Urca Vanilla Porter - Dry Dock Brewing Co.

chugalug06

Colorado

3.66/5  rDev -7.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75

Great mound of fluffy tan head grown on thin black fluid. Lacing is voluptuous.

Vanilla , smoke, nutty, milky, chocolate. Slightly too hazelnutty.

Thin, sweet, underwhelming. Carbonation is much lighter than I expected. Milky, nutty, vanilla is not in sugary quantities, Chocolate flavor is dry and lasting and well buried in the vanilla. Nuts are nice, just not hazel varieties. (see aroma, too much hazelnut)

Cheers, this one is worthy @ $7/22oz. Recommended for the hazelnut lover.

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2013 02:50:21 | More by chugalug06

UCLABrewN84

California

3.65/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Purchased at Argonaut Liquor in Denver, CO.

Pours an opaque dark brown with a 1 inch beige head that fades to an oily cap. Random patches of lacing form on the glass on the drink down. Smells of vanilla beans, vanilla ice cream, and vanilla coffee creamer. Taste is of vanilla beans, vanilla extract, and roasted malts. There is a slight roasty bitterness after each sip that lingers on the palate. Good carbonation with a crisp and clean mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good porter with a better vanilla smell than taste. I am glad I got to try this one.

Serving type: bottle

06-25-2011 04:43:13 | More by UCLABrewN84

ArrogantB

Colorado

3.58/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

This was definitely more brown than black which surprised me since the naked porter was indeed black. The smell was vanilla but the taste was so much vanilla that I thought I was drinking a cream soda (Big Red!). This was interesting but I much preferred the naked porter.

Serving type: on-tap

11-15-2009 04:44:56 | More by ArrogantB

brentk56

North Carolina

3.35/5  rDev -15.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Appearance: Pours a fudge brown color with a rocky head that leaves a pretty nice curtain of lace behind

Smell: Vanilla beans scraped from the pod; hints of chocolate and grain underneath

Taste: The vanilla is very strong, up front, but by mid-palate, there is a grainy, tobacco-like element that joins the profile; after the swallow, the vanilla really dominates, however

Mouthfeel: Light to medium body with moderate carbonation; a bit light for the style

Overall: Love the smell and love the concept but am not crazy about this beer as the vanilla that smell so good on the nose just dominates everything on the tastebuds; I would like to see more porter flavors to balance out the vanilla

Serving type: bottle

09-04-2011 19:52:29 | More by brentk56

kojevergas

California

3.28/5  rDev -17.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

1 pint 6 fl oz brown bottle glass with standard pressure cap served into a New Belgium pilsner glass in high altitude Fort Collins, Colorado. Reviewed live. Expectations are above average.

Served refrigerator cold and allowed to warm over the course of consumption. Side-poured with standard vigor as no carbonation issues are anticipated.

A: Pours a two finger head of fairly decent cream, nice thickness, and good retention. Colour is a solid nontransparent black. No yeast particles are visible. No bubble show.

Sm: Heavy vanilla, some cream, light roast, and a dark malt foundation. A moderate strength aroma.

T: Heavy vanilla, cream soda, some cream, and a dark malt foundation. Some nice layering. Not horribly complex or subtle, but certainly pleasant and enjoyable. It's a nice little beer. I do like it. Well balanced and pretty well built for the style.

Mf: Smooth and wet. Nicely thick for the style. Apt for a porter. Adequate carbonation. Nicely moderate on the palate.

Dr: A nicely drinkable little beer. I like it, but it does need work. It's a nice little Vanilla Porter, and is pleasant considering its aims. I'd have it again. I'm growing increasingly excited about Dry Dock's beers. This was my first, but I look forward to trying more.

Low B-

Serving type: bottle

06-07-2012 04:33:27 | More by kojevergas

radioscooter

Pennsylvania

3.13/5  rDev -21%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Got this in my first BIF (Thanks Lambic lady) and was so excited to try it I popped it in the fridge and 4 hours later - here I am. Just came off of a Founders KBS which i did NOT like. I love me some sweet vanilla stout (STCB) so let's get this show off the road.

Appearance is perfect. Pitch black body, staggered cafe au lait head that sits about a finger up after an aggro pour.

Smell is some flowery vanilla and hops. Hmm. It's a porter so I'm good with it. But it is claiming EXTREME vanilla so - I am unconvinced.

Tastes surprisingly dry and the vanilla is right there, but floral. I'd love to have this on tap. A bit dry, the flowery vanilla lingers on after the dry porter goes down. Tastes more floral than beans would suggest.

It is what it says it is - a vanilla porter. But I think vanilla needs some more sweet to go with it. Just like cocoa does. Coffee can stand bitter on its own. Vanilla and Chocolate NEED more sweet. This needs more cream and sweet.

Also too carbonated. A bit too bubbly for the style and for me.

It's an odd choice for a porter. I love vanilla mixed with the creaminess of a milk stout or stout. But with a dry porter it is a rough fit.

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2011 03:08:28 | More by radioscooter

Beaver13

Colorado

3.03/5  rDev -23.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

22 oz bottle. Pours dark brown with a small creamy light tan head that quickly goes to a thin film and leaves a little lacing.

The aroma is sweet perfumey vanilla, some wood and some roasted chocolate malts. Smells a bit like lodgepole pines.

The flavor is lots of sweet vanilla with some roasted malts. The mouthfeel is light to medium bodied and a bit watery.

Overall, a bit thin and too much sweet vanilla for me. Better than Breck's though.

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2013 05:23:14 | More by Beaver13

brdc

Wisconsin

2.5/5  rDev -36.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Had this one on tap at the brewery.

Dark brown, nice head, some lacing.
Aroma is heavy on the vanilla, and unfortunately, most other notes are just pushed aside by the vanilla.
Somewhat thin, on the palate it again shows massive doses of vanilla, and the other expected porter notes are nowhere to be found.
It gets very sweet and cloying after a while, and although I tried, could not finish this one.

Serving type: on-tap

11-01-2010 22:42:13 | More by brdc