Captain Lawrence Smoke from the Oak (Rum Barrel)
Rum barrels are a new one for me. I’ve never tasted a beer that was aged in rum barrels before I tasted the same beer you have in your hands. And let me tell you, it was no easy task tracking down freshly emptied rum barrels and getting them up to the brewery. But I think you will agree it was worth the extra effort. To create this beer we took our Smoked Porter and let it slowly age in barrels that once held 12 year old Virgin Island rum. Straight form the Captain’s cellar to yours, we hope you enjoy.
3.7
222 reviews
Elmsford, United States
Community reviews
750mL courtesy of ryan. Loved the infected bourbon SFTO, but this was just not doing it for me. Giant carbonation creates a large, creamy head atop a hazy brown body. Aroma of red wine reduction, sherry, cocoa. Taste is cocoa powder, dark chocolate, hint of sherry, a little fruity, some caramel. Not sure if this was the infected batch or not because of the vinous character. Bit of a chalky and semi-tart palate- riveting carbonation.
75cl bottle, thanks ? Small tan head atop dark brown body. Aroma is moderately sweet, caramel, some vinous. Taste is moderately sweet, caramel, some vinous, rum. Medium-full body, some acidity.
bottle, batch 1 pours dark brown with a medium tan head. Aroma is strong spiced rum, hot alcohol and wood. Flavor is spicy and hot. Smoked malt and bitter cocoa end with a hot spiced rum finish with faint hints of vanilla. This is the best treatment I’ve had so far.
Bottle. I forget which batch, reviewing from notes. Cap exploded off and beer and foam went everywhere. I’ve never had a beer overflow this much, like a geyser. Dark brown body with a tan head. Aroma is boozy, sweet, chocolate, and coffee. Taste is very bitter and coffee with no noticeable rum overtones. Flat carbonation which was surprising after the incident with the cap.
Bottle of the infected batch, shared at RBSG 10 graciously by Maxxdaddy. Pours brown/black, slightly cloudy due to the gush. Aroma is a bit funky, some brett and cherries dominate. No real strong lacto notes. Some oak in there as well. On taste, the body is quite fizzy across the tongue. Taste is mildly tart, not really sour. Get some vanilla and cherry as well. Smoke is nearly gone. Luckily, not much sweetness remains and it comes across as a bit acrid. Very interesting and definitely fun to try.
Bottle pours brown color with light tan head. Aroma is brown sugar and rum. Medium mouthfeel. Flavor is rum and concentrated flavors of chocolate and grain. My least favorite in this series so far which is surprising since I love rum. Its just doesn’t translate into beer as well as the other iterations.
RBSG Tasting. Maply nose, caramel. Sweet and sour. Chocolate in the nose.
Pours a very deep reddish brown with a good small tight head. The aroma is awesome with some beautiful tart fruit, some green apple, some sour cherry and a bit of roast, however no noticeable smoke. The flavor is mildly sour with some chocolate and some mild alcohol. The beer is nicely fruity and enjoyable all around.
Sampled at RBSG 2010 Grand Rapids. Pours a dark murky brown, tan head. Aroma is pretty interesting: somewhat sour, somewhat sweet, somewhat smokey. Some sour cherry and roast. Flavor is somewhat sour, a bit of sweet rummy booziness, some chocolate and smoke. Rum seems to overpower a bit, but it’s definitely not bad. I liked this one. Definitely a cool beer.
Sampled at the RBSG Summer Grand Tasting (Grand Rapids, MI). Pours a nice darker brown, murky and opaque, with a bubbly filmy tan head laces lightly. Aromas are nice and sour, cherries and rich rum, a decent brown sugar and touch of cherry, soured with some light roasty sweetness. Initial is light out, thinner with roasty malts and mellow rum, soured cherries, a decent brett and bite. Mellow, decent infection with funky brett. Interesting, roast and funky, with mellow roasty and sweet brown sugar rum element, vanilla tannins. Interesting and an honor to try. The rum is definitely still there, providing an interesting sweetness and touch of ash, but when you move towards smoke and sour infections, it can be dangerous. This luckily didn’t get to that tangy BBQ sauce area yet.
Thanks Peter for sharing this one with us.
Pours a deep ruby brown color with a tan fluffy head.
Aroma is of rum followed by smoke and some sweetness.
The flavor is for rum and beer lovers! As it warmed in my glass the rum overtook the flavor of everything else and really dominates this beer. Maybe almost a little too much in my opinion.
The mouthfeel is medium/heavy.
Drinkable but a sipper for sure.
Bottle courtesy of Chris at the Rosso release. Pours a murky brown with a thin tan head. Sweet caramel, smoke, and tannins on the nose. Somewhat tart, with some rum and smoke flavors coming through. Long smoke and a little plastic on the finish. Still pretty tasty. Only downside to this was that somehow the bottle took a bit of a tumble and most of the contents were lost, leaving us all to ask, Arrgh, why’s the rum gone?
Good god, as soon as the cap came off, like a fire hose gusher! thank goodness for moist towelettes.. . medium brown with a red tint .. crazy foam .. . i hope that snake bites that kid in the face .. . light oak, muddled ruminess, and wood with light fruit .. . good but slightly disappointing.. . Good night, Pumpkin Tits.
750mL bottle, Batch #1. Poured deep brown with a thick cap of medium tan head.. just kept oozing out of the bottle, even after a 12oz pour. The aroma picked up sugarcane and rummy notes over burnt dark chocolate and molasses.. the barrel gave increasing vanilla and oaky character as it warmed up.. spicy, warm, and inviting, with very complementary barrel and mild smoke. The flavor opened with lactic and oaky sourness over chocolate and molasses maltage.. vanilla and more of the dark malts at the core.. spicy and sweet rum notes throughout.. balance was alright, but the sourness was a bit too much.. finished with sour smoked malts, molasses, and barrel tartness. Medium-bodied and very well carbonated on the palate.. a bit sharp as mentioned.. not great, but I’d drink it again.
Bottle from Dickinsonbeer, thanks! Batch #1. Brown color. Vinous aroma with raspberry and a hint of oak. Smoke, oak, hints of rhummy alcohol and ash in the lavor. Thinnish, vinous and slightly tart. Grapes. Perhaps past its peak but still very nice. Smoky finish with pipe tobacco.
Bottle at pauls taSting thanks vferg. Very similar to whiskey sfto rum is nicely subtle and has smoke oak and light funky notes
Bottle 75cl. @ cgarvieuk - Cigar City tasting.
Clear dark brown color with a large to huge, frothy, good lacing, fully lasting, beige head. Aroma is light heavy malty, roasted, berry, alcohol - rum, wood - port - rum, red wine, blackcurrant, alcohol. Flavor is heavy sweet, light acidic and heavvy bitter with a long duration, smoke, dry, very good balanced beer. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. [20100206]
25.4 oz Bottle Batch #2 from my celler! Great black pour with a creamy light brown fluffy head. Roasted portor with a nice rum bite that hits you in the back of your throat. It was worth the wait. Thanks Scott!
Bottle @ cgarvieuk. Dark brown colour, tan head. Aroma is roasted malts, smoky, rum, vineous. Flavour: roasted malts, smoke, yeast and rum. Not too overpowering.
bottle at home .... deeep black ... big ribena nose oh so blackcurrant ... sweet black currant fruits ... big big flavour ... loads of fruit ... quite wine ... not getting rum so much .... big roast ... very tasty. tangy linger
26th October 2008. Pours very frothy but quickly settles down with a thin tan head. Opaque black body. Smooth palate. smooth porter - a little lactose sweetness in to a well integrated rum underpinned by a little wood. No bitterness or harshness this beer slips down easy. A warming finish (but it’s not at all spirity in the mouth).
Bottle from Batch #2. Had this side by side with Batch 2 of the Wine Barrel. This one didn’t gush... phew. Like the wine barrel, it pours an opaque black with a frothy tan head, not as frothy as the Wine barrel. Aroma is much more mild, the porter aromas come out, chocolate, coffee, toast, nuts, breads, with some caramel sweetness. The rum is a little hidden in the nose, there’s some wood, some oak but it’s not nearly as in your face as the Wine Barrel. Flavors are definitely all porter, chocolate, brown sugar, coffee, nuts, burnt toast, light smoke with just a hint of rum and a hint of wood. Finish is dry. I was very surprised how different the two offerings were. This wasn’t as dynamic as I wanted it to be.
Black with a large brown head. Sourish aroma with roasted malt, wood, berries and coffee notes. Sweet and sour flavour with notes of rum, roasted malt, wood, sour berries and coffee.
Sampled at the ’09 RBPTE, courtesy of MrChopin. Light rum aroma with notes of plum, date, wood, and toffee. Light yeasty character with molasses, caramel, and a toasted, nutty grain. Brown lightly murky body topped with light brown fair lacing head. Thin watery body with lively carbonation. Heavy sweetness to this with molasses, rum, and toffee. Sweetness lasts with just a bit of bitter finish.
Bottle. [thank you, madmitch76]
Pours clear dark ruby red with a big, pretty, fizzy, beige head. Settles as a thin film. Aroma is tart, light brett, some liqourice, plums, cherries, light smoke and a wonderful dark chocolate note. Medium carbonation, super impressive dry mouthfeel. Flavour is light oaky tart and bretty at first. Then oaky flavours abound, rum shines through. Then super dryness and that wonderful dark chocolate. Light bitterness, a tad vinious and very subdued smoke.
Slightly funky aroma of whiskey, sugars and a little roast. Flavors of roast, cherries, rum and a slight tartness. Excellent.
Pours a deep dark black that is all but completely opaque aside from very slight deep dark mahogany edges when held up to a light source. Two finger frothy dark beige head that slowly fades into a lasting ring and cap that leaves splotchy lacing in it’s path.
Nice funky aroma with lots of oak and vanilla notes from the aging and a very prominent strong rum presence. Underneath there is a nice roasty maltiness with notes of chocolate, caramel, oatmeal, toffee and subtle hops. Very vinous and vinegary smelling as well.
Funky tart mouthfeel that is very vinous up front with a sweet alcohol rum flavor and thick roasty maltiness underneath. Heavily carbonated with a slightly creamy body and a puckering dry finish. Lots of warmth from the alcohol.
Lots of tart vinegary sour oak flavor up front that dominates throughout. Huge rum/spirit presence with a decent amount of alcohol heat. There is a bit of a vanilla characteristic from the oak aging but the flavor is dominated by the sweet alcohol/rum. Roasty maltiness underneath with hints of oatmeal, toffee, chocolate and bitter hops. Also hints of dark fruit notes; dark cherry, plum, raisin, etc. Sweet alcohol warmth in the dry finish.
This is a complex beer with a lot of unique flavors that are overshadowed by the strong vinegary oak rum presence. Probably my least favorite of the three Smoke from the Oaks.
An extravagant thanks goes out to MrChopin for this special brew! Had the pleasure of sampling this at the 7/9/2009 Pittsburgh RB tasting extravaganza (PGHRBEXT) at the Sharp Edge Creekhouse. It will be a long time, if ever I see a spread of bottles like I did there. I am not good enough for the beers that were that we served! For example, how about this beer: cptn Lawrence rem barrel aged! Weird sour cola aroma. Big fizzy foamy head. Head fades rapidly. Looks like cola on the pour. Initial taste is spicy and sour, like a lambic porter if that was possible. Can’t really taste any opf the rum barrel effects in here. Overall good beer tasting experience, thanks Kev!
This one poured a dark brown color with a small off white head. Aroma was roasted, chocolate, sourness and hints of rum as well. Flavor was smooth silky chocolate, nice and toasted, and a residual sourness that im not sure is supposed to be there, but it seems to work and make this brew very unique. The rum catches the tip of the tongue right at the end of the swallow.
A very different kind of beer. Sampled from a 750 ml brown bottle this beer poured a black color with a medium sized tan head. The aroma was tangy, fruity, sour and tart. The flavor was a very intriguing mix of dryish, roasty and smoky malts mixed with a strong tart, sour and fruity undertone. The finish was long, tart, malty, sour and pleasantly unusual. Medium body. Very interesting.