Thomas Creek Stillwater Vanilla Cream Ale

Brewed by Thomas Creek Brewery
Style: Cream Ale
Greenville, South Carolina USA

Date: 12/30/2003
Mode: Draft
Source: Summits - Cumming

hazy yellow, thin white head, lots of vanilla aroma, light malt, strong vanilla flavor, dry bitter finish, drinkable to the end

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 5/10; Flavor: 5/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 10/20
Rating: 2.9/5.0
Score: *4
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(Draught) Pours a golden body with a medium-sized white head. Aroma of sweet mlat and candy sugar. Flavor of cream soda and mild sweet tarts. Interesting spin on a cream ale.

12oz bottle acquired in trade with Suttree (thanks!). Poured a medium and slightly hazy golden color with a smaller sized white head. Aromas were hard to pick out and were all on the faint side. I eventually could get very light vanilla and some graininess. Tastes of vanilla (a lot stronger than the aroma) and sweet malts. Fizzy and lively body.

on tap-pours a white head with gold color. Aroma is vanilla cream. Taste is vanilla cream. Good carbonation. Nice to try.

Bottle from Capone’s. Hazy dark straw pour with 1-finger whitish heas, and some floaties (this one is bottle conditioned). The aroma was a fairly pleasant corn flakey malt, coupled with citrus, hops, and vanilla beans. The flavor was sour malty, citric, with a decent vanilla hit, and some creaminess in the finish. A bit too tart for my taste, and not vanilla enough. I’d actually prefer a more cream soda flavor to the rather tart, mellow vanilla I got here. Not horrible, but probably not one I’d buy again.

Bottle: Pale golden hue with a nice frothy head and some lace. The nose shows vanilla beans, crystal malt, some obscure fruit esters and a whole lot of medicinal vapours. The taste is a fake vanilla over syrupy sweet malts with a quick but subdued fruit tone. The mouth feel is soft and cardboardy, dry and bland. BLAH BARF YUCK, you get the point. Again, how is this brewery still in business?

Poured a clear yellow with a small white head. Aroma of malt with a touch of paper and vanilla. Light flavor again some malt and just a touch of vanilla. If they didn’t say it was in there I probably would have missed it. Light body.

2005 bottle from suttree, thanks a million man! Consumed on 12/1/05. Seems like a good enough holiday beer. Pours a mix between pencil yellow and white-gold, with some light tangerine hues and a very foamy head consisting of large bubbles. Plenty of carbonation, and as the head recedes to a light cover and ring, there is light, spotty lacing. Aroma gives away no vanilla, but plenty of lemon icing, angel food cake, touches of bitterness and a light creamy sweetness, not quite as distinct as honey. Flavor begins with the vanilla quite apparent, though tastefully done. Just a mildly sweet note mixed in with creamy, pale malt-like sugariness, moderate, unobtrusive carbonation and a fair amount of lemon-like notes. Light bitterness builds on the palate, not sure if it is hop bitterness or not. Reminds me of vanilla-cake, but there is enough barley character to stand up to it. Refreshing, and the vanilla never becomes a problem. The only problem I found was a strange, not quite medicinal, but perhaps plasticy quality on the very finish. Not too apparent or disconcerting, but enough to make me question the type of vanilla used. Medium-light body, but no significant thinning. Lightly watery, touch of creaminess in the texture.