The White Russian
Jailbreak Brewing Company

The White RussianThe White Russian
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From:
Jailbreak Brewing Company
 
Maryland, United States
Style:
Cream Ale
Ranked #50
ABV:
5%
Score:
86
Ranked #19,041
Avg:
3.81 | pDev: 13.65%
Reviews:
16
Ratings:
45
Status:
Active
Rated:
Nov 16, 2023
Added:
Jan 02, 2015
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  7
Light in color yet full in flavor. An appropriate marriage of golden malts and perfectly roasted coffee from our friends at Ceremony Roasters. A hint of vanilla is added to recreate a White Russian worthy of The Dude's respect. Jailbreak abides!

13 IBUs
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Photo of AGU313
Reviewed by AGU313 from Maryland

4.13/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
A: Orange-amber, mostly clear, fat speedy bubbles, full head
S: coffee beans and some funk
T: coffee and vanilla a bit muted
M: full and frothy
O: easy drinking, nice
Nov 16, 2023
Photo of tone77
Reviewed by tone77 from Pennsylvania

3.59/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Poured from a 12 oz. can. Has a dark golden color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of black coffee. Taste is also black coffee, vanilla notes are present but in the background. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is a decent beer.
Apr 21, 2022
Photo of BJB13
Reviewed by BJB13 from Maryland

3.82/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
12 ounce can.

L: Dull gold (@5 SRM), thin white head with poor retention.

S: Moderate in strength, malt forward, coffee, sweet vanilla, cream soda, very little hop aroma, seems appropriate to style.

T: Malty, coffee and vanilla cream, moderate sweetness, restrained hop bitterness, short tangy finish.

F: Soft and creamy with a light-medium body, medium-high carbonation.

O: Other than it's lack of clarity and poor head, it fits the bill for a Cream Ale and is as advertised. Not bad.
May 18, 2020
 
Rated: 3.71 by milkshakebeersucks from Maryland

Mar 31, 2020
Photo of 86sportster883
Reviewed by 86sportster883 from Maryland

3.75/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Odd looking with an almost gritty, dirty appearance that is unique but still enticing. Cream soda with some coffee aroma mixed in. Drinks like it smells but without the soda sweetness. A very nice cream ale, which I’m typically not fond of, but this one achieves a nice balance with the added coffee notes.
Mar 03, 2020
 
Rated: 3.75 by paulish from New York

Feb 16, 2020
Photo of PathofChaos
Reviewed by PathofChaos from Maryland

1.39/5  rDev -63.5%
look: 2 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 1.5
Appearance:
I knew something was terribly wrong when I first poured this ale and a hyper-bubbly, cloudy yellow liquid stared mutely back at me. A billow of white froth began to rise in tandem with my trepidation. "Budweiser...?" I thought, and then the smell hit me...

Bouquet:
Liquefied corn husks. EWW. When the stench violated my nostrils, it was like someone had opened a centuries old can of Great Value creamed corn and dumped it maliciously into my perfectly innocent cup of coffee. Notes of yeasty, stale sandpaper mask any alleged vanilla that Jailbreak's package promised me.

Feel:
Initially overcrowded with bubbles. Fizzing and cluttering and bouncing off each other like a throng of loony tourists at a Disney theme park. But after a few minutes, the insane mob of bubbles thins out and the ale appears safe to approach. At that juncture, the it's medium body washes down smooth, with a foamy character that adds texture contrast. But it simply cannot make up for the hideous flavor of....

Taste:
CORN. All the leftover, unsold corn that was allowed to fall to the dirt and decompose as fertilizer. Reminiscent of the stringy, starchy maize you find wrapped around those cheap, microwaveable tamales from the Dollar Store. Jailbreak's name suddenly becomes ironic because if I could imprison them for this atrocity, I would. I put this stinker on the kitchen counter and allowed it to breathe a while, hoping that warmth might curtail the avalanche of blanched corn... to no avail. Now the tamale is simply out of the microwave and someone spilled week old coffee on it. Still no vanilla.

Overall:
What an absolute shame. Especially since so many other reviewers seem to enjoy Jailbreak's White Russian. Whelp... time to dump it out. I even opened the remaining cans in hopes that the first one was just a dud, but no such luck.
Jan 22, 2020
Photo of skisonic
Reviewed by skisonic from Maryland

4.19/5  rDev +10%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
In the glass it's a nice, cloudy light amber or deep gold. It doesn't evoke coffee by sight but looks alright. The scent is warm and the coffee notes are very apparent. You really pick up the coffee flavor before you take a sip. The flavors are well balanced - it's not too creamy, nor is the coffee flavor overpowering. The vanilla lingers leaving a pleasant aftertaste. The taste overall is strong but fairly smooth. Quite a treat, I'd definitely recommend this to anyone looking try a cream ale or something a bit different.
Brew date is couple months old on the cans I picked up from a liquor store within a couple miles of the brewery.
Jan 06, 2020
 
Rated: 4 by trickynicky from Maryland

Jan 05, 2020
Photo of brentk56
Reviewed by brentk56 from North Carolina

3.96/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Appearance: A bubble show and a one finger head; the liquid underneath was clear and golden; splashy lacing

Smell: Rhode Island coffee milk with a hint of corn

Taste: Rhode Island coffee milk from start to finish; low bitterness but a hint of corn; more vanilla in the aftertaste

Mouthfeel: Light to medium body with moderate carbonation

Overall: Not as big as the Carton Regular Coffee but more enjoyable to my palate

Thanks, cdubnbird, for the opportunity
Mar 23, 2019
 
Rated: 4.99 by tmutzel from New York

Apr 16, 2018
Photo of lapland_lapin
Reviewed by lapland_lapin from District of Columbia

4.71/5  rDev +23.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
To my tastebuds, this is essentially the perfect cream ale. It's sweet and easy to drink, with a pleasant after taste. I'm not sure if this makes sense, but there's a 'warmth' to this beer. The combination of coffee and vanilla makes this beer perfect for cozying up by the fire during the winter and reading a good book. There's a Danish word for beers like this - 'hygge'.
Mar 24, 2018
Photo of Smakawhat
Reviewed by Smakawhat from Maryland

4/5  rDev +5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from the can into a nonic pint glass. The Dude Imbibes! Oct 23rd 2017.

Bright white forming head, a bit of foamy to creamy texture looking, but with solid retention just barely making three fingers. Slightly opaque body, mild haze, with a muted dark orange and brown with touches of lemon yellow.

Soft creamy and milky coffee on the nose, and a small sweetness to match. Quite a simple aroma and very pleasant actually, touches a little bit of corn like sweetness but very dominated by coffee first.

Palate sticks to the basics nicely. Solid simple malt backbone, with a touch of mild candy like sweetness. Simple coffee and milk with a touch of light roast. Bit of a prickly mouthfeel as well which makes for a more playful experience as well. Faint hints of vanilla but goes for more of a condensed milk sweetness instead.

Simple solid and decent.
Mar 05, 2018
 
Rated: 3.69 by mztaylor from Maryland

Dec 21, 2017
 
Rated: 3.5 by Sk8sean86 from Massachusetts

Nov 27, 2017
Photo of daliandragon
Reviewed by daliandragon from Maryland

3.98/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Interesting can design with a dancing ikon Jesus amid bowling paraphernalia. Why does a cream ale have a hard coffee note? Some questions have no answers.

Looks like a cream ale, smells like a stout. Definitely different. Texture fits the profile. At least I understand the name now. I have not really cared for these guys' other offerings, but this is tasty enough, and outside the box enough to at least recommend a try.
Nov 18, 2017
 
Rated: 3.66 by socon67 from New York

Jun 11, 2017
Photo of zander4dawin
Reviewed by zander4dawin from Texas

4.24/5  rDev +11.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
This is truly an odd and unique beer and that's rarely a good thing I in this case it is. Light golden ale body with a big swig of coffee, toasty, and cream flavors on finish.
May 18, 2017
 
Rated: 3.84 by Ctb6582 from Maryland

Feb 17, 2017
 
Rated: 3.74 by Prue from Maryland

Feb 03, 2017
The White Russian from Jailbreak Brewing Company
Beer rating: 86 out of 100 with 45 ratings