Landmark Vanilla Bean Brown Ale

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

Poured a dark amber color with a small, off white head that left light lacing on the glass. Aroma of vanilla extract, caramel malts, light toast, and a bit of earth as well. Taste of caramel malts, light nuts, vanilla, brown sugar, and that’s about it... Regular, nothing special.

Bottle. Deep brown in color with a large tan head. Vanilla aroma. Mild vanilla flavor with some nuttiness. Some roasted malts with a bitter ending.

Very dark ruby red, almost brown pour, with a very thin tan head that leaves quickly. Aroma is a light mixture of vanilla, mocha, hazelnut, and brown sugar. Flavor is a lot of vanilla with some roasted malts and a very bitter coffee finish. Almost tastes like a root beer float. Very thin and in dire need of more flavor.

Rated while drinking: Pours a dark burgundy with brown highlights. An extremely small off-white head quickly dissipates and leaves big ol’ bubbles. Smells of roasted malt, herbs and something metallic like. My nose kind of chokes on the smell. Tastes mainly like roasted unsalted nuts. Not much else going on in there... Vanilla beans? Non-existent. Aftertaste lingers for a while. Palate hardly has any carbonation and it’s real real watery the whole time. Seems like someone took water and dumped some roasted malt extract in there and called it a beer. Easy to pass this one up.

12 ounce bottle from Beers of the World in Rochester, NY (June 2007), served from a Chouffe tulip at cellar temperature. A gigantic smooth tan large-bubbled head spews forth, filling 9/10 of the glass and me with dread (infection?); as it dies the glass is left smooth, and a hazy molasses liquid is revealed.....the aroma isn’t problematic, at least, although it is quite weak: vanilla and nuts, no surprise, but pretty low-dosage; perhaps a bit grapy as it warms up....dull, light, faintly chocolaty, grapy and a touch sour in the body, hints of rather old, not quite rancid nuts, no vanilla really, malts are barely in evidence....fruity, stale finish and milky, undercarbonated mouthfeel. umm, no.

A dark clear brown with a thin light moka head. A pleasant aroma of vanilla and light chocolate. In mouth, a rather light caramel with vanilla beans. Overall, rather thin. Bought at Party Source.

Tap at Spuyten Duyvil: Pours deep brown with ruby at the edges topped by a tan head. This stuff is weird. The aroma is very enticing with a unique yet distinct vanilla bean quality as well as coffee & truffle. The flavor upfront is roasty with hints of peat and toasty vanilla bean; with a coffeeish middle. The later flavors are out of balance and a bit vinegar like. Everything in there seems to be extract-like; nothing is natural about it. This stuff was close to being ok.

(bottle - 12 oz) Very dark ruby red, almost brown pour, with a very thin tan head that leaves quickly. Aroma is a light mixture of vanilla, mocha, hazelnut, and brown sugar. Flavor is a lot of vanilla with some roasted malts and a very bitter coffee finish. Almost tastes like a root beer float. Very thin and in dire need of more flavor.