Captain Lawrence Smoke from the Oak (Wine Barrel)

Captain Lawrence Smoke from the Oak (Wine Barrel)

The marriage of beer and oak is a truly wonderful thing. Just like wine, whiskey or rum, beer can also gain in complexity when aged in oak barrels. But if you take it one step further and age the beer in oak barrels that had previously held word class wine, well then you can elevate the experience even higher. This is our Smoked Porter, aged in French oak barrels that were previously used to age Merlot and Pinot Noir. We let the beer age in the barrels for around 12 months before adding a fresh dose of yeast to allow the beer to naturally carbonate in the bottle.
3.8
298 reviews
Elmsford, United States

Community reviews

3.7 Pours hazy brownish black with off white head, aroma has notes of medicinal grape sour, with some slight dark fruit, smoke, touch of roast. Taste is very grape forward with notes of medicine, alcohol, touch of smoke and roast with a dry, vinous finish. Very interesting. Once was enough, but it was tasty.
3.3 Herb-säuerlicher Antrunk, in dem das rauchige Malz eine untergeordnete Rolle spielt. Auch später bleibt die Säuerlichkeit im Vordergrund, zum Ende gar etwas brennend. Dennoch überzeugt die säuerlich-malzige Mischung, die zum Ende zulegt. Ausgewogen, aromatisch, weich. Röstiger Abgang, nun ist die Säuerlichkeit eher nebensächlich. 9/11/11/10/13/11
3.2 750ml bottle into my Rochefort glass. Super dark brown with a very light tan head. About three fingers of head but it falls quickly, light lacing...The aroma is light, sweet on the front, on the back light coffee. The front sweetness is hard to pin down, I get red wine while others with us are suggesting olives. Its unique and nice either way...The taste is weird, lightly salty and sweet, weird feeling on the palate, highly carbonated. The finish is very salty. Not much that resebmles a porter. Overall, this is the lesser of the smoke of the oak’s I’ve had. Very weird tasting and something you can skip.
3.7 Roasted malts on the nose with dark fruits and molasses with hints of smoke. Pours black with a thin tan head. Tart upfront with smokey roasted malts with dark cherries and bitter black malts. Very smooth with complex flavors. Very nice.
3.9 750 ml. bottle. This is a nice beer. When Im tired of trendy styles I go for one of these. A little on the carbonated side but has a nice funky finish to it.
4.0 Bottle thanks to bhensonb. Poured a dark brown with a beige head. Aroma was cherry, tart, chocolate, and fudge. Flavor was cherry, chocolate, little spice, and alcohol. Body was light and fizzy with a nice dryness.
3.8 Bottle. Pours a dark brown with tan head. Aroma of kreik, dark roast, some woodiness and chocolate. Flavor is much the same with a very pleasant tartness. Light-medium body with medium-high carbonation. Good Stuff!
3.8 Sampled at Nashville Beer Summit 1.22.11 - Dark brown to black in color. Smells of smoke, firewood. Tastes of tobacco, jerky, aged meats, steak, ham, bacon, bbq. Pretty F’ing good.
3.7 Botella. Pitch black colour. Nice beige head. Aroma: Roasted malt and dark fruits, tart, smokey. Good mouthfeel indeed. Pleasant tart dark fruity roasty malty woody smoke flavour. Long lasting smokey roasty malty tart pleasant finish.
4.3 This is a tall 750 from cakanator. Batch no. 4. Been saving it. Pours pretty black with a two finger creamy tan head. It’s slightly gushing. Aroma is lightly sour and oaky. Maybe a hint of smoke. Med + body. It’s tart/sour. It’s oaky. There’s a moderate amount of smoke. It’s very astringent. With time there seems to be a vinous hint. Meanwhile my mouth seems to be peeling a bit. Tho it isn’t that sour, surely. This ale makes a very strong presentation. Now there seems to be more noticeable smoke, and red grape seems present. This is fairly complex and it changes with time - or maybe it changes my mouth with time. Extremely good stuff. Really, real ale.
4.1 Thank bro! Batch 4. Pours oily black with a large bubbly tan head. Very intense aroma. Smells like a cherry lambic, with notes of chocolate as it warms. Quite sour (lemon), with a complex wine-like fruit taste, and cocoa. Foamy and bubbly with a sharp finish. This is quite a bizarre beer, but that just makes it even more enjoyable.
3.8 Bottle batch 3 traded with Maxxdaddy, its very appreciated! Pours dark brown with a tan head. Aroma is a bit sour with notes of roasted malt, liquorice, overripe fruit and a hint of prunes. Flavour is sour with notes roasted malt, liquorice, dark fruits and oak. End in a acidic liquorice after taste that reminds me of Jolly Pumpkin La Roja.
3.9 Bottle. Huge thanks Anker! It pours pitch black with a creamy tan head. The aroma is vinous acidic, smoke, roasted malt, dark fruit, tobacco, dark berries and quite tart. The flavour is tart acidic, hard roasted malt, smoke and dark fruit. Long acidic finish. Very nice.
4.0 Bottle with dad. Pours deep black witha tan head that slowly fades away. Smells is smokey and bacon with a vamilla - ish palate. Taste is oakey and tart with a smokey backbite. I cant tell if this is more like a smoked beer or a porter so im gonna classify it as smoked poter. This is awesome, but wheres the wine/merlot?
3.9 Bottle shared at Paul and Ryan’s 5000th rate tasting. Pours dark dark brown with a beige head. Oaky and brandy-like fruity aroma, with roasted malts and a hint of fruity tartness. The flavor has roasted malts, oak, tart fruits, plum, and vanilla. Awesome.
3.7 Bottle at Paul and Ryan’s tasting. Pours black. Tan head. Nose of grape, barrel, chocolate malt and smoke. Taste is same with slight hint of vanilla.
4.2 Pours a dark chestnut brown with a light tan head. Nose brings forward a hit of acidity atop some dark roast, berries, oak, and a touch of vanilla. Taste brings up the afidity a tiny notch. It is not dominant, but makes its presence known. Oak and roasted malt are also there with a bit of chocolate. Feel is a bit lighter than I would expect. Drinks quite well. Fairly unique. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 10-06-2010
2.9 Poured into a pint glass. Batch 4. This one had overcarbonation issues. After being in the fridge for several hours, this still gushed as I released pressure. Put it in the freezer for 1/2 an hour and got the bottle open and poured with minimal loss. 4.0 A: Deep brown nearly black color. Nearly three fingers of light brown dense frothy head. Retention isn’t that great, but lots of lacing. 4.0 S: The merlot is super strong and is probably the most prominent aroma. Lots of oak and some acidity accompanies the vinous character. From the porter, the smoke comes through strongest, while much of the rest is lost behind the wine. However, you can tell the porter adds some depth though most of the flavors are hard to pick out. 3.0 T: Though the nose is mainly red wine, the taste is an equivalent mix of wine and porter. Unfortunately, the flavors don’t mesh well. Vinous grape doesn’t seem to complement the roasty components of the porter. The barrel comes through pretty well again. Lots of oak and some vanilla. Roastiness of the porter as well as toffee and some dark crystal malt come through. 3.5 M: Medium body. Initally way too much carbonation, but good moderate amount after letting most of it dissipate. Decently creamy, but could be a bit smoother. Some tannins in there. 3.5 D: Though I was most excited about this SFTO, I’m sure it is the worst. The wine barrels didn’t work for Deschutes Jubel and it didn’t work for this one as well. I still will eventually seek out the other ones. I will say that this does get a bit better as you get through the bottle though. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 10-03-2010 02:35:34
3.2 Slightly sweet, very bitter. A lot like red wine, but the definite strong smokiness doesn’t really meld too well with the red wine flavors. Bottle shared at the Nashville Beer Summit.
3.8 16th January 2009 Explosive! Lost half the bottle on opening! Grrr! Dark beer - opaque. Frothy tan head. Tangy nose. Smooth but very tangy porter. Fruity wine characteristics - sharpness, body and dryness. Unusual beer, the wine dominates in the latter half of the taste. The porter and the red wine join up very well.
3.9 Bottle from batch 4. Sticker on the bottle says that it is highly carbonated, so I opened this one in a sink. Slight gush when opened. Brown in color with a medium sized tan head. Slight wine barrel present in the aroma. No real smoke character, though, with a slight tartness. Slight tartness, maybe from the barrel, with maybe some dark chocolate, and a hint of smoke in the finish. Slightly dry.
3.1 One of the thanksgiving beers. A very effervescent grape dominated flavor. The porter part of this beer is dwarfed by the barrel ageing and wine qualities the treatment has imparted. As the beer warms you get more porter like qualites in teh form of a light roasty malt flavor. A touch of chocolate as well. The balance here is a little out of whack.
3.7 Gusher be ready! Aroma was immediately vinous with lots of dark fruit, and some funk. Taste supplied most of the chocolate and dark malt along with some oak and vanilla. Finishes with some tangy, fruity funk. Nicely blended.
4.1 Bottle (Batch 4) shared by badnewsbeers. Murky dark brown body, thick, creamy beige gushing head that leaves good lacing. Tannic, dusty nose, tangy, with coffee and chocolate notes. Tangy Euro-porter body with coffee and red grape, dusty oak/sawdust, vinaigrette, smoke, coffee, and dark chocolate. Silky palate, sharply carbonated. Complex, rich, and exquisite.
4.0 Bottle - batch 4 from hbmason...thanks Tim! - Pours dark brown with a tan foamy head. Smells smoky, a bit chocolatey, with a weird tannic red wine note. Lots of oak, with light, sour funk. Complex and lovely. Taste is pretty much the same, with some bretty funk to round it all out. I wasn’t sure how the red wine and porter was going to play, but it’s so nice. Busted this out at a wine and cheese party because it was one of the few beers I had that fit the theme.
3.6 Bottle shared by Matlzilla. This is my third beer from captain lawrence, they have all been disappointing. Lots of hype, but nothing to back it up...
4.3 Black pour from a batch four bottle. Gusher. Black pour with massive brown head. Aroma of vinous fruit, tart berry, dark fruits, milky chocolate, and oak. Lovely. Flavor of sour grape, woody smoke, burnt toast, resin, and citrus hops. Slightly bitterness in the finish cuts out the early tart kick. Superb. One of the best beers I have had.
3.9 batch 3 from Wavers1, pours dark brown, medium tan head. Aroma is red grape, vanilla, oak, and roasted malts. Flavor is mellow smoke and wood with a mildly tart finish of dry red wine. Nice stuff.
3.7 Batch 4. Bottle from blklab2007. Thanks Gianni. Per Gianni’s suggestion, along with the label on the bottle, I had this in the fridge for a few days and poured cold. Probably a good thing because it still poured out with a thick tan head. Deep brown color. I let it warm a little in the glass. Funky cherries and grapes in the aroma along with chocolate, smoke, and ash. I can definitely pick up the wine. Smells wonderful. There’s some roasty chocolate and oak flavors but there’s a lot of funky tart fruit. Lots of wine character. If you were expecting a traditional Porter with a slight wine influence then I could see being disappointed here. I enjoyed it although one pour was enough and I admit it grew old fast. The carbonation is high and that’s the only real drawback as the palate is a bit spritzy but otherwise this is rather tasty. I look forward to the other versions.
3.1 Batch# 2 Finally got around to rating this! Very dark, almost opaque, and has a lasting light beige head. The aroma is roasty, woody, and has a brett like sourness. A bit phenolic (from smoke, plasticky) and barnyardy, but just a touch; Not overpowering. Some toasty malt and brown sugary notes as well as vanilla and caramel; Some chocolate notes as it warms. The wine barrel to me is not evident up front. At least not a wine barrel characteristic. Flavor is a bit bretty with some tartness from both the barrel and dark grain acidity. Roasty flavors take a back seat and are a bit overpowered by tartness from the barrel. Finish is dry and slightly acidic. Some toasty notes. Lighter body, medium carbonation, dry m/f from carbonation, dark grains, and barrel aging. Not really my cup of "tea." I was hoping for more barrel character from wine rather than from bugs. If you like tart beers and what barrel aging can offer with said styles, this one may be for you! I can appreciate it for what it is, but I can’t say I’m a huge fan.