Breckenridge Vanilla Porter

Brewed by Breckenridge Brewery
Style: Porter
Denver, Colorado USA

This beer pours with a thin, creamy head that dissipates. The beer is a dark color, from far away you might mistake it for a stout, but when held up to the light you can see its dark copper color. The aroma has some hints of malt, I don’t sense any hops in the aroma. The flavor is malty, with little hop character and the vanilla hints remind me of vanilla coke....kinda of in the aftertaste and a little extra sweetness. The body is medium, with a British carbonation level. I think this is a good pairing of flavors with the vanilla not overpowering. This is not a beer that I would drink three of, but it is enjoyable once in a while to have something different.

As usual, the adjuncts spoil the beer. . . not that this one was good to begin with. Not really a porter--a mediocre brown with vanilla flavoring added. Tastes thin. Aftertaste is of soda, not beer.

Vanilla , vanilla, with vanilla and vanilla. Not something i could drink much of but a very interesting flavor.

Pours a deep, dark violet-brown color that shines slightly translucent. A small, foamy, off-white head leaves minimal sudsy lacing on the glass. The aroma shows vanilla beans steeped in sweet chocolate and caramel, accompanied by copious amounts of oatmeal. Notes of cola and molasses are present as well. The flavor rolls the same elements into an overly sweet package that lacks the signature roasty characteristics of a porter. The vanilla component definitely comes from the bean itself, as there is no woodsy oak present. Smooth, but with a less than substantial body, it feels like a session brew, but is ultimately too sweet to drink several of. If there was a Porter counterpart to the Sweet Stout category, this would definitely fit it.

Small sample from Wolfgang Puck in Denver Airport. Bit sweet for my liking, but interesting sample nonetheless.

Pours a clearer reddish brown with a slight light light tan head. The nose is nondescript. Slightly sweet. Vanilla, caramel malt, some roast. A little nondescript twang, maybe extract? I don’t know. Creamy full mouth, best part about the beer. Sickly sweet vanilla. Caramel. A bit of acidity that may or may not be associated with the roast. A bit of a twang, as I said. Cream soda from the previous rater is about right. That same sort of acidity too, creamy. Strang beast. Lingering toast.

To me I thought the roasted chocolate malt aroma was masked too much by the intense vanilla cream soda-ish scent. It was very difficult to detect any alcohol content whatsoever. I disagree with prior ratings describing the palate as dry, It definitely was not full bodied, however it had a intense soda - poppy sweetness. I would serve with dessert, probably with a tart berry dish that involves a custard or light cream. This would probably help to disguise the magnificent real-deal vanilla aroma and flavors that are a little over the top. Overall I was glad I tried it, and will go down as a great replacement for Virgil’s Cream Soda.

Dark brown in color with an ok head. I got some of the vanilla in the smell but not a whole lot in the taste. Some coffee and a little chocolate in the aroma and taste as well.