Vanilla Baumé
Half Acre Beer Company

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From:
Half Acre Beer Company
 
Illinois, United States
Style:
American Stout
ABV:
7%
Score:
91
Avg:
4.16 | pDev: 6.49%
Reviews:
3
Ratings:
15
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jun 08, 2016
Added:
Mar 04, 2012
Wants:
  4
Gots:
  1
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 4 by RichH55 from Illinois

Jun 08, 2016
 
Rated: 3.82 by tanksfoles from Illinois

Mar 21, 2015
 
Rated: 4.2 by CityofWind_brew from Illinois

Dec 05, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by harripat from Illinois

Jun 21, 2014
 
Rated: 4.75 by lccrunchy from Pennsylvania

Mar 07, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by THEOPTIMATOR88 from Illinois

Feb 22, 2014
Photo of jegross2
Reviewed by jegross2 from Illinois

4.2/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Reviewing the Vanilla Baume from Half Acre Brewing Company out of Chicago, Illinois.

Score: 92

Firkin Friday release! Served in a pint glass and enjoyed on 02/21/14. Review is from iPhone notes.

Appearance: Pours a deep brown chocolate bar color that is "muddy" and mostly opaque. Served with a thin layer of khaki head that slowly settles to a ring around the glass. Average lacing and retention. 4/5

Smell: Vanilla cupcakes, milk chocolate and marshmallows! There is a nice light roastiness and a hint of coffee grounds present too. Mild spice/grain. Lots of vanilla and chocolate present in the nose, with everything in an enticing balance with each other. 4.5/5

Taste: The taste is a lot more malt/grain flavor forward than the nose, and the chocolate and vanilla notes are substantially dialed down relative to aroma as well. This brew has a nice, but not overpowering, rye spice sharpness and mild hop flavor towards the finish with a good bitterness. The vanilla character on the palate is very muted. Finishes with a lingering bitterness and residual bakers chocolate flavor. 4/5

Mouthfeel: Medium/medium-light bodied, minimal carbonation. Surprisingly creamy and velvety smooth mouthfeel for a thinner bodied beer. I like the bitterness, which greatly adds to this brew's drinkability in my opinion. Most vanilla beers tend to be quite sweet -- layering in a filling way and becoming difficult to drink past the 12 oz mark. 4.25/5

Overall: Smells fantastic, tastes good, and has a great mouthfeel despite being a firkin beer with a thinner body. With a little tweaking to get the quality of the taste to approach the quality of the nose, Half Acre would have a true home run with this one. Nonetheless enjoyed thoroughly, and I ordered a second glass when finished.

Cost: $5 for a 13 oz pint.
Feb 22, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by dedbeer from Illinois

Feb 22, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by spycow from Illinois

Jan 11, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by AgentZero from Illinois

Nov 26, 2012
 
Rated: 4.5 by vitters03 from Illinois

Mar 08, 2012
Photo of Sean9689
Reviewed by Sean9689 from Illinois

3.82/5  rDev -8.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
On cask at Night of the Living Ales. Poured into tasting glass.

A - Pours black, light mocha head, thin collar, wisps on top.

S - Vanilla and Baume...crazy huh? I'm not really a fan of regular Baume, so the vanilla defiantly helped improve upon the base beer.

T - Again, pretty straight forward here. Vanilla, chocolate, rye. I don't really think the vanilla is integrated very well, just basically tasting like Baume with a whole bunch of vanilla dumped in there. Not very complex, but hey, I like vanilla so whatever.

M - Medium body, light carbonation, creamy finish.

O - This won 1st Place at NotLA, but IMO, it wasn't even in my top 3. Overall, it's a decent beer and the vanilla is nice, but I wasn't going crazy over it like everyone else was (apparently).
Mar 05, 2012
 
Rated: 4.25 by redblacks75 from Iowa

Mar 05, 2012
 
Rated: 4.5 by EseLocoSS from Illinois

Mar 05, 2012
Photo of MasterSki
Reviewed by MasterSki from Canada (ON)

4.14/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Firkin at Night of the Living Ales. Thanks to whoever pointed out that this was a special version and not just regular Baumé. Served in the supplied taster glass.

A - Thin tan foam settles to a thin collar and a few wisps. Very dark brown body with a transparent glint to it.

S - Massive vanilla bean aroma, with some caramel and light roast in the periphery, and then more vanilla. Not particularly subtle or complex, but quite enjoyable.

T - Taste isn't quite as nice. There's more chocolate and a moderate amount of roast bitterness in the finish, but thankfully it avoids the charry astringency I get from regular Baumé. Still plenty of vanilla too.

M - Smooth texture, low carbonation, chewy, creamy medium body, and no alcohol presence.

D - This was a pleasant surprise, and I enjoyed it significantly more than all the other Baumé variants I've had in the past. Hopefully Half Acre makes this again periodically. I had a few glasses of this one throughout the evening, and even though it wasn't my favorite I can understand how it won "Best in Show".
Mar 04, 2012
Vanilla Baumé from Half Acre Beer Company
Beer rating: 91 out of 100 with 15 ratings