Victory At Sea Coffee Vanilla Imperial Porter - Ballast Point Brewing Company

nomomentwasted

Oregon

4.22/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

Had this on-tap at O'Brien's pub in a pint glass. Tapped a new keg today and bailed on class so I could try this one that has been on my list for quite some time. And it's a full pint too! Huzzah O'Briens!

Appearance: Black. Dark. Like coffee. I have a feeling I'll be saying that a lot, but it's really dark, almost no light escapes. The tap was a little headless though, and so that's the only knock on the otherwise splendid appearance.

Smell: Big nose of huge malty texture, slight bitterness and, oh yeah, coffee. Slight tinge of vanilla in the nose, but really muted and less than I expected from a coffee vanilla porter. Aromatic, big, and pleasing.

Taste: Coffee, burnt malty flavors, and stout, porter back end. I tried hard to get the vanilla here, but it's not too big. Definitely very little boozy quality though, and less than the Stone 12th, which was my comparison beer for this one. Really, really coffee-y though, and reminded me of a more porter-take on the Speedway Stout from Alesmith. Pleasant, but not mind-blowing either. Don't get me wrong, loved the taste, just not exactly as complex as I'd hoped.

Mouthfeel: Creamy and full, and not watery while not boozy either, which is a tough line to walk for big, dark beers.

Drinkability: I knock it slightly as I couldn't imagine drinking much more than I did of it as far as a pint goes, it's simply a little too filling. On the enjoyability, however, fantastic, and well worth seeking out. Looking forward to having this in the future aged in the bottle as well and see how it matures.

Serving type: on-tap

08-13-2009 03:47:58 | More by nomomentwasted

glid02

Georgia

4.2/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Had on-tap.

Pours black with a one-finger tan head. The head recedes into a wispy layer on top leaving solid lacing.

Smells of roasted malts with good amounts of semi-sweet chocolate and vanilla.

Tastes similar to how it smells. Roasted malt flavors up front are joined by semi-sweet chocolate almost immediately. Midway through the sip smooth vanilla flavors join the fray and carry through until a bitter chocolate ending. The vanilla flavors manage to linger for a bit.

Mouthfeel is good. The thickness is very nice with soft carbonation. As it warms it becomes smoother.

Drinkability is great. I finished my glass rather quickly and could have a few more.

Overall this was a very good Imperial Porter. I have to say I didn't get a whole lot of coffee flavors out of this, but the beer did just fine without them. Worth a shot.

Serving type: on-tap

08-05-2009 03:42:27 | More by glid02

CosmoHopHead

Kansas

4.43/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: poured black as night with almost no head at all.

S: smells wonderful. like yummy vanilla coffee from your favorite coffee shop. BIG aroma!

T: tastes like smells actually. Coffee comes through a little more when drinking but you can still sense the vanilla.

M: silky smooth and velvety. A little heavy with good carbonation.

D: A sipper but drinkable for 10% abv. As it warms up in the glass it tasted even better. Would love to get another bottle for the winter time.

Would definitely buy again and very much recommend.

Serving type: bottle

08-03-2009 22:54:39 | More by CosmoHopHead

cullen0013

South Carolina

4.68/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I have had this beer twice now. Purchased my first growler at the Charleston Beer Exchange several months ago and immediately decided that it was the best beer I'd ever had. A second growler purchased roughly a week ago reaffirmed my first impression. This is a high gravity porter with a complex flavor. The nose is heavy on the vanilla with a strong presence of alcohol. The taste is pure coffee initially, it's only after your tongue is coated that the vanilla kicks in. Deep, dark black with a khaki head, wonderful aroma, excellent taste, velvety mouthfeel. As far as drinkability goes, this beer is as rich as it is delicious and should be enjoyed slowly and sparingly.

Serving type: growler

07-21-2009 19:49:03 | More by cullen0013

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

4.15/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Appearance: Pours a dark brown, near black body with a wispy, fairly small-sized, beige head.

Smell: Deeply roasty nose with some possible perceived hints of added black patent malt as well as eager, oh-so inviting notes of everyone's favorite: coffee, vanilla, and chocolate.

Taste: Dark, roasted malt flavor with a double shot of espresso, chocolate, and reasonably strong, smooth accents of vanilla beans. Subtly sweet. Earthy, predominately roasty bitterness present, particularly as it begins to grow in charred malt qualities upon slight warming. Drying, roasty finish with one last, final departing touch of vanilla.

Mouthfeel: Medium-full body. Medium carbonation.

Drinkability: I enjoyed this one. It's about as smooth as a man with a pencil-thin mustache. The listed ABV% was never an issue at all.

Serving type: on-tap

07-10-2009 22:45:06 | More by ChainGangGuy

Viggo

Ontario (Canada)

4.4/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

22 oz bottle, big thanks to dyan and DRINKNDRIVE for the hookup.

Pours a deep and opaque black, some ruby red highlights, thick tan head forms, drops down to a thin ring around the glass, some lacing sticks, and great retention. Smell is real nice, vanilla and chocolate, caramel, burnt sugar, dark fruit, milk, lactose sweetness, honey/nougat, touch of coffee roast, really rich. Taste is similar, very nice, vanilla up front, toffee, lactose sweetness, burnt brown sugar, chocolate and some coffee roast, dark fruit/raisins, very malty, nougat finish, touch more roast in the back. Mouthfeel is medium to full bodied, low to medium carbonation, some warmth going down but ABV is well hidden. Awesome beer, reminds me of an imperial version of Aphrodisiaque from DDC. Thanks guys!

Serving type: bottle

07-03-2009 19:37:54 | More by Viggo

barnzy78

Illinois

4.43/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

22oz. Poured near-black with a light brown head that left decent lacing on the glass. Aromas were of bold coffee, roasted grains, vanilla, chocolate, and maybe some oak. Mouth-feel was medium bodied. Tastes were bold up-front coffee and roasted malts with notes of dark chocolate and vanilla. Also some hints of fruity esters - maybe some ripe dark fruits, although fairly faint. Alcohol was present, but balanced well with the flavors. Finished sweet with a lingering of sweet cocoa and espresso. Basically, this was a good interpretation of going with something different and thinking outside of the box. Worth the try if you can find it.

Serving type: bottle

07-03-2009 03:42:39 | More by barnzy78

grub

Ontario (Canada)

4.45/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Viggo shared this treat. thanks eric!

22oz bottle. sampled july 1/09.

pours deep dark brown, not quite black, with a few pale brown highlights around the edges. the layer of dense brown head drops slowly and always seems to maintain at least a ring around the glass. spotty lace.

aroma is great. dark and milk chocolate. coffee. vanilla. caramel and toffee. bit of butterscotch. toasted whole wheat bread and biscuit. bit of cracker. light alcohol. nice light sweetness. bit of earthy character too.

taste is great. black coffee. dark and milk chocolate. vanilla. warming alcohol. caramel and toffee. nice light sweetness. just a touch of roast, but it comes across more as coffee and chocolate. dark toasted whole wheat bread. biscuit. bit of cracker. just under medium bitterness level, again more coffee and chocolate than hoppy.

mouthfeel is good. fairly big body. just under medium carbonation level.

drinkability is great. excellent balance. the alcohol feels a bit warm at first, but it mellows out as it warms. nice depth and complexity. love the coffee and vanilla, really complimenting the base beer. vanilla is often overdone, but this one is just right to me. great stuff.

Serving type: bottle

07-01-2009 18:56:24 | More by grub

AltBock

Ohio

4.6/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

22 oz. bomber bottle with one cool slick black label. This black label has a sweet ass drawing of a pirate skeleton at the ship's wheel trying to steer his ghostly ship out of a hurricane. You can tell he's a pirate because he has the pirate standard long hair, a tri cornered hat, and he has his skeleton parrot on his shoulder. Above and below the pirate is the name of beer and brewery in bold blood red letters. To the far left of the label is where you can find all the mandatory US information and a picture of a ballast. To the far right of the label is the name of the coffee company and a long description of the beer. The only thing missing on this label is a brewed on date or vintage year.

Appearance: Pouring this beer into a Snifter would have been nice, but I decided to pour this Imperial Porter into my Sly Fox Imperial pint glass. This Ballast Point poured a bone chilling black as heavely coffee beans and as thick as crude oil. This beer is so black that you have to careful raising this glass up against any kind light source. This beer was so damn black that when I held it into my lamp, light bounced right off the beer and back into the light bulb almost causing the light bulb to explode it into a million pieces. Not only was the color impressive, but the head of foam as well. The initial head of foam was a good 2 inches in height and dark mocha in color. This dark mocha head of foam had excellent super slow retention that left behind an everlasting ¾ of mocha skim of foam and an insane amount of sticky streaks of lace around the glass. If you want to stare into utter darkness and you don't want to get up off the couch to flip off the light switch, then pour a glass of Victory At Sea.

Smell: If you ever visited a coffee shop before and smelled their finest most expensive coffee beans, then you already know what this Coffee Porter is going to smell like. This Porter was just bursting at the seams with fine heavily roasted coffee beans! This scent of coffee beans was so strong that there wasn't much of anything else backing up all of the coffee beans. The only thing my nose was able to pick was a subtle and I mean subtle whiff of French vanilla. I love the scent of coffee as much as the next coffee fan, but more of variety in the nose would have been nice.

Taste: If you think that the aroma put the word "coffee" into "Imperial Coffee Stout," then wait till you wrap your lips around this beer. If can't tell what this beer is going to taste like from the thick roasted coffee aroma, then let me tell you. The taste was thick, dry, and heavily roasted with some fine and expensive roasted coffee beans, a gentle touch of bitter dark chocolate, and a tiny little speck of French vanilla at the roasted coffee finish line. It was great where this beer stood, but a little more French vanilla would have made this beer even better, if that's possible. If you love the taste of coffee, then put down your cup of coffee and pour this Coffee Stout into your beer glass immediately!

Mouthfeel: This beer wasn't going to mask anything. This was a clearly a full bodied Imperial Porter with a low level of carbonation, and a full flavored roasted aftertaste. This long lasting aftertaste contained a ton of dry roasted coffee beans, a pinch of bitter dark chocolate, and a subtle hint of French vanilla. This aftertaste was so thick that it was take at least 2 liters of water to wash away the aftertaste. I could feel a little bit of the 10% ABV, but not enough where you could actually tell that it was a high ABV% beer.

Drinkability: Imperial Porter? You know it! Filled with coffee? You bet your ass it is! Vanilla? Sure, I'll give them that one. Delicious? Yep! This beer is a must have for all of you coffee drinkers or the type of people who enjoy a delicious craft beer. I wish I had bought more than one bottle of this great beer. Well, live and learn.

Serving type: bottle

07-01-2009 01:14:04 | More by AltBock

GatorBeerNerd

Georgia

4.25/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

22 oz bottle purchased at Bruisin Ales. Poured into a 22 oz Terrapin snifter.

A: Pours a extremely dark brown with ruby highlights around the edges. Nice looking cocoa colored head that didnt last very long before settling to a ring. That ring leaves a little bit of lacing.

S: This beer smells incredible. Huge vanilla aroma that is mixed with a huge coffee aroma. There is a bit of roasted malt aroma in the background as well.

T: Coffee seems a bit more prominent in the flavor but the vanilla is still the star of the show. There was a bit of a boozy kick that seemed to become less aggressive as it warmed up.

M: Unbelievably smooth and creamy in the mouth. Perfect carbonation level. Medium to thick body.

D: After letting it warm just a bit more, it was much easier to drink because the alcohol edge seemed to mellow. For a 10% big flavored beer like this, it still disappears faster than you would expect.

Serving type: bottle

06-25-2009 03:42:17 | More by GatorBeerNerd

tai4ji2x

Massachusetts

4.03/5  rDev -8.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22oz bomber. no date found. poured into tulip. tasted in mid/late april 2009

opaque black, with some red-brown tints under the light or when tilting glass. light brown, 1.5-finger head, slowly recedes to wispy layer and ring. multiple, though sometimes thin, rings of lace.

aroma: lots of vanilla and coffee, with cocoa hint, caramel and lightly roasted malts give faint earthy note underneath, along with hint of hops. a bit simple, but bold and fragrant.

taste: bold coffee and roast, with vanilla to back up the caramel, though it can be slightly over-assertive. bitterness is almost quite bold. acidic coffee flash before bitter coffee finish, with more vanilla tones.

medium body, ever so slightly thin, with syrupy smoothness at first, then lots of acidity and some astringent texture. moderate carbonation gives tingle upfront, then back off to help give body.

Serving type: bottle

06-21-2009 07:32:51 | More by tai4ji2x

Bitterbill

Wyoming

4.5/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Bottle courtesy of the generous trader known as russpowell. Thanks Russ!

This pours a near pitch black with about an inch of tan foam. The foam is receding fairly quickly and at this point there's some lacing.

The smell is very big vanilla! Vanilla and caramel malt sweetness. I can't say I smell any coffee at all...maybe that will change during the session.

The taste doesn't hide the coffee at all. Big flavourful notes of coffee and vanilla dominate and dominate in a very nice way. Very tasty. I get a light chocolate flavour as well with some caramel malt sweetness. Overall, the taste is ruled by bitterness but the malt and vanilla hang in there big time. Oh, there's the alcohol now, not so much in the taste but definitely gives a nice warming after the swallow.

It has a pretty thich chewy mouthfeel to it and the carbonation is on the light side but perfectly suited. At this point, the foam and lacing gone.

Drinkability? I'm not going to kid anyone and say I could drink this all night long but hell, it *is* damn drinkable for the strength of this monster and I think the collaberation between the vanilla and coffee works oh so well. A real treat to drink and one I'd look forward to trying again. Wonderful brew!

Serving type: bottle

06-19-2009 22:43:45 | More by Bitterbill

callmemickey

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

An exceptional brew that blew my mind... it was an unexpected treat that involved me asking the bartender "what the hell style is that beer" to which she responded "i have no idea, let check it out" ... poured to sampler glasses... i took one swig and said "yeah, uhh... i'll take a full glass please"

A: Dark brown/black body.. moderate khaki head.. nice coating on the glass.

S: Bam! Vanilla. Bourbon. Chocalate. Roasted Coffee. Rich caramel. Slight oak. Booze. Cola.

T: Yeah it tasted like the nose! A frigging smörgåsbord of incredible flavors. Blended to perfection. Each flavor popped yet didn't drown out the others. At 12+ the booze was present in a way which accentuated the flavors rather that killing the tastebuds.

M: Medium-heavy on the palate. Good finish. Nice carbonation. Delicate for such a big beer.

D: Something about porters make me struggle... but this one was rather remarkable...

Serving type: on-tap

06-19-2009 11:48:19 | More by callmemickey

jmalex

Pennsylvania

3.78/5  rDev -14.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Ballast Point has really exploded onto the scene in the past 6 months or so and I was excited for the chance to buy this limited release bomber of my favorite style.

APPEARANCE: Pours into a Duvel tulip a deep black with a one-finger, tan head. It's tightly-bubbled and eventually shrinks to a full coating of foam covering the surface of the beer. Lacing is spotty and abundant the full height of the glass.

SMELL: I haven't even picked up the glass yet and I can smell the intense aroma of coffee. It really dominates the nose and doesn't let much else through. Some roasted malt and a strong hint of vanilla show through, but that's about it. Not that it's entirely a bad thing because what's here smells awesome, if just a bit overwhelming. As the beer warms though, some distinct hop aroma adds some much-needed complexity to the beer.

TASTE: The coffee gives way much more in the taste but still dominates. Chocolate and caramel make their way through initially with the coffee coming up to meet it then passing it by. A roast barley flavor comes on toward the finish giving the beer a very stout-like quality. The roastiness continues on through the finish and takes on a bittering role in conjunction with the coffee. Again as the beer warms, hops show themselves and aid in both bittering and depth of flavor.

MOUTHFEEL: Medium-full body with a lower than average carbonation. Seems just about right for style with a minor syrupiness.

DRINKABILITY: The flavors individually are all really nice, but rather than creating depth, they seem to just muddle each other up. That coupled with the fact that it's impossible to get past the coffee flavor no matter how good it is makes this more of an amalgam of tastes rather than a finely-tuned, interconnected blend. It is worth noting however that the 10% ABV is really hard to find.

I like this beer. I really did. It's really all over the place though, and I feel like I can find much more cohesive restrained examples of the style that drink much better. Worth trying for sure.

Serving type: bottle

06-17-2009 02:48:32 | More by jmalex

JohnQVegas

Tennessee

4.03/5  rDev -8.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bottle into snifter. Tasting notes from 45 degrees and up.

Pours pitch black, almost no brown showing through anywhere other than the very edges, a nice , dense one-finger light-brown head. Nice stickage, impressive lacing. After the head disappears, a few swirls are all that's needed to resurrect it.

Nose is big on espresso; robust, rich, and full, with an underlying vanilla/smooth dark chocolate sweetness. Not a bit of acidity. Wow, really nice.

Taste is pretty unique. It pretty much throws everything at you right from the beginning - big roasty espresso, loads of vanilla, and some dark, dark chocolate underneath. There's definitely a dichotomy hear between the fairly sharp, roasty bitterness and the big sweet vanilla note, with the vanilla pulling ahead around mid-palate and the espresso roaring back to dominate the long, dry, moderately bitter roasty finish. Bit boozey.

Mouthfeel is smooth, full bodied, with a crisp but reserved carbonation.

Drinkability is ok. This is definitely an "extreme" beer, in that all the flavor notes are really huge and kind of battle it out for dominance instead of syncing up and trying to work with each other. A hair less vanilla and a bit less on the bitterness scale and this one would work quite a bit better. As it is now, it's a nice beer, but it really takes no prisoners.

Serving type: bottle

06-10-2009 18:49:37 | More by JohnQVegas

weeare138

Pennsylvania

4.33/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to Josh for this one...
Appears a dark brown, nearing black with a dark tan head that slowly fades into a mild cap. Spotty bits of lacing are left around the glass.
Smell is of vanilla, coffee, cream, and warmed barbados sugar.
Taste is of the mentioned aromas with a coffe and sugary whipped cream mixed together as the main focus of flavors.
Mouthfeel is viscuous, heavy, chewy, with mild bitterness found in the swallow.

Serving type: bottle

06-10-2009 00:31:00 | More by weeare138

CoolJosh

Pennsylvania

3.85/5  rDev -12.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

generously shared by Treyrab.

Poured into a pint glass. Very small light brown khaki head. Some lacing drapes the inner glass. The body is a very dark brown head with some "TRANSLUCENCY" around the sides.

The smell is very good. Molasses, tons of roasted coffee beans, vanilla, licorice. There is a creaminess that is slightly bothering me. Tons of sweet chocolate and a little bit of caramel.

The taste is really nice and very robust. Huge roasted malts, primarily chocolate. A nice vanilla accent really plays a nice supporting role. Fairly creamy for a porter, which is a little bit discerning. Very sweet, some licorice flavors prevail on the end of this beer. Again, the roasted malts are absolutely phenomenal, but the sweetness is really bugging me out a little bit and is taking away from my appreciation. I'm very glad I got to try this beer, but don't know how regularly I could drink it.

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2009 01:53:22 | More by CoolJosh

orbitalr0x

Illinois

3.53/5  rDev -19.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Deep, dark black pour with no light getting through at all. A quarter inch of deep tan head sits atop the brew. Aromas of huge, bold fresh brewed coffee, caramel and vanilla. Roasted malts and chocolate weave in and out underneath. Smells a bit sweet.

First sip brings dark, somewhat roasted malts swimming in bold, nearly abrasive coffee along with big vanilla extract. Chocolate and caramel come through with a bit too much sweetness. The bitter coffee kicks in on the way down but it still doesn't overtake the sweetness I get from the malts and vanilla here. A bit too much of everything going on for me here.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied, creamy and smooth but with big alcohol puffs too. This is a bold brew and a bit too sweet for me, but it's a good bomber to share with a friend or two as drinking the whole thing to yourself would be a bit too much. Thanks to emerge for this one.

Serving type: bottle

06-07-2009 16:19:20 | More by orbitalr0x

joepais

Maine

3.93/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I started my morning out with this brew. Poured into a pint glass it produced a good two fingers worth of coco colored head that went to a sparse lace. The body of the brew was its obligatory black with no light coming threw at all.

The aroma of espresso and sweet chocolate were really pronounced in this brew. There was a slight bourbon vanilla smell in there as well. The flavors were interesting as well the vanilla helped cut the bitterness from the coffee and roasted malts. The feel in my mouth was medium to full with good carbonation.
This is a good brew not to spectacular I had better in this hybrid style. It is worth the try and I would not turn it down that is for sure. I killed the bomber with no problem with brunch myself so drinkability is fine

Serving type: bottle

05-31-2009 22:52:11 | More by joepais

tpd975

Florida

4.2/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to kiefdog for this treat.

A: Pours a nice dark black hue with a small fizzy head. No retention or lace noted.

S: Lots of artificial vanilla with bold notes of dark chocolate and fresh coffee.

T: Bold vanilla right from the start, a bit artifical in taste though. Bold coffee takes over the middle with mild bitter chocolate playing off the vanilla in the finish. I like this one.... would be great if the vanilla was more vanilla bean like.

M: Medium in body, smooth, tasty.

D: Good, I rather enjoyed it.

Serving type: bottle

05-29-2009 16:48:24 | More by tpd975

Jayli

Massachusetts

4.1/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This beer pours a deep brown, almost black with a 3/4 inch of brown head which recedes very quickly. Not much lacing to speak of with this one. Nose is of strong coffee, perhaps the strongest scent of coffee in a beer that I've come across, deep roasted malts, slight chocolate, caramel, and notes of vanilla are present. Taste starts of with a big coffee pop that slides in to roasted malts and chocolate, finish is more sweet with caramel, toffee and vanilla, as the beer warmed it got a bit boozy in the taste as well. Mouthfeel is full bodied, not much carbonation, creamy body with a dry finish. This is a decent beer - watch out for the abv kick, it'll catch up with you!

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2009 12:54:19 | More by Jayli

barleywinefiend

Washington

4.4/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On tap at Port Carlsbad
Poured a deep, deep brown with a tannish head. Nose is sweet, lots of vanilla and chocolate but the coffee plays a backseat and it worked well. Taste is vanilla, cocoa, roasted malt, chewy, a tad nutty with coffee in the background. Mouthfeel is creamy and rich in the mouth. Tasty, well balanced, the ABV is well hidden and this is a great brew in every area. Ballast Point is becoming one of my fav breweries for great beers like this.

Serving type: on-tap

05-27-2009 03:08:42 | More by barleywinefiend

smcolw

Massachusetts

4.35/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Great ring lace on the glass from the substantive tan head. Dark, dark brown color where no lace passes.

Lots of coffee and a little bit of cream. Basically, mocha in aroma. Low level of sweetness...reminiscent of good cocoa.

Lots of powdered chocolate in the flavor. Sweet and bitter from the malt. Rich body with a relatively low level of carbonation. Almost chewy. The aftertaste is complicated: Notable hop bitterness with some dark chocolate malt and sweet milky flavor. Deceptively high in alcohol.

Serving type: bottle

05-23-2009 00:34:58 | More by smcolw

russpowell

Oklahoma

4.15/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to corby112 & tendermorssel for sending this! Cheers Craig & Mike!

Pours a brown tinged ebony with a finger of mocha colored head. Good head retention & lacing

S: Much coffee & coffee grounds

T: Mocha, charred coffee, & a touch of vanilla, plus dryness up front, plus a tinge of booze. Smooths out a bit a it warms, vanilla, oaky dryness & a touch of toffee as this warms; the coffee fades to more pleasing level once warm. Finishes slightly astringent, with nice coffee bitterness, a wisp of vanilla, dryness & wet charred grain. Almost pulled a 4.5

MF: Very smooth up front, slightly chewy with low carbonation

Drinks very easy for the style & ABV, not the best coffee beer I've ever had, but probably top 3. Worth seeking out, nice brunch beer!

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2009 04:08:22 | More by russpowell

IBUnit63

Massachusetts

4.45/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I haven't had too much bad luck with Ballast Point stuff so let's give this Porter stuff a go. Seems like this bomber's a good candidate for the Portsmouth snifter, so that's what we'll do once I give it a few minutes to warm up.

Pours a slightly translucent Coke/espresso brown. Head is peanut colored but fades very quickly. Lacing is sparse, carbonation is...well, this is more opaque than I thought, so I can't really see squat for carbonation in the body. Not exceptionally viscous.

First thought of comparables? Founder's Breakfast Stout or Porter. This has a great coffee component here. The vanilla element is thankfully a little understated but it works very nicely - a little bitter alcoholic sting to it which is good. Copious, HUGE quantities of smooth roasted malt with little evidence of patent tannins. Hops seem to make a nice complement in their grassiness with maybe a dash of pine. This shows a hell of a lot of promise.

BOOM! The coffee is powerful as the smell at Starbucks. Malt is huge; patent tannins come about but only sparingly; the mellow dark-roasted malts carry the day. Vanilla is understated but shows up more on the slightly boozy finish. Slight dryness - not so much slate but maybe a hint of charcoal dust. Did I mention this was powerful? Slightly peanutty taste, too. Grassy hops cut the alcohol and coffee just enough to balance this and dry it out a bit. This still has warming to do but it's rich and borderline incredible.

Maybe it's the sweetness of the vanilla, the alcohol and the non-tannic dark malts imparting more of a bittersweet chocolate flavor, but this is a very smooth porter. None of that clamminess and slight metal that I get from so many porters that have a real "stout envy" complex. This is the real deal. Rolls smooth on the palate and down the hatch with a slight peanut saltiness and finishes strong and very creamy...especially for something lacking a huge viscosity. There is balance in abundance, which is some of my favorite kinds of balance. As it warms, the saltiness, booze and dark slate give it an additional kick that's not unpleasant but gives a not-so-gentle reminder of the strength of this beast.

Wow - this is a great example of both the style and the imperial nature of a big beer. It's strong enough to show all its colors but not so over-the-top that it hits like a sledgehammer. Having said that, it's a big pour and I will probably savor it over a couple of hours in a self-preservation move, 'cause this horse kicks wicked hard (Edit: I changed my mind. Warm this up and it drinks wayyy too quickly for its weight class.). Very well-constructed effort from the crew that brought us Sculpin.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2009 22:19:54 | More by IBUnit63