Atwater Vanilla Java Porter

Brewed by Atwater Block Brewery
Style: Porter
Detroit, Michigan USA

I was pretty stoked about this one when I grabbed it, but was pretty let down. Vanilla Java Porter sounds awesome, but both the vanilla and java are weak, and the porter is thin and watery. Basically just weak, dry, and slightly bitter. Almost like a Guinnes, and not in a good way.

12 oz bottle shared at Lost Abbey Release. Not very good. Brown color with not much aromas. Flavor was watered down cardboard. Blah.

I should really start looking up reviews before buying things with interesting names. It looks nice, with a creamy head, lacing and dark brown colour, and the coffee in the nose is promising, as is the smoke, vanilla and cloves. But it takes like BBQ sauce made with stale coffee, sour, lactic and unpleasant. "Like cologne for my balls" says my non-rater friend. It’s as apt as anything you could say about this.

12oz. bottle. Trash can and ashtray greets the nose, with spoiled fruit, old coffee grounds, smoke and dirt. Dark brown-black color with a lasting, fine, light tan head. Flavor is roasty, ashy, tart and sour, with a bit of sweetness in the background and an odd bitterness rounding out the dry finish. No real vanilla or coffee to speak of, otherwise. Mouthfeel is thinly effervescent with a medium body. A few sips to submit the rating...ah, there we go. And down the drain the rest of it goes.

bottle - This beer pours very dark brown with a tan head. It smells of dark roast malt, vanilla and coffee as one would expect from the name. The flavor is mainly roast malt and vanilla. It’s milder and lighter bodied than I expected. While the flavor is alright, it’s too light all the way around.

Bottle from Vintage Cellar. Opaque black color with a 2-finger tan head. Aromas of coffee and vanilla. It’s mostly frothy carbonation, so the body is difficult to pin down. Flavor is primarily coffee with some vanilla. Towards the finish some chocolate shows up. Almost tart, almost sour, the finish is not sweet, but it’s not exactly bitter. Rather different brew.

Draft at Grey Lodge, Phila. Dark black with a deep tan head. Aroma was mostly vanilla. Had an almost oily mouthfeel. Flavor was pretty good, with notes of coffee, but the vanilla was a bit overdone. Undertones of malt to round it out. Solid but could have been better with more understated vanilla.

12 oz. Gusher that sounded like an M-80 when I popped the top. Opaque black, with a humongous head that requires 18 soft pours, but still runs away and leaves no lace. Aroma of plug tobacco and coffee. Flavors of vanilla, hickory, coffee, tart cherry and chocolate. Near-medium body is way too frothy, but nicely dried by the ton of roasted malts. Not bad, but fixing the carbonation problem is a must. The commercial description should add (after the "Open it!") : "But do it outdoors, in the shower or some other location where you don’t mind it spewing all over everything, and be sure to wear safety glasses and a lab coat! "