Dark Side Vanilla Porter - Empyrean Brewing Company

Gruntlumber

Missouri

4/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I must get a six pack of this every time I visit the Lincoln/Omaha area. It's uniquely different without being too over-the-top. The vanilla flavor is balanced perfectly, not overly syrupy like some flavored beers turn out to be. A very solid offering from Empyrean who has a nice lineup of brews; if only they had some decent distribution...

Serving type: bottle

03-21-2005 05:13:09 | More by Gruntlumber

LuckySevens82

Florida

3.38/5  rDev -8.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

12 oz bottle courtesy of babydoc.
Pours a deep brown with a surprisingly white head. Not much lacing, but a loosely interconnected ring of white bubbles encircles the top of the beer.
Smell is kind of strange. I was expecting a very strong vanilla, which is there, but not nearly as strong as I would have thought. In addition, there is a noticeable hop aroma and a little bit of roasted malt. Burnt sugar lies in there somewhere as well.
Taste is also not as strong as I was expecting. Hop bitterness, caramel, a little bit of roasted malt, and of course vanilla (although, I am really only noticing the vanilla in the after taste).
The mouthfeel on this is also odd. It coats the tongue, which I like, but it's almost like drinking melted ice cream (not so much in taste, but in texture). It's not a bad thing, just an odd feeling from a beer.
Overall, a very interesting beer to say the least, I don't think I could drink more than one in a sitting though.

Serving type: bottle

02-26-2005 02:07:04 | More by LuckySevens82

swid

Missouri

3.9/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

The Dark Side Vanilla Porter pours very dark brown, and is almost completely opaque. A1/4" head appears, disappears just as quickly. No lacing and light carbonation. A wonderful variety of smells emanate from this porter: vanilla, pine, and a faint whiff of chocolate.

Although the vanilla dominates initially, other flavors pop up soon after: roasted coffee, a hint of chocolate, bitterness from the hops. The taste of this beer improves as it warms up. The Dark Side feels a bit dry on the mouth, and is rather light. Leaves a roasted and mildly bitter aftertaste.

Somehow this beer is, for me, less than the sum of its parts. The Dark Side is well-regarded here in Lincoln, and is still worth checking out. This is a beer I'll enjoy every so often, but not on a regular basis.

Serving type: bottle

10-27-2004 03:40:51 | More by swid

alexgash

Connecticut

3.53/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I think this is the first (and only?) Nebraska beer I've ever had. Picked it up on my drive from Utah to Minnesota. Pours a dark amber-brown with a creamy tan head; good lacing. Gives off an aroma of roasted coffee and vanilla beans. There's also some sweet milk chocolate. The vanilla is so obvious that it reminds me of a bottle of vanilla extract.
Taste starts with sweet, roasted malts. Vanilla syrup's there too, and a roasty, coffee bitterness rounds out the palate. Finish is bitter with the vanilla notes lingering. Full-bodied feel that approaches cloying in the vanilla department. Altogether, not bad, and certainly better than the Aspen Meadows vanilla cream stout...blech.

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2004 21:47:41 | More by alexgash

Loki

North Carolina

3.68/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Sampled from a 12oz bottle thanks to fellow BA bditty187.

Appearance: Pitch black body with a huge cream head that left blotches of lacing all around the glass. Good head retention.

Smell: One word - Vanillia. Large vanilla scent dominates the profile that holds malt, esters, and some hints of fruits. This is the vanilla scent all those candles and airfresheners strive for, or at least they should.

Taste: Whoa, backoff on the vanilla will you? The taste starts as if sucking on a vanilla bean (in my mind at least, I've never actually tried that.) Over the top vanilla almost completely mask the malt and fruit undertones.To vanilla sweet for my tastes, but a very interesting flavor.

The mouthfeel was just plain weird. I don't know if my mouth went into shock from all the vanilla or what happened, but it was hard to discribe and I didn't really enjoy it. It was a dry sweet with a weird carbonation and some other oddities. Strange. Not to drinkable because of the over the top vanilla and strange mouthfeel, but if you really like vanilla and sweet this might be for you.

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2003 16:17:31 | More by Loki

StevieW

Florida

3.83/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

12 oz bottle. Smooth darker than brown, probably black color. Think tight wispy beige head. Heavy on the vanilla smell, Breyers Vanilla Bean Ice Cream in a glass. Subtle roasted malt smells associated with Porters. Taste is evely done. Vanilla flavor is very pronounced and right up front. Like the smells the vanilla takes over and the porter flavors get pushed to the back. Still balanced and even but mostly sweet and slick. Tends to get a touch toward watery and loses some points on feel and drinkability. Slick sweetness lingers on the tongue. First few tastes are attention getting and solid. Rightly classified as a spice beer and not a porter, the vanilla dominates this one. Still very good an worth a try. Tip of the hat to bditty187 for the bottle. From my notes way back when (Sampled May 12, 2003.)

Serving type: bottle

07-24-2003 00:04:36 | More by StevieW

far333

Connecticut

3.35/5  rDev -9.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Dark brown, nearly black with a light brown head. The head started very small, and then shrunk to nothing, and left no lacing on the glass. Aroma is strong, and is unmistakably vanilla. Mouthfeel is a bit slick, and the flavor is full on strong vanilla. Subtle hints of chocolate, some roasted malt, but very very sweet vanilla. Vanilla flavor is smooth and even, but leaves little room for anything else, and is way too sweet for me.

Serving type: bottle

06-28-2003 05:52:19 | More by far333

GeoffRizzo

Texas

3.28/5  rDev -11.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A deep yet bright brown in color, some roasted malts detected on the nose. Awesome light roasted coffee beans, slight vanilla on the palate. Nothing fancy, medium bodied with a smokey finish, decent flavor maintains throughout. Pretty good.
Thanks to a good friend ditty187, mask and all.

Serving type: bottle

06-14-2003 21:11:26 | More by GeoffRizzo

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

3.83/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a clear, crimson-tinted deep mahogany body with a long standing and creamy off-white head. Lacing about the glass, unfortunately, is limited (possibly due to the oily nature of the real vanilla beans?). The nose delivers a combination of almond and vanilla over a chocolate-tinged caramel malt base that's welcoming but not necessarily natural. The body is light/medium and it's lightly creamy and quite smooth across the palate. In the flavor caramel and almond appear up-front with some chocolate and vanilla following mid-palate. It's a very soft beer that has the beautiful balance of not being sweet, but not necessarily being balanced by an underlying bitterness either. It's subtle and smooth with the exception of the way that the vanilla extract stands out as it warms. It finishes much as it starts, soft and smooth with a note of vanilla that just seems to slip away. Overall, it's a well-made and interesting beer.

Serving type: bottle

06-12-2003 15:01:36 | More by NeroFiddled

stegmakk

New York

4/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured a nice dark brown amber in light...dark tan head...not much lacing...
Aroma was very mild chocolate malt...
Taste...at first it tasted like a normal porter...I had to let it sit to room temp...then i started sipping again and you could then taste the vanilla...not overpowering but you can taste it from start to finish...mixed with the choc/coffe flavor of malts...makes a good beer however I feel this mix of vanilla and porter is good...but a better job could have been done
Overall still a good beer...I would buy some more if i could...but not as frequently as some others

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2003 10:38:33 | More by stegmakk

gpflepsen

Nebraska

4.47/5  rDev +20.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I can concur with the previous reviewers on this great vanilla porter. I will dissent on only one aspect from them.

I will review the Dark Side Vanilla Porter from Empyrean Ales on draught from the brewhouse/restaurant Laslo's, as I notice others have reviewed the bottled version.

Very little head resides on this beer. By the time it makes it to the table it is gone but for a light ring at the edge. The color is very dark and clear, not murky in the least. The nose brings a blend of vanilla and chocolate. Over the tongue, the first impact is again vanilla followed by a smooth chocolate malt and an ever so slight bitter hops finish. Not much coffee to speak of. An air of vanilla still lingers in the nose.

Fresh from the tap on premises, this is a very smooth porter and dare I say a good candidate for the beginner in the realm of porters. Very smooth and refined. I return often just to have another pint.

To wrap this up, I finally bought a six-pack from the supermarket to have at home. The bottled version easily loses .25 to .5 ratings points from the draught type. The only improvement in the bottled Dark Side is the appearance of head. The vanilla essence is very subdued, as is the chocolate malt. A coffee taste is evident and a very pronounced hops finish is made known. Everything making the tap Vanilla Porter is absent in the bottled variety.

To compare the tap and bottled version is difficult. They are different enough that a blind test would hardly show them to be the "same" beer.

I would welcome the other reviewers to compare the tap and bottled versions of this beer.

Serving type: on-tap

06-04-2003 19:35:08 | More by gpflepsen

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

3.53/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Dark, earthy brown color, lighter 'round the sides, with a grand, lasting, creamy head. Aroma: smack-full of vanilla, with some roasty elements, and additional flavors of nuts, cocoa, and more.
It stuff my nose in the glass to further get a feel for it, and then I'm left with a touch of rum...no, rum & coke...no, rum & vanilla coke? (Has anyone seen Chazz Palmentieri around?)
Vanilla feel is dominant on the palate, and while there is some of the bitterness I look for in any good porter, it's lying very low. All other parts of the picture do their job very well, but it's the particular vanilla flavor that this beer is all about, and it never quits. So, if you like vanilla, here you go. Me, I like porter-flavored porters.
Not bad, but it was too much vanilla for me. Thanks go to bditty187 for providing!

Serving type: bottle

05-01-2003 12:45:05 | More by feloniousmonk

Morris729

Texas

3.98/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a very dark reddish brown color with a creamy light tan colored head that fades into a good amount of lace. Nose is rich malts and fresh vanilla beans. Medium in body and very smooth and creamy in texture. Taste is sweet malts and vanilla infused cream. Hop bitterness is at a minimum, but this beer is fine being sweet and unbalanced. A fine choice for an after-dinner drink or as a nightcap. Thanks to bditty187 for the sample!

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2003 21:03:22 | More by Morris729

jtw5877

Ohio

3.98/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a deep brown, with garnet tones when held up to light. Thin white head that didn't really last too long. Tastes very good, a malty backbone with subtle vanilla tastes and aromas, not alot of hops, but with the addition of vanilla you don't really need them. A very enjoyable beer Thanks and Merry Christmas to bditty187.

Serving type: bottle

12-09-2002 14:54:39 | More by jtw5877

bditty187

Nebraska

3.7/5  rDev 0%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Blackish-red hue with a foamy head, very tiny with no retention. The nose is vanilla with malt undertones; very nice. The flavors on the palate are, not surprisingly, vanilla but by no means is it overwhelming or overpowering. There are some healthy toasted malt notes (kind of like bittersweet chocolate). This is a very nice porter, fairly robust, good consistency… enjoyable.

I wanted to drop a Star Wars joke in my review, you know, Dark Side… Darth Vader… The Empire… ah, hell…

Serving type: bottle

12-05-2002 17:00:11 | More by bditty187