Atwater Vanilla Java Porter

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

Beer club. Dark brown pour. Huge tan head. Surprisingly small aroma that has a bit of alcohol and coffee in it. Taste is a bit disappointing. Very sweet chocolate, coffee, light vanilla. Taste bit like stale coffee. Has a waterdown body to it.

When I opened it, I thought it had great promise. Nice aroma, big head, good looking dark brown color. There’s something in the taste that’s not quite right though. Maybe something like hot sauce. I can’t put my finger on it. Not at all what I expected. I’ll try another and hope for the best.

Dark brown with an umber glow when held to the light. Taller, dense aged canvas colored head. Heavy sheet of lace. Viennese coffee aromas, with coffee, dark chocolate, cinnamon, and a touch of vanilla. Stale coffee and day old.cinnamon roll flavors. LIght acidity in the finish (coffee like). Light vanilla and bitter wood linger.

12oz bottle courtesy of moejuck. I guess I poured this pretty vigorously because I ended up with half a glass full of sudsy tan head. Looks like a root beer float head. Pretty quick to recede though, does leave some decent lacing. Leaves a pretty thick layering of foam atop the beer. Body of the beer is dark brown with some red running through it. Nose is odd, some cocoa powder, some coffee, some chili pepper type spice, very light vanilla and some hop bitterness. Smells "dusty" or old, which throws everything else off. Fore is sour mash, old coffee grounds, chocolate and spice. Don’t know if this is a bad bottle or what, but there are definitely some off flavors and aromas here. Medium astringency. Medium bodied, appropriate for the style. Finish is light roasted notes, chili pepper and dark malts. Not a fan of this one at all. Couldn’t get past all the sour/old/metallic mustiness and it ended up being pretty much a drainpour.

Aroma of vanilla, hint of chocolate, coffee, roasted malt. Poured a dark mahogany brown. Had a nice foamy, light tan head that quickly dissipitated. Left light lacing on the Pint Glass. Beer had no cap after the head was gone. Flavor of vanilla that was quickly overcome by a strong softly bitter coffee with hints of chocolate and roasted malt with vanilla coming back at the end. The bitter coffee flavor seemed to increase as I drank it, a bit too strong for me, but that is me, those who like a strong bite or strong bitter in their beer will enjoy this. Body was a light to medium, with a slightly thin texture, carbonation started strong but died down quickly to become weak. A strongly bitter finish. A nice Porter, especially if you like coffee. While I liked the beer, I wouldn’t buy again for its just not my style of Porter. But, if you like strong coffee and strong bitter flavor in your Porters, do give this a try!

Pours a deep dark brown, not much head, but what is there is very good looking. Malty flavor with some hints of vanilla, well balanced. Not the best porter, but i’ve had worse.

pours dark brown with a bubbly head that dissipates. aroma of vanilla and sour. mouthful is metallic with some hints of roasted malts... not so pleasant.

Clear garnet with a thick beige head. Sour nose... hmmm... some coffee and chocolate. Flavor is light coffee and chocolate, but a sourness permeates the entire ber. Infected? Not sure, but certainly not good. Drain pour.