Captain Lawrence Nor' Easter Winter Warmer
This is a truly unique brew, combining some unusual elements to create a powerful, yet flavorful brew. I brewed a similar beer to this one back in 1998, while I was home brewing out in California. Only this time around I decided to age it in bourbon barrels to add a new element to the already rich sensory profile. The combination of dark malt, elderberries and bourbon barrels makes for an interesting tasting experience. This is a sippin’ beer, so sit back by the fire and enjoy.
3.9
418 reviews
Elmsford, United States
Community reviews
A defined bourbon scent, carmel malts, oak, and slight fruit scent. It has an even better taste. The bourbon blends well with the fruit flavor. I picked up on the sweet malts, berries, plums, and bourbon. The Nor Easter impacts the palate but leaves a pleasant refreshing and relaxing smooth finish.
Batch 5 Bottle; Pour is dark brown with ruby highlights into this glass - a modest khaki head initial, with average to poor retention and light lacing present. The nose is light bourbon barrel, berries, dark fruit, caramel, cocoa, and bread. The flavor profile is berry dominant initial, surprising actually. It does balance out a bit with dark malts, bread, bourbon notes, albeit lighter - the mouthfeel is smoother than expected for the style, and the abv is masked fairly well here. It loses something near the finish - but its a nice brew.
A - Pours a dark black with just a hint of brown and a finger of frothy khaki colored head. The head fades down at a normal pace leaving behind some lacing.
S - Aroma is a mix of roasted caramel and chocolate malts, vanilla, oak, Bourbon, berries, dark fruit, a touch of spices, and some booze.
T - Starts off with some caramel and chocolate malts with some vanilla, dark fruit, and berries. Through the middle, the oak and Bourbon come through alongside some more berries and dark fruit and a touch of spices. The finish is a mix of sweet dark fruits and berries, vanilla, oak, Bourbon, caramel malts, a bit of spices, and some booze.
M - Full bodied with moderate carbonation. Feels smooth with a sweet and warming finish.
D - Very drinkable. The bourbon adds some nice complexity around a bit malty base beer.
Trade with Bobertkuekn. Black pour, thick, moderately high head, very nice lacing. Aroma is very light, and very reminiscent of a sour ale. Flavor is lightly sour, not sweet, relatively uncomplex, slightly vinous. Light mouthfeel, but not thin. The alcohol is completely hidden. Very hard to pin this beer down because it really is different from anything I’ve had. Essentially it comes off as a light sour ale, with some subtle notes of wine and oak. Find very little if any bourbon in this. Rating is somewhat low, but I could see warming up to this over time. An interesting brew.
2010 Vintage. Enjoyed in a wine glass at near fridge temperature.
A - No head at all. Murky plum brown with nice alcohol legs on the swirl.
S - Raisins, figs, brown sugar and other very sweet dark fruits. Maybe dried figs is more close to what this smells like. Small maltiness but not a lot of bourbon as I would expect.
T - Very malty up front. Sort of thick in the malt taste with the middle being the start of a box full of raisins. But there’s this acetic funky lacto sort of taste in the center. It’s unsuprising and not what I was expecting. Finish is oaky, hints of bourbon and some vanilla with a sweet departure of tastes.
M - 15% carbonation on the mouth swish, medium body and funky sweet solidly sippable drinkable finish.
O - This is a great beer. Enjoyable. Solid. Wishing there was a bit more carbonation.
-- Poured a clear, nearly opaque dark brown. One finger to half finger of light brown head. Good head retention and good lacing associated with this as drinking. Lots of spotty lacing.
S-- Did not expect tartness to this at all. Quite odd. Little bit of a sour/ tart smell to this. A bit like a sweet tart. Elderberry evident off the bat and in the back of the nose get touches of bourbon. Grape and bubble gum in the nose as well.
T-- More sour and tartness. Grape, bubblegum, oak, bits of bourbon in the back but very soft. Thought a La Chouffe but a sour version of it. Interesting.
M-- Light and bubbly, has a very clean, crisp and dry finish to this. Medium feel and medium carbonation. Pretty easy to drink really. Once got over the tart smell and taste a pretty easy beer to drink. Alcohol well hidden.
O-- Not what I expected but good. Well hidden 12% beer. Rich and full but light. Am guessing the triple fermentation to that. Touches of grape and bourbon make this quite interesting to me.
750 ml bottle to oversized snifter (shared with the wife; 2011 vintage). Looks good; dark with low carbonation and thin lacing (visible after swirling). Smells good too; wood and elderberries with sour notes. Tastes like it smells with bourbon present.
Ahhhh yes. Was reminded last night that I consumed this year’s back in my basement with after4ever. Batch #1! Big bourbon filled berry nose. Complex all around...elements of bourbon, port, berry, chocolate, dark fruits, and more. Dense and thick. I remember us all oogling over this one and knowing that we could never get anymore. Sounds like they may have done some more batches since though?? One for the books!
Bottle, many thanks coldbrewky. Dark red brown color with huge beige head. Aroma of dark berries, caramel, some flowers, pear, oak. Taste, elderberries, roasted malt, chocolate, bourbon, liquorice, wood. Long sour finish. Nice, tasty beer.
Pours a barely translucent deep sable. Aroma has notes of maple syrup and bourbon. Mouth-filling flavor has a sour apple overtone plus caramel, smoky and licorice notes. Body is average but has plenty of fizz.
Pours dark brown with a medium tan head. Aroma has light chocolate and a bit of fruit...notable sour notes...raisins and light bourbon. Flavor has a soury fruitiness and light bourbon vanilla character...mild chocolate. Mouthfeel is medium/full and creamy with a warming oaky finish that hints of bourbon. Not a fan of the soury qualities here.
Batch 5 shared with coldbrewky. dark amber color. sweet burbon, light clove, elderberry, bourbon, flowers, a tad tart. complex to a point of over kill. slightly drying mouth.
A gift from SJ. This was a nice change of pace. I always liked the American strong, but I don’t know why I don’t buy more of them.
Any way, here’s what I loved about this one.
The pleasant caramel malt, bourbon, wood, dark fruit with asoury / tart finish. Very enjoyable.
Tastes like a dark chocolate berry. Very nice appearance, but a bit too tart for my liking.
Dark brown/black color; Medium slightly creamy body; Aroma of toasted malt, oak/wood, vanilla, & dark fruit; Flavor of roasted sweet malt, caramel, chocolate, dark fruit (notably berries), raisons, and spice; Finish is slightly sour/tart; Nicely balanced & complex; Overall, nice bourbon quality to it - very good stuff.
Nor’ Easter pours a little bit like a stout. It’s dark. A very dark brown. A nice frothy 2 finger head is poured and has nice retention. Now I was expecting to get wow’ed by the smell of this beer for some reason. The mixture that it says on the front of the bottle got me ready for something awesome. Ale with elderberries aged in bourbon barrels. Yum sounds fantastic but what I got was very muted. The Elderberries gave off the biggest smell. They were sweet. But everything else like the ripe dark fruit, caramel, and bourbon was lingering there but just small.
Taste was more of the same for me. Muted. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t good though. The bourbon woody flavor definitely came through more on the taste. The berries are there and make for a kind of sour and bitter combination. Under all of that caramel and dark fruits sit on the bottom. Mouthfeel was really nice. Thick and smooth. Silky and sits in your mouth.
25oz bottle, batch 4. Pours out a nice dark brown hue, medium carbonation. Aromas are wood, vanilla, cherry, lots of malt. Palate is fantastic, the cherry and sour levels pound through the entry to mid with the barrel aging finishing it off very smooth. The levels of vanilla and cocoa are still intact although not as potent as it is fresh, but still a well rounded beer.
750ml bottle shared by the Madison crew. Deep brown-black, pronounced fruity aroma, adds a deep heavy sourness. World Class mouthfeel. Brings to mind De Dolle Reserva. Hides the alcohol well. Delicious dark malt tones merge with the fruity sourness. Perfect balance. Phenomenal!
I think Deuane brought this one for us to try. Batch 5.
A - Pours dark brown with a small half finger tall off-white head leaving spotty lace down the glass.
S - Smells of elderberry’s dominate the nose initially slowly giving way to hints of wet oak, dark fruits, toffee, and some light spice. Not much booze initially but it grows as it warms up.
T - Starts off with a bright berry twang slowly giving way to hints of raisins, toffee, oak, vanilla and warm bourbon. This one has a lot going on at once, leaving you guessing what is going to come through next. Finish is pretty dry, lingering for some time.
M - Medium body and flavor with moderate carbonation. Smooth feel initially getting a tad watery toward the end, finish is pretty dry.
O - This one was pretty good. It had plenty of flavor, which was both a good and bad thing. I liked some of the older vintages I have had more but this one was still pretty good.
750ml bottle in a snifter. Pours very dark brown with a lacy, light tan head. Aroma of roasted and chocolate malts, elderberries, bourbon, some light hops, and other dark fruits. Flavor about the same, with lots of berries and bourbon. Smooth texture. A pretty good beer, but the berries are a little too much.
750ml bottle (batch 4): This one pours an opaque, ruby tinged brown color. There was almost no head and left no lacing. Nice nose. There is a heavy, fruity aroma to it: that must be the elderberries. Also some faint hints of oak and bourbon. Interesting taste. Elderberries, with a bit of sourness. A fairly full malt bodied in the background. Hint of bitterness and chocolate in the background. Excellent!
Pours dark reddish brown with off white head out of 22 oz bottle, aroma has notes of toffee, bourbon, vanilla, spice, dark fruit and red fruit notes in there as well, slight roasted quality. Taste is nice mix of spices, bourbon, vanilla, toffee, some fruity notes in there as well, nice warming quality but not in a bad way, finished slightly sweet and spicy. Nicely done.
Bottle (Batch #1, 2007) at the Funky 7. Pours dark brown with a tan head. Great beer overall. Lots of dark fruits, bourbon and wood, some spices, berries, caramel. Medium to full in body with fine to average carbonation. Mild warming finish, toffee, caramel, berries, light vanilla and a very subtle tart note. Excellent beer.
Bottle with Doodler and Co. Thanks everyone! Brown appearance with a brown head. Slightly spicy, tart dark fruity, bourbon aroma, a bit sour aroma. Tart dark berry, bourbon, tangy, caramel malty flavor. Pretty nice beer.
Bottle provided by Ed Roberts. Last bottle of the night. Palate is shot but still pushing through hard. Unique beer with slight hints of fruit and bourbon. Slightly spicy with a nice booze kick to it. Very enjoyable.
75cl traded batch 3 bottle that is probably close to 2 years old. I have no idea what elderberries taste like but as an ardent fan of Monty Python: I love them! Seriosuly though, this is a well made winter warmer with sweet notes and nice vanilla from the barrels. Tasty.
Great aroma... Sweet malt, bourbon, and a slightly sour fruit subtle finish in the nose. Mouthfeel completely lacks and sense of a 12 monster. Incredibly balanced... A sour fruit tang in the finish cuts any burn. Upfront is dusty, and malt In the mouth the bourbon isn’t that present. Sweet, mild, and delicious.
Draft at rattlea with Brendan, streets, Andrew, and baron. Pours a hazy brown body with creamy brown lacing. Aroma is chocolate and light oak notes. Mouthfeel is thin with notes of chocolate malts, brown sugar, molasses, and light sweetness.
750 ml bottle poured a clear dark reddish brown with a small lingering brown head. Aromas of berries, bourbon, oak, coconu and toffee. Palate was light bodied and crisp with a dry finish. Flavors of berries, bourbon, oak, coconut and toffee with a crisp dry lingering coconut finish.
Bottle. Pours almost black. Tan head. Nose/taste of elderberry, vinous notes, oak, bourbon barrel, Belgian yeast, fig and very sweet dark fruits. Sweet mouth feel with a lingering alcohol finish. Medium body.