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, Stem glass

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UPDATED: NOV 24, 2009 Okay, so I thought I’d give this one another chance. Pours a dark brown with a massive, sticky tan head. The nose has a nice light tartness with a kiss of vanilla and oak. I don’t really get a whole lot of apple character in here although there is a touch of sweet fruitiness and a bit of light peppery alcohol. Fairly sticky on the back of the palate, a kiss of tartness and some light vineousness as well. The warming actually seems to soften the tartness and lends it a touch of soft sweetness. I don’t really get much in the way of porter character either, but it does come across as a lightly tart, dark fruity Belgian ale. Substantially better than I gave it credit for initially.

Deep brown pour with a thick tan head. The nose is kind of odd. Sort of lightly rancid and sour with a bit of woody character. It’s kind of sticky and a bit rustic, but it doesn’t really have any apple character at all. Tastes like an early infection that is eventually going to turn this into a gusher… time will tell, but for now, I can’t say I’m a big fan of this one. 5 3 4 2 8

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.

750 ml. Bottle. Brown color with a nice head. Nice apple brandy taste and aroma. Carbonation is heavy but still enjoyable.

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.

Nose is smoked applewood. Sweet dark malts with some espresso, peaty notes and tannic, light sweet with a carbonic sour edge. Some citrus and herbal hops, with oaky, smokey finish.

750ml corked bottle split at a tasting. Very nice appearance. Opaque brown-black, massive steady rusty beige head. Apple brandy aroma sort of shines. mellowed by some faint chocolate. Awesome belgo-mouthfeel, luscious. Interesting balance. Some raisin, dark fruit tones, brown sugar. Sweet and big, but very drinkable. The barrel really adds an intestign touch of depth to the Porter. Oaky, sour. Great beer.

@dmacs-750ml bottle-thanks to pineypower/Dean for sharing–pours a foamy light brown head with heavy trailing lace and brown color. Aroma is smoke/peat-apple brandy, wood, some medium malt. Taste is smoke/peat-apple brandy, wood, some medium malt.

Batch 1. Pours a lightly viscous, opaque black with a frothy, tan head. Big brett aroma, medicinal, a little nail polish, a little wood. Flavor is tart, apples, brett, band aid. Very infected. Dry finish which is also lightly tart. If you like your barrel aged porters infected, you’d probably love this.