Landmark Vanilla Bean Brown Ale

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

I liked it! The big, tight, light brown head overflowed the glass. Dark brown, translucent. A mellow, roasted malt flavor was nicely balanced with the hops. Slightly more hearty than the English Brown Ale style. The vanilla was subtle, barely detectable. I found it smooth with a pleasant malt aftertaste.

March 6, 2007; 12 oz. bottle. Sixer purchased for $7.99 at the Nice & Easy convenience store in Sangerfield, NY. First I’ve laid eyes on this relatively-local brew. The vanilla factor is quite evident in the aroma, and can’t say I like it. Looks and tastes a bit like Coca-Cola (really!), but the finish falls flat. Have to wonder what the thinking was behind this one.

This would be a boring brown ale if it wasn’t for the vanilla. A little bland and soapy tasting, but notes of chocolate and vanilla and some nuts.

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.

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.

A really sweet beer with the definite immediate taste of vanilla but it does have a somewhat bitter aftertaste. Really not much of a head when poured out of the bottle. a really nice brown color but not murky. All in all, not a bad brew

12oz. bottle. When I saw this on the shelves at Premier I was very excited, but after downing the pint I left rather disappointed. This beer poured a rich dark brown and produced a minimal /4 inch light tan head. The aroma is slightly sweet, roasted, and chard. There is no real flavor in this brew; definitely no vanilla. There is some earthiness and malts, but not much else. Overall, it is bland and very thin on substance.

Being partial to vanilla, this beer is a big hit with me. The vanilla aroma hits you immediately and is prominent in your mouth. This is a great beer to savor and won’t break the bank when you stock-up.