4.3 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20750mL at Lazy Boy in White Plains, NY. This beer represents the most unique and delicious interpretation of a porter I’ve ever encountered. Pours near black with a dense, rocky, almost explosive tan head that leaves globs of lacing. The nose gives a The melding of acetic, tannic wine-accents, barrel oakiness (vanilla), smoked malt and chocolaty roasted malt creates an insanely drinkable, balanced and intense brew. Fig and port notes along with tart cherries also grace the palate. The body is a little thinner than expected and sharply carbonated. The booze is hidden past the point of recognition.
3.8 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/20
Bottle shared at a local tasting, thanks Levi! Pours a dark brown head with a light brown head, the aroma has quite a bit of smoked malt with a touch of chocolate, the flavor is really sweet with a little bit of smoke in the finish, it mixes well together though, kind of different but I really enjoyed this, couldn’t finish an entire bottle myself, but not bad.
4.1 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Batch 2 bottle from puddintane. Word G. Pours dark amber. Lots of smoke and roast. Slight oak and warming red wine. Still in great shape.
3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
2010 with the carbonation warning sticker. Gushes like a motherfucker, eventually allowing the fury inside to be poured.
Black body sports a smokey, funky aroma. This is basically a sour porter: yeast imparts tartness to push against the roasted malts. Unique and quite tasty. Thanks Denise!
2.2 AROMA 4/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 4/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 8/20
Bottle from Batch 2 thanks Mcallister.
Good thing I was near the sink when I opened this. Huge rush of foam from a self pouring bottle, I filled my glass and then the bottle she kept on giving. The color is a porter all right, but the rest is lambic like. Smells of tart fruit and a bit of funk. The flavor is very funky and tart. The Porter is gone and I can’t even say I like the lambic that it left behind. Another casualty from my cellar.
3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 2/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20
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.
To say this was a gusher is an understatement. The beer spewed forth in a rage all over my kitchen. Infected...ya, pretty much.
This beer is a dark brown color. It has an absolutely enormous head (gusher) that fades after about five minutes leaving very little lacing. Aromas are smoke, oak (go figure), and tannins. The flavor is pretty nice overall, infection or not. The beer is sour and tart, with a tannic presence. The feel is smooth with some noticeable heat in the finish. Overall, a pretty decent brew. Too bad most of the bottle ended up on the counter and floor.
4.2 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
Beer Selection of the Week #1 from the cellar. This is batch 3 aged 3 years I believe. I decided to review this one after losing faith in the SFTO series when I had the batch 4 last year and completely hated it. Batch 3 is superb. Gusher warning alert! SFTO’s are notorious for gushers and sure enough super carbonation insues. After the gushing it pours out a silky black body with a light coffee head. The aroma right off the bat is vastly improved. I can smell the acidity rip hard, along with cocoa, and a yeasty wild sour edge that screams Captain Lawrence. The palate is very balanced, but what I feared was a harsh acidic finish, with no flavor up front. Instead I get a rich cocoa up front with a slight lacking in the middle, almost fluffy from too much carbonation. Easy finish and you can tell this one doesn’t have the ABV that maybe it should. If i were to rate the previous one I had, it would have been maybe a 6 or 7. Faith renewed.
4.5 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 18/20
Another great beer by Capt Lawrence. I have never had a beer quite like this. The smoke is a player rather than dominating the whole brew. Strong astringent acidity and dark fruit/winey flavors. Delicious.
3.9 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
750 ml bottle, batch #4, thanks to Cletus.
A: dominate funk, roasted/slight smoke,cherry/stone fruits, hints of mint
T: tart up front, light smoke finish
A very interesting beer. I have heard of the significant inconsistencies in bottles and had that proven tonight. We got a good bottle.
3.3 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
750mL thanks to ryan. Small gusher. The pour is deep, blackish with an overcarbonated, massive brown head. Nose is more muddy than the Apple Brandy version. Less tight with olive brine, chemicals, plastic, licorice, and pepper in the nose. Weird Brett off-characters perhaps and mild acetone. Very strange. Volatile notes move aside for flowers and lavender and muted red wine. Even gets more complex sort of akin to Oerbier Reserva with red wine barrel with lemon, funk, and spice. Less red wine profile than the Apple Brandy version though. Taste is roasty, caramel, brine, some chalk, nutmeg and spice. Toasty. Very strange little beer.
3.6 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20
Tasted in mid-August 2011 from a capped 750mL bottle obtained in a trade, Batch 4. This massive gusher pours a nearly black dark brown with a massive, rocky tan head that slowly recedes to rocky lace, leaving thick lace along the inside of the glass. The nose is features some cinnamon and clove spices, indicative of the oak, with molasses, dark chocolate, roasted malt, a hint of smoke, and a bit of sour apple aroma underlying. The flavor is a bit more sour apple and cherry with all of the dark chocolate and roasted notes, with the oak and the smoke finishing everything off. The body is medium with average carbonation and a long, sour, spiced oak, and smokey finish.
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