There’s no shortage of good words on this blog about Captain Lawrence Brewing Company. In fact in terms of breweries that bottle beer, Captain Lawrence is by far my favorite in the state of New York, enough that I’m going to call him a New York City brewer just to make myself feel better. No other part of Pleasantville could be considered NYC, but Scott V’s brewery could. So there.
I folow the Captain’s beers quite closely, even venturing from time to time to their release parties, which usually include small gatherings in the parking lot where beer nerds gather to swap stories and good, usually traded-for brews. Last time t-bone and I went up to the brewery, it was for the release of the latest in their series of “Smoke from the Oak” beers, where their excellent on its own Smoked Porter gets aged in a variety of used barrels, which have held a wide range of booze, from Bourbon to Rum to Red Wine. The hope is to infuse the Smoked Porter with some flavors of the barrel itself, and the hooch that the barrels once contained.
There is no shortage of beers aged in Bourbon – a search on Beer Advocate for the word “Bourbon” returnes over 250 results. Admittedly, before having this bottle, I wasn’t the biggest fan of Bourbon Barrel beers, or maybe I just haven’t had enough good ones, because I truly enjoyed this version of Smoke from the Oak. There is an awesome shot of Bourbon on the nose, almost like sniffing a good glass of peaty Islay Scotch. The pour is dark as hell, more stout than porter like, with a small fizzy head and a nice amount of carbonation pushing through the glass. There is ample carbonation, which makes this heavy brew a bit more drinkable, and the Bourbon flavor comes through subtly on the palette as well. A very well integrated beer, there is smoke, chocolate, whiskey tartness, a bit of sourness, and a hint of bitterness all going on as you sip. I’ve been trying to concentrate on these kinds of flavor “journeys” in making my own beer, and although I’ve basically failed miserably up to this point, the Captain is giving me hope. And if I can’t the beer right, I can always just have a big glass of whiskey.
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