Vanilla Porter - Breckenridge BBQ & Brew Pub

ADR

Pennsylvania

3.2/5  rDev -10.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Dark brown color and clearish, lets highlights through at the bottom. Skim of a flat head, just dots for lace. Aroma is straightforward, a dash of vanilla but not too exaggerated, especially at first. Mouthfeel seems a bit thinnish to me, not like some others seem to detect, it could use more of a creaminess in my opinion. The flavor is slightly bland, water searching for a flavor, vanilla notes are apparent and not too bad, not as oxidized as some Stoney Creek examples I've had, not as heavy-handed as something like Michelob Celebrate. Finishes a little fuller but with some extra heavy but still hummingbird feeder watery sugariness. Not too bad, if the texture worked out better for me, it would make it more quaffable.

Serving type: bottle

03-09-2006 02:18:39 | More by ADR

Domingo

Colorado

3.63/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Was looking for another Vanilla Porter when I encountered this one from Breckenridge instead.
Pours a dark black color. Reminscent of an imperial stout...very murky. At the same time, something that dark is quite enticing at the same time!
Scent is of vanilla, rum, and molasses. Reminds me of a warm flambe' dessert.
Flavors are everything I hoped for. Bitter chocolate, vanilla highlights, a little bit of alcohol, and (maybe) some hops, but the hop profile is DEFINITELY minimal. I think the bitterness is coming from the chocolate flavors.
Thickness is what you'd want. It's thick and coats the glass like a syrup, but it goes down wonderfully. An ideal dessert drink or solo beer for the evening. There's a little bit of a "salty" flavor in there that actually adds some contrast to the vanilla. It's not actually salt, but it has a similar character.
Drinkability is the main weakness here. Much like other brews of this variety, I doubt I'd ever have more than one or maybe 2. At the same time, I don't think this was ever intended to be a session brew by iteself. It is what it is and it does a good job.

Serving type: bottle

03-06-2006 20:06:31 | More by Domingo

Frozensoul327

Michigan

3.68/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A worthy flavored porter. Pours out to a pitch black color with a large tan head. Some notes of lacing, and a medium low level of carbonation. Aromas are light, some vanilla bean, mild spice and malt, a touch of granola. Taste was pretty good; flavors of full roasted malts, sweet cream, grains, and some vanilla bean made their way to the palate and matched well. Mouthfeel was medium-full bodied, and had a decent amount of consitancy. Lower ABV and good flavor make this a possible session brew for watching sports. This beer kind of borders on "Stout-ville", but it's a good porter however you look at it. Give it a shot, this is among the better flavored beers i've had.

Serving type: bottle

03-01-2006 01:13:00 | More by Frozensoul327

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

3.85/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

An interesting label on this one, with some obtuse, too-clever-by-half phrasing. Beneath the words "Vanilla Porter", they proclaim: "Seldom Seen. Never Duplicated." Huh? Does that even make sense?
And, bookending the larger body of the design, at top and bottom, two words that try to belong together and prove the writer's great wit, yet fall flat. "Remarkable" ..."Partakable"...oh, kay...is partakable a word, even? And, do they know these words don't rhyme, exactly, for that seems their only purpose in pairing them.

Basically, they want to say, "It's different, and you can drink it."
So, let's see about that...

Big vanilla aromatics waft out from first crack of the crown.

Pours out a deep, dark brown, with a sliver of crimson at the sides, a meager, but loyal cocoa / tan head. Good.

Roasty nose, swiftly dominated by sweet vanilla. Light hints of coffee below, glimmers of chocolate. Pleasing, yes, but not overpowering, nor especially outstanding.

Chalky, flaky cocoa feel from the start, like a dusting of chocolate powder...rinses the mouth with a smattering of sweetness, then dashes away. Medium, at best, in body, a bit too light for me...vanilla bean flavor clings to the palate and pushes away the other flavors that may reside in the taste. Gets sweeter as we go in, a bit too much for me, actually.

Probably the best vanilla porter I've tried, but I'm still not crazy about the style.
I like more porter, less vanilla.

Serving type: bottle

02-21-2006 00:19:40 | More by feloniousmonk

benito

Oregon

3.5/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

The label on the bottle describes this brew as remarkable and partakable. While it may not be either of these things, it is certainly intriguing and worth a try...

A: Black that turns deep garnet when held to direct light. A beautiful half-inch of head that leaves a coffee ice cream-colored foam throughout the pint.

S: Non-descript. No roastiness; in fact, there's almost nothing at all here, and that's what keeps this brew from being great. I guess one might argue that it keeps its secrets until taste...

T: A very difnified and strong vanilla. The flavor is sweet with a slightly tickling (almost salty) finish. A more pronounced bitterness at the end might have rounded this out better; as it is, the sweetness is tasty but cloying.

M: Light-bodied and smooth, which works well with the beer's sweetness. The texture might almost be called watery, but it creates a good balance.

D: Good, but the sweetness might get to me after two pints.

Serving type: bottle

02-16-2006 15:04:16 | More by benito

hanco005

Minnesota

3.93/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

I noticed this was new at my local liquor store. Thought I would give it a try as a vanilla brew sound quite intriguing. 12 oz bottle into a pint glass

A—dark solid brown with ½ head that quickly fizzles to nothing, slight lacing on the glass

S—mild vanilla and roasted coffee scents. Not really smelling anything else.

T—nice vanilla and slight coffee flavors, sweet at the start and finishes just a touch bitter

M—thick, heavy and full-bodied, very little carbonation

D—a nice change to the standard porter. Mild vanilla makes it very drinkable…doubt I could have more than 3, but this is a nice dessert brew.

Serving type: bottle

02-12-2006 23:44:12 | More by hanco005

russpowell

Oklahoma

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

Pours a ruddy brown/black with little light penatrating the glass. Tan malt head starts off about 1" deep but drops down to a film. Below average lacing and head retention

Smell: Roasted malt, vanilla not much else

Taste: Sweetness and vanilla notes up front. Some grainy bitterness/leather taste in the middle and slight dryness and more vanilla in the finish

MF: Slighty prickly but not out of balance

Drinkable for 1 or 2 but too sweet past that. Would be great with a brownie. I'd think this would work for me with about 2% more abv. Worth a try when you you sweet tooth is calling

Serving type: bottle

02-09-2006 04:24:20 | More by russpowell

jasonpeckins32

Michigan

3.95/5  rDev +10%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a very black color with dark brown highlights. The foam is a nice khaki-tan color. Aroma is toasted malts, molasses, raisins, and cappuccino. The taste is remarkably strong of vanilla, especially in the finish. The aftertaste really reminds me of vanilla bean cappuccino. Quite a unique flavor. Mouthfeel is nice and the drinkability is great as well. I only have one of these so I dont know if the vanilla taste would get annoying after quite a few. I definitly like this one though. Great job.

Serving type: bottle

02-08-2006 03:32:00 | More by jasonpeckins32

granger10

Wisconsin

3.88/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

This Breck offering pours a deep reddish brown color with a small yet compact tan head. The head fades to nothing rather quickly.

Something about the aroma I really liked. Maybe it reminds me of smelling something baking while also making coffee. Lots of strong vanilla aromas and espresso roast dominate the smell. There's also some cream and chocolate as well.

The flavors begin more dry and roasty than I was expecting, dry cocoa beans. A sweeter, creamier milk chocolate comes in the middle but right away the dark espresso roasted flavors clean that out. They hold until the vanilla comes towards the finish. The vanilla is dominating with only a bit of cream left. Finish is all vanilla, but it tastes like good vanilla. It doesn't really linger though.

This was a good beer but the vanilla wore my palate down after a bottle. I couldn't see drinking too many of these at all. I bet it would be great poured on some real vanilla bean ice cream.

Serving type: bottle

02-04-2006 13:38:30 | More by granger10

TastyTaste

Minnesota

3.4/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Dark brown, somewhat translucent near the bottom of the glass.

Smell: Vanilla porter. Yeah, a good description, sweet vanilla, dark roasted malt, slightly smokey. A little cocoa for good measure.

Taste: Murky and sweet, the vanilla smoothes everything over, even covering the porter flavors a little bit. Needs to be sharper, it is somewhat a mess of sweet flavors. Not bad, but needs more definition.

Drinkability: An ok beer, I don't know if I would get it again, but a nice dessert beer.

Serving type: bottle

02-02-2006 16:32:21 | More by TastyTaste

RoBotGod

Colorado

4/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I call this the rootbeers of beers. Every angle of this beer is pretty good. Great pour, thick and heavy with a small cream like head much like a cream soda. It has almost like a dry coal taste from the beginning. This beer is all about the finish though. The heavy cream taste comes through and a heavy vanilla finish. The thing about the vinnila part is its natural mouth feel to it. It has a real vanilla bean taste. Whether it was a extract or some sort of additive used, it still taste how it should

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2006 00:07:02 | More by RoBotGod

fretlessman71

Colorado

4.05/5  rDev +12.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pertinent Preliminary Comments: Breckenridge has always been one of those breweries where I tried to like the beer, but in the end always felt a little disappointed. I love the atmosphere of the brewery/brewpub up in Eagle County, and something about being there makes the beers taste better, but save for their Autumn Ale I had last month, I’ve been underwhelmed with their brews. Here’s hoping that this one is up to par with that last one.

APPEARANCE: Jet Black; only the slightest hint of cola brown comes through at the sides when held to very bright light. Tan head – more the color of a good stout – nice tight bubbles that stick around. Spotty lacing – guess it’s not really lace if they’re just spots, huh? Still looks cool.

AROMA: Whoa – do vanilla beans impart an aromatic bitterness? Or maybe I’m smelling hops like none other that I’ve sampled? Interesting. Chocolate and roasted malt with something else that I can only assume is the effect of real vanilla bean. Not as familiar with the vanilla flavor outside McDonald’s shakes – guess I’m in for an edjumacation, hey, boss? Something about the aroma reminds me of the just-cleaned lavatories on commercial airliners – and I have NO idea what that means. Maybe they use real vanilla beans in their sanitizer or something…

FLAVOR: Roasty, dry, bitter chocolate – HEY! There’s the vanilla! And it’s not bad, either. There’s chocolate and vanilla on the tip of the tongue, burnt pizza dough (ever do that?) and coffee grounds in the middle, and just a hint of prunes or dates in the finish which is somewhat less sweet than I would have expected. This is a pretty good balance, and far better than other vanilla porters I’ve had. Hops, as expected, almost nonexistent – just enough there to keep this from turning into a chocolate-vanilla soda float. Vanilla character gets stronger as the beer warms – almost cloying, but still palatable.

MOUTHFEEL: Medium to full bodied, okay carbonation. Seems like it was just a tad flat, but I may have poured it too cold so I’ll let it slide.

DRINKABILITY: Surprisingly good, considering I haven’t cared much for Breck’s offerings in the past. And at 4.7% ABV, I could easily get away with a 2nd… but I’d probably opt for something else should I have a 3rd beer of the evening.

OVERALL COMMENTS: Someone’s got their thinking cap screwed on tight over at Breckenridge Brewing – the beers are improving by leaps and bounds. I might have dry hopped it to add a bit of balance to the vanilla, but why add something and then go to lengths to hide it? This is a showcase for the vanilla bean, and it does wonderfully. Next time I’ll see how it is over a scoop of Breyer’s Vanilla Bean Ice Cream!

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2006 10:09:15 | More by fretlessman71

Mebuzzard

Colorado

4.4/5  rDev +22.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured into glass.
Found it at Grapes and Grains in Denver.
This is a good one. I'll have to have more to compare it with Stoney Creek Vanilla Porter. This one has a nice head, perhaps a little thin for a porter. Keeps, but spotty.
Good aroma of coffee, vanilla, chocolate, malt and nuts.
Tastes comes on strong vanilla, but only at first. Typical porter of nuts, chocolate, malt. Coffee taste is the dominate flavor, yet isn't too strong. It says it uses real vanilla beans, and that comes through in the taste. The vanilla is strong, yet in the background.
It's a good beer, but I'll have to drink more to truly get the feel for it.
--update. OK, I've had a six pack. A nice smooth beer. Doesn't linger too long in the back of your mouth. don't drink other beers after this one unless they are big tasting.

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2006 04:29:09 | More by Mebuzzard