Landmark Vanilla Bean Brown Ale

Brewed by Flying Bison Brewing
Style: Brown Ale
Buffalo, New York USA

Tap at Ginger Man. Brown beer with a thin head. Nose is loaded with vanilla and swet caramel. A softly cocoaish aroma along the back. It’s pretty one dimensional and a bit too sweet, but I do like the vanilla quite a bit. Softly malty and sweet but it’s not cloying.

Tap at the Blind Tiger. The vanilla in this was unmistakable, however the beer offered little else of interest. A decent body with a bit of sweet, nutty malts present, and a slight hint of cocoa and hops in the aroma. The vanilla was a bit too strong to keep this easy drinking, and it had a harsh carbonation in tow.

Draft at BT. Pours a ruby brown body with a tan head. Immediate chocolate, lightly toasty, the vanilla seems drown out a bit. Kinda reminiscent of a root beer float. Sweet unattenuated sugars, very light on your palate. Not great.

12 fl. oz. bottle from BOTW (Rochester), served at cellar temperature in a tulip glass. AU29.08.

App.: Clear, deep ruby with a rim of light tan. Aroma: Some brown sugar and molasses, dark dried fruits, a bit of vanilla, light milk chocolate, rich, warm and inviting. Palate: Medium-light body and fairly soft carbonation. Flav.: More vanilla than the nose, light milk chocolate, a touch nutty, some brown sugar; dry, basically no bitterness with a rather abrupt, weak finish.

Great concept, weak execution.

12oz bottle, generously shipped to me (as an accidentally left-behind extra from our in-person trade at Cooperstown) courtesy of beastiefan2k. Thanks, Eugene! Pours a dark, hazy brown color; enormous, seriously huge light-tan head with great retention and lacing; looked like coffee ice cream atop a brown ale; infected from the get-go, with that kind of carbonation. But..onward! Lots of tart citrus, cola, and cocoa in the aroma; most definitely some infection, but I’ve an awful suspicion (from the previous ratings) that this might be something of an improvement; nothing offensive or off-putting or rough, just nice tart citrus melded to cocoa notes. Medium, fizzy mouthfeel: way over-carbonated, but at least it isn’t small-bubbled sharpness; fizzy, soft cola, cocoa, and citrus, with a very soft note of vanilla (hard to tell if it’s legitimate or syrup, just because it’s so slight compared to the citrus and the cola); slightest touch of chalkiness from the cola note, but otherwise a fairly drinkable, lightly soured brown ale. Not nearly as bad as Eugene and I were hoping for, sadly. Medium finish: citrus, cocoa, and lots of toasty bready notes.

Bottled@Marty’s Liquor in Newton,MA. Nice brown color with a fluffy beige foamy. Aroma is sweety with notes of vanila and chocolate, a quit roasted malt too. Flavor is sweet too, with notes of chocolar, vanilla and toffee. Pretty good. Mouthfeel is chocolate..

Draft at Capone’s. This one is terribly under-rated. Poursn medium brown with a huge chocolate milkshake looking head. Nose is vanilla bean, chocolate, almond, caramel malt. The palate is medium in heft, perhaps a bit watery. The flavor was very nice, a mix of vanilla bean, caramel malt, chocolate, and brown sugar, all pretty well melded together. I’d drink this again in a heartbeat.

12oz bottle (thanks to my wife for brining this back from Buffalo for me!). She picked this up at the Flying Bision Brewery (maybe they are now contract brewing it vs. Wagner Valley?). Poured a medium reddish / brownish color with a small sized off white head. Aromas of burnt malts, earthy, some caramel, and light vanilla. Tastes of vanilla soda, caramel, and a little nutty.