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Captain Lawrence Smoke From The Oak – Apple Brandy Barrel Aged

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Beer-a-Day #283smoke-apple450

I am a big fan of oak aged beers, as you can probably tell from yet another addition to the “Smoke from the Oak” series.  And I have to tell you, it is getting harder and harder to find new and exciting barrels to age our Smoked Porter in.  This one was simply dumb luck smacking me in the face as I perused the shelves at my local liquor store.  Apple Brandy has been produced in this country for centuries, so why not age our full bodied Smoked Porter in freshly emptied barrels from one of America’s oldest distilleries.  Straight from the Captain’s cellar to yours, we hope you enjoy.

Last year for our Oktoberfest weekend we visited the Captain Lawrence brewery. That’s where we learned about their Smoked from the Oak series and the different barrels they had lined up to age them in. One of them was the apple brandy barrels.

Absolutely opaque; thick head. Smells like a spiced apple pie. Apple brandy flavor dominates; I don’t get much smoke at all.

Ron says: Tastes like smoked brandy.

Hop Talk Advisory Panel says: Smoke flavor a little too strong, but otherwise okay. It almost didn’t seem like a beer.

Captain Lawrence Brewing Company

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Contrary to popular belief, our annual “Octoberfest” weekend is not just the four of us sequestering ourselves in a man-cave and geeking out for three or four days. We do actually get out and do things.

This year, we hopped on Metro North for a few stops to visit the Captain Lawrence Brewing Company in Pleasantville, New York.

Captain Lawrence was established in 2006 by Scott Vaccaro. He was bitten by the homebrewing bug in 1995, and it simply snowballed from there. In just two-and-a-half short years, Captain Lawrence has quickly become one of the premier craft brewers in the United States. Not only has his beers won several awards, but was number five on Beer Advocate’s June 2007 list of the top 50 American brewers.

So, on a beautiful October Saturday afternoon, we popped in to sample some of their beers and take a tour. They are a relatively small operation, brewing 40 barrel batches a few times a week. They haven’t added any automation yet. Kegging and bottling (750ml) is still done by hand, although they are planning a 16 oz. bottling line.

The four of us sampled the five beers on tap (sadly, as we were constantly reminded, not the double IPA).

  • Sun Block (Belgian Style Wit)
  • Liquid Gold (an interesting hybrid with German Malt and Belgian yeast)
  • Brown Bird Brown Ale
  • Pale Ale
  • Smoked Porter

Overall, we liked the Pale Ale and the Brown Ale the best, although all five were well-crafted, fresh, and tasty.

The tour was interesting (if brief) and we bought Max (our host) a growler of the Brown Ale as a thank you gift.

If you find yourself in the Pleasantville area on a Friday evening or Saturday afternoon, it’s well worth a visit.

Update: I neglected to mention that the entire time we were there, there was a steady stream of people coming in to get their growlers refilled. A very positive sign, I’d say.