Breckenridge Vanilla Porter

Brewed by Breckenridge Brewery
Style: Porter
Denver, Colorado USA

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.

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

Tap at Flying Saucer, Houston

Pours rich and black with a nice aroma of vanilla, cinammon and chocolate. Flavor follows suit, with hints of hazlenut. Palate is a tad watery. Very enjoyable and approachable.

Dark Brown with Cream Ring. Light Roasted Malts and Real Rich Vanilla Notes on the Nose. Heavy Mouthfeel..Very Creamy. Nice Thick Malty Body with Mild Roasts and Sweet Almost Syrupy Vanilla Overtones. Ends Bittersweet and Lightly Roasted. Very Nice. Obtained This Bottle Directly From Colorado...HAVE noted that Breckenridge’s Beers Don’t Ship to Minnesota Well At all.

12oz bottle. Pours a very dark brown. Creamy milk shake looking head. Aroma is of rich vanilla beans, chocolate malts like an overly chocolate flavored malt shake. Flavor is a water base version of a chocolate malted milk shake. Big vanilla flavors, nice chocolate malts. Maybe even some flavors of marshmallows. a nice Winter season session.

Someone told me I should try this, so I am. Bottle from Westpark Wine and Beer in Richmond. Pours dark brown to black iwht a medium head, good lacing and low retention. Aroma of leather, tobacco and caramel. Vanilla is barely noticeable at first in the taste, but grows on you. Also, a taste of caramel and tobacco. Medium body. Astringent. 6/4/6/3/12/3.1

Rerate 7/13/08. Bottle from Whole Foods Market Charlottesville. Dark brown pour with excellent head retention and lacing. Roasted malt aroma with hints of vanilla. Taste is roasted malt, vanilla and a tart fruitiness. Full bodied. Must have gotten a less than stellar bottle before, because this really hits the spot. 6/4/8/4/14/3.6

Bottle: Poured a light black color porter with a medium bubbly head with average retention and no lacing. Aroma of light vanilla with some distinctive sour notes. Taste was also dominated by sour notes and light vanilla. Body is really thin with some average carbonation. I don’t know if this was infected but it really wasn’t appealing to me.

Pours a darp brown with a good, creamy tan head. The aroma is a good mix of chocolate, vanilla (a bit heavy in the flavor), and nuts. The flavor has a slightly unpleasant plastic-like flavor in the finish.