Roebling Vanilla Espresso Porter
Rivertown Brewery & Barrel House

Roebling Vanilla Espresso PorterRoebling Vanilla Espresso Porter
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From:
Rivertown Brewery & Barrel House
 
Ohio, United States
Style:
Imperial Porter
ABV:
7.8%
Score:
84
Avg:
3.72 | pDev: 15.05%
Reviews:
94
Ratings:
450
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jan 08, 2021
Added:
Apr 24, 2011
Wants:
  14
Gots:
  79
Roebling Imperial Porter brings together Cincinnati coffee, Ugandan vanilla beans and raw, organic turbinado sugar into a big, rich, chocolate, espresso infused brownie of a beer that is as innovative as its namesake. Rivertown was asked to craft a beer for a community festival in 2011 which celebrated the 145th Birthday of the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge linking Cincinnati, OH and Covington, KY. This Imperial Porter is inventive, unique, well balanced, strong, and has been created to be as timeless and remarkable as the Roebling Bridge, the man who dreamed big and the community that brought that dream to life.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by edfish:
Photo of edfish
Reviewed by edfish from Ohio

4.76/5  rDev +28%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Had this at the tap room Nitro style!
A- poured in a plastic cup, Geeze had to wait a minute for the carbination to settle before I could get my full pour! Dark head tons -o-mini bubbles.
S- Hints of coffee and chocolate
T- Oh man, extra smooth nitro coco coffee richness! Very pleasing to the taste buds!
M- Oh man again, rich and creamy toasty goodness, full mouthfeel pleasure, leads to a nice dry coco finish
O- To be honest I don't care for porters. But dude I am turned! This a very smooth rich and creamy coco sensation! Not sweet but rich in flavor, I got to eat the barley put into the brew and it is delish! Not nearly as good as just plain barley but man a excellent beer!
Nov 21, 2012
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.68 by 1mrbeer from Ohio

Jan 08, 2021
Photo of Manta200
Reviewed by Manta200 from Kentucky

3.97/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
At the brewery. The imperial and nitro version. Both very nice.
Deep brown color and a thin khaki head.
I can hardly smell any coffee but you taste the coffee alright. Feels very light in body for a porter.
Sweet finish, like it!
Aug 22, 2020
 
Rated: 3.49 by SpaceBeagle from Utah

Jan 25, 2020
Photo of BeanBump
Reviewed by BeanBump from California

3.58/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Good not great. Coffee + vanilla is usually a fast track to my heart but this beer doesn't have very pronounced amounts of either. Again, not saying this beer is bad I just had higher hopes, I guess. I did notice a fair amount of yeastiness to the beer. Not enough to be off putting but it did seem a bit out of place for a porter.

Tone back the yeast, up the coffee and youve got a winner here.
Apr 22, 2019
 
Rated: 4 by Nurt20 from Illinois

Jan 21, 2019
Photo of akme223
Reviewed by akme223 from Kentucky

3.27/5  rDev -12.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Served in pint glass. Pours a chocolate color, no head, bit of a milky color ring around edge.

Very light scent of coffee and roasted malt, fainter vanilla.

You can taste the roasted malt but not much else.

Medium bodied. Pretty flat.

Glad I made a trade for this one as I don’t think I’m going to pick up again. The alcohol is very well hidden, but unfortunately everything else taste wise is pretty well hidden.
Nov 12, 2018
Photo of hoptheology
Reviewed by hoptheology from California

3.56/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
12 oz bottle dated 2/20/18, poured into North Coast snifter.

Pours a hazelnut color that forms into a deep chocolate brown-black with a skinny milky off-white head of 1/2 finger.

Aroma is faint, but is of roasted barley and light espresso, some faint lactose.

Flavor is sharp espresso, roasted malt, and very faint dark chocolate nibs.

Feel is very roasty, medium bodied, slight creaminess welling up, and a medium to heavy carbonation profile. Ends roasty.

Overall, could use some improvement in the aroma and flavor departments, a bit boring and tasteless. Again though, could be attributed to the age (sitting at 9 months), but usually imperial porters and stouts hold up better than this over time.
Nov 09, 2018
 
Rated: 2.58 by Dourrieu from Florida

Jun 26, 2018
 
Rated: 3.03 by Carmack from Florida

May 31, 2018
 
Rated: 3.57 by gspirit from Indiana

May 25, 2018
 
Rated: 3.59 by cwkash from Kentucky

May 23, 2018
 
Rated: 3.75 by DigitGrowler from Kentucky

May 22, 2018
Photo of Newbeergeek1
Reviewed by Newbeergeek1 from Maine

3/5  rDev -19.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75
Average brew. Kinda wish I hadn’t bought a six pack. Oh well. There is some kind of a taste that I just can’t quite identify and it’s driving me bonkers. I am wondering if I may have picked up a bad batch because my mouth is not liking this. Vanilla, shouldn’t be to hard to identify. Espresso, might be it but wouldn’t it be a coffee taste? Something is askew here.
May 15, 2018
Photo of ThomasTheTank88
Reviewed by ThomasTheTank88 from Ohio

4.15/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Picked this up as a single 12 oz. bottle for $1.72, easy choice for me. Very drinkable, very smooth. Vanilla and coffee combination is perfect. Would recommend if you can find it since its cheap and very delightful.
Apr 21, 2018
Photo of drdiesel9483
Reviewed by drdiesel9483 from Ohio

4.09/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Nitro Canned version
Look - Fantastic looking dark beer with a great lasting tan head
Smell - roasted malts and vanilla with a slight coffee scent
taste - just like the scent
feel -medium light body with a creamy nitro carb
Overall - pretty yummy!
Mar 13, 2018
Photo of BrianKoshefsky
Reviewed by BrianKoshefsky from Florida

4.39/5  rDev +18%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Wow.. Tried this beer on a whim and now it's one of my new favorites.. If you like coffee flavored Stouts and porters is it's definitely for you.. it almost taste like you're drinking perfect sweet and black coffee.. and that 7.8% ABV doesn't get much better than that
Feb 02, 2018
 
Rated: 4.16 by norinco from Ohio

Dec 24, 2017
 
Rated: 4.33 by kybeerdrinker from Kentucky

Dec 22, 2017
 
Rated: 3.84 by cstasek from Indiana

Dec 17, 2017
Roebling Vanilla Espresso Porter from Rivertown Brewery & Barrel House
Beer rating: 84 out of 100 with 450 ratings