Ballast Point Victory at Sea Coffee Vanilla Imperial Porter

Brewed by Ballast Point Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Strong Porter
San Diego, California USA

courtesy of kiefdog Pours dark brown Aroma plenty of coffee, roasted malts. Taste, vanilla is present but doesn’t overwhelm the taste, some roasted malts, coffee, light touch of chocolate. This is some fine tasty beer. Highly drinkable at 10 abv.

Bottle shared by Paul. Dryish pomello aroma with a ton of vanilla that almost completely dominates the aroma. Flavor is once again completely dominated by vanilla, I like it but this is completely one-dimensional. I can drink it, for sure, I mean I like it, but there is nothing here but vanilla.

This is some good stuff. Pours very dark, nice head retention. Plenty of coffee in the aroma, vanilla isn’t as noticeable as the coffee. A very roasted, complex flavor, with coffee dominating. Definitely worth seeking out.

bomber thanks to weeHeavySD. Pours black with a light-brown head. Nose is potent coffee and some cocoa. wow! taste is coffee, coffee, coffee. Fantastic tasting coffee. Thank God I like coffee. Mouthfeel was thick and creamy, more so than most porters. Liked this a lot.

Pours a black espresso with chestnut tinges around the edges. Light tan head is a little on the short side with large, loose bubbles. Coffee nose is ultra-prevalent on this one. It’s almost a one-sided affair until your nose down in it. Fresh ground espresso, bitter sweet chocolate, a nice clean roastiness, smoke and a hint of sweetness. Enticing. I don’t detect much in the way of obvious vanilla, but the overall aroma is explosive. Flavor is not complex but is very bold. The dark roasty coffee notes are hot on this one and again take the forefront. Semi-sweet chocolate, scorched caramel, toasted walnuts, and smoke all jump out in the middle of the palate. The finish is bitter initially but quickly checked by a backlash of sugars. Vanilla is definitely subtle but leaves its presence on the finish. I feel it’s not so much of a flavor component as it is used to amplify the sweetness of the residual sugars and balance out the bitterness. Wonderful medium-densie body. Great big and bold!

Bottle. Damn fine beer. Damn fine. Almost a black pour with a small light beige head. The coffee is the first thing that hits your nose, then the wonderfully roasted malt, vanilla, and some chocolate tones set the table for what is going to be a very nice drinking experience. The mouthfeel on this beer is very nice. The coffee and vanilla work in harmony and the chocolate and roast give this beer wonderful complexity...this is a super beer.

(22oz bottle, courtesy of blutt59) Pours a dark brown (near black) body with a small tan head. Aroma of coffee, vanilla, nuts, and roasted malt. Flavor of coffee, roasted malt, chocolate, and vanilla.

Thanks to JuiceIsLoose for the taste. Good stuff. Aroma, of course, is coffee and vanilla. The flavor has a bitter kick of strong coffee, with just enough vanilla sweetness to balance things out. Very good.