Breckenridge Vanilla Porter

Brewed by Breckenridge Brewery
Style: Porter
Denver, Colorado USA

An amazing subtle vanilla aroma. The flavor is in-your-face vanilla though and way too much. Couldn’t imagine trying to drink a whole one of these by myself.

12oz. bottle. Chocolate and vanilla aromas. Dark body but held to light a deep red color with tan head. Flavor was like a chocolate vanilla cream soda. High level of carbination as to why I say soda not beer. Nonetheless a decent refreshment while watching some baseball games.

Deep dark brown coloured body with a frothy and dense tan head. Aroma of strong vanilla, fragrant oak and malt, a bunch of coffee and even a bit of milk. Medium-bodied; Potent lactic qualities with sour milk and cream more noticeable than anything else. Roasted malt showing through with some caramel, along with a bit of nuts. Aftertaste potent and strong, but the sweetness is definitely there. Overall, a decent porter - more of a sweet stout to me, but the lactic qualities are strong as well as the vanilla. I sampled this twelve ounce bottle purchased from Total Wine in McLean, Virginia on 03-April-2008.

Bottle shared with HogTownHarry - his bottle. Ruby-brown with a wispy head. Smells like vanilla soda. Tastes like it too. Vanilla flavour is natural, but way too sweet, with a bit of roastiness in the background. Leaves a coating on your teeth. Ick.

12oz bottle pours dark brown with a film of an offwhite head and no lacing. Aroma is of vanilla and not much else. Flavor is a bit of roasted malts but mostly overpowering vanilla with a touch of chocolate worked in. Palate is medium bodied without much carbonation and a rather thin mouthfeel. Drinkable but I expected much more.

A reasonably vigorous pour only produces a thin finger thickness, lightly browned, tan colored head. The beer is a deep brown color that is almost black, but it does show a clear, concentrated, ruby hue when held up to the light. Light aromas of vanilla mix in with roasty dark malt notes. The nose has a slight burnt acidity to it, some well toasted bread aromas, a touch of blackened espresso notes and perhaps a touch of malty chocolate. The vanilla is fairly restrained, though easily noticeable, but the base beers aroma does not seem to match the vanilla notes very well.

Not as thin as I was expecting, this has a soft creaminess to it and a certain fullness to it that helps to lightly coat the mouth. The vanilla is much more noticeable in the flavor than it was in the aroma. The vanilla definitely dominates the flavor profile, but there is still some roast grain character that pokes through especially towards the finish were bitter, burnt flavors kick in a bit along with a touch of roast acidity. The vanilla is accented by sweet malt flavors that are note really noticeable underneath the vanilla notes, but are definitely here. This has a very low hop presence, as expected, with perhaps a touch of bitterness being all I notice.

This is definitely a vanilla focused brew, this would not be such a bad thing if the base beer was a bit more noticeable underneath. Instead all I really get is an overly burnt malt character, that doesn’t really seem to contribute positively. Though I really like the texture and mouthfeel of this brew.

Purchased: <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp? Liquors, Tucson AZ

12 oz bottle, via Secret Santa PhillyBeer2112. Pours a clear dark brown colored body under a one finger foamy beige head. Aroma is of chocolate malt and strong valilla essence. Some light roasted notes and a light huskiness. Flavor is just all vanilla extract. Some lesser notes of chocolate, roast, and alcohol. Finish is all vanilla again. Mouthfeel is medium bodied and cloying on the finish. Carbonation is fizzy and active. This just went too over-the-top with the vanilla. It comes off as artificial tasting and overly cloying.

12oz bottle, courtesy of hopscotch. Thanks, Eric! Pours a dark, reddish-brown color; light tan head with web-like lacing. Sweet, vanilla and nougat in the aroma. Medium mouthfeel: cheap vanilla character (like oak chips) in a roasted malt and milk chocolate base; pleasant sweetness and vanilla bean creaminess, in an otherwise uneventful porter; slightly oily and viscous. Creamy, vanilla bean and milk chocolate finish.