Breckenridge Vanilla Porter

V-A-N-I-L-L-A spells vanilla and so does this porter. Someone droppped off a six of this and we enjoyed this with the family.

A deep dark clear brown porter with a thick unctuous moka head. Aroma of vanilla, chocolate, light c-hops, very pleasing. In mouth, a very nice light porter with vanilla essence, oily mouth feel, light to medium bodied. On tap at Ballpark brewpub 24 Jan. 2009.

They say vanilla porter and they MEAN vanilla. I was surprised to see how prominent in the flavor the vanilla was, here. Beer pours with a fairly typical porter color and a perhaps-a-bit-too-small head. Nose is mildly chocolate and roast. But the flavor is a surprise. I’m not quite sure what to think of it. At first it’s a bit overpowering, and the vanilla fades some as warming allows for the natural roastiness to come out a bit more, but the vanilla is pleasant, for the most part. The main concern is that it might be too much over multiple (a sixer) pours, and I can’t imagine wanting such a beer too often.

Vanilla is rather evident here, perhaps some chocolate, though not much else. Very smooth, a little sweet.

On tap at the Breckenridge brewery tasting room. Pours a very dark brown body with a small, beige head that leaves minimal lacing. Aroma is loaded with sweet, but mild vanilla bean. Good amount of toasted caramels and chocolate malts in there too. Slightly nutty, but not a lot of hop backing or roasted malts. The vanilla makes this very mellow smelling, but quite rich. Flavor is rich as well, with a lot of sweet vanilla and nuts dominating the traditional porter taste. Nice milky chocolates balance the vanilla quite well. The light roasted grains start to kick in during the finish giving it a bit of a roasty lingering taste. The finish is also very mellow and sweet with a lingering toasted caramel as well as rich, milk chocolate. Palate is very creamy, medium bodied, and clean. Overall, a pretty solid vanilla porter, especially on tap. Not the typical roasty porter, but they don’t advertise it as such. Good stuff and enjoyed drinking it at the brewery.

Vanilla flavors VERY prominent...almost too sweet. Has a nice coating mouthfeel however.

Pours a deep mahogany into the glass, with dark ruby fringed hues and a thin ring of off-white lace that diminishes quickly. The aromas are honestly a bit musty and have some sour grains in there. The flavors do have some murky chocolates, slight vanilla hues, and some cherry in there as well. This isn’t horrible, by any means, but the mouthfeel, which is a bit zesty for the style, really muddies up the flavors at work and throws all of the contingencies out of balance. It leaves me wondering what it is that I’m actually supposed to be concentrating on. EDIT: I actually remember having this beer years and years ago at a Microbrew Festival, and this was one of my favorites of the lot. I can’t really imagine that this was what I was so hyped up about, and is actually a bit of a letdown now that I’ve rekindled my relationship with it.

bottle: poured brown with a thin head. Smell was of light with vanilla. Flavor was chocolate with a slight hint vanilla. Felt kind of thin in the mouth. I was really hoping for more vanilla. Not bad..just okay....un"remarkable"