims that style. I had such high hopes for this hybrid. Can’t win ’em all.

Tasted in 2009. Deep brown color with a large tan head. Aroma is of apple, smoke, wood, and grapes. Taste is of wood, light plum, and apple.

750mL thanks to vtafro. The bottle opens with a small gush as expected. Pours with a giant, billowing tan head. Overcarbonated. Deep blackish pour. Decent lace. Nose is very funky acetic like Flemish red with balsamic vinegar, soy, red wine. Taste is dry cocoa powder, mild acetic red wine and balsamic. Feels like traditional blended sour London porter- historical style. Mild lactic palate with lemon with even apricot and peach complexities. Delicious.

750 ml bottle. Bottled in ’10. Imagine my surprise walking into Superstar Beverage in Bayport a week and a half ago and seeing this bottle on the shelf. I’ve been trying to score a bottle of this since it first came out and there it was. As they say, timing is everything. Pours just about black with a moderate dark tan head that lasted through the first quarter of the glass and left partial lace. Very pleasant smoky aroma along with roasted malt, and oak. Surprisingly, I’m not getting any influence from the apple brandy. The flavor is roasted malt, smoke, oak, and a bit of vanilla. Some fairly strong heat rises after the initial taste which I attributed to the influence of the apple brandy barrels since the abv is not that high. Otherwise, there is no other influence from the apple. Solid.

Tasted in mid-August from a capped 750mL bottle obtained in a trade, Batch 1. This one gushed just a bit. Pours an opaque brown-black with a thick tan head that slowly recedes to uneven lace. The nose is spiced with nutmeg and cinnamon, along with oaky vanilla, sweet apple, darkly roasted malt, dark chocolate, brown sugar, and molasses. The flavor features the sweet apple and vanilla oak up front, moving to the spiced nutmeg and cinnamon, and a bit of smoked dark chocolate and roasted malt. The body is medium with average carbonation and a long smoked dark chocolate and roasted malt finish.