Infamous W/ Vanilla Beans - Port Brewing Company / Pizza Port

OlieIPA

California

4.6/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Was able to sneak away from the Hoptoberfest party upstairs and enjoy this amazing stout. 9 oz. pour served on cask into half sized shaker pint.

A: Black colored body that supported a brief light tan colored head. A few shakes of the glass showed off the beer's viscosity with each convective wave slowly swaying back and forth to each side. The lacing was subpar, or I could say average at best.

S: Vanilla and melted Hershey bars come to mind with the first whiff, along with a strong alcohol presence. Not as sophisticated as other world class imperial stouts, but makes it up with the a more robust quality.

T: Again, the three flavors consist of vanilla, chocolate, and alcohol. All the flavors are big and in your face.

M: One of the better cask "stouts" I've enojed in quite some time; creamy and thick, so yeah, basically perfect.

D: Even though there was some alcohol burn, I found myself going through this beer rather easily.

Overall: A great imperial stout; I hope they bottle it! A must try. Cheers!

Serving type: cask
@ Pizza Port San Clemente, 301 N El Camino Real, San Clemente

10-25-2010 19:29:16 | More by OlieIPA

westcoastbeerlvr

California

4.5/5  rDev +2.3%

01-09-2013 21:25:57 | More by westcoastbeerlvr

largadeer

California

4.28/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Cask at Pizza Port San Clemente.

The body is a dark chocolate brown, opaque with low carbonation.

The aroma isn't far from regular Infamous, which is to say that it smells great; vanilla is noticeable and highlights the sweetness of the beer, though dark chocolate is still dominant. The combination of chocolate and vanilla makes me think of vanilla cake with chocolate frosting.

The palate is quite rich and sweet, but there's a pleasant bitter kick that keeps the sweetness in check. Vanilla is present but not overwhelming, lingering beneath the dark chocolate and roasted malt. Somewhat syrupy in texture with low carbonation. This was served quite warm, but it worked fine for the beer. The finish has some coffee-like astringency, light burnt bitterness. Very enjoyable, though the 9 oz pour was sufficient.

Serving type: cask
@ Pizza Port San Clemente, 301 N El Camino Real, San Clemente

11-03-2010 19:13:34 | More by largadeer

Overlord

California

4.22/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Pours black with no real head, just a thin skim of foam. I will admit to not being the biggest fan of cask ale, but I shall go in with an open mind.

I will buck my normal reviewing process and skip ahead to mouthfeel. First, the beer was given to me too warm. I don't want a 65-70 degree beer. Secondly, it's too flat. Yes, a heavy, viscous mouthfeel is nice, but this isn't THAT heavy ... it ain't Chocolate Rain for example. Carbonation would have livened it up and made those flavors pop.

It smells, and drinks, like a chocolate/vanilla alcoholic milkshake. Except not cold or that thick. The vanilla comes across as a whole bean aroma and flavor, not a fake artificial extract character such as one sees in cheaper offerings. Delicious milk chocolate, rich vanilla, some roasted notes (but very muted compared to the "normal" version).

Very good.

Serving type: cask
@ Pizza Port San Clemente, 301 N El Camino Real, San Clemente

10-25-2010 18:21:35 | More by Overlord