Imperial Stout - Vanilla
Hubbard's Cave Brewery

Imperial Stout - VanillaImperial Stout - Vanilla
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From:
Hubbard's Cave Brewery
 
Illinois, United States
Style:
American Imperial Stout
Ranked #1,669
ABV:
12%
Score:
89
Ranked #11,053
Avg:
4 | pDev: 10.5%
Reviews:
22
Ratings:
81
Status:
Active
Rated:
Sep 04, 2022
Added:
Oct 15, 2015
Wants:
  2
Gots:
  8
Imperial Stout with Vanilla Beans.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by strohme2:
Photo of strohme2
Reviewed by strohme2 from Michigan

3.4/5  rDev -15%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
Beautiful pour with an espresso head. Great color, lacking any real thickness unfortunately. No lacing either. Reading other reviews, I expected a strong vanilla note. I did not experience this. Light vanilla, coffee roast, some chocolate.
Taste was disappointing. Almost no vanilla, some weak coffee, strong bitterness. Tastes similar to diner coffee. Disappointing is how I describe the overall beer.
Feb 13, 2016
More User Ratings:
Photo of tradershmulie
Reviewed by tradershmulie from Connecticut

4.35/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Haven't had too many beers with vanilla, pretty delicious.

Pours an absolutely deep black, maybe the heaviest I have seen. No real head, or it dissipates quickly.
Hint of vanilla in the nose.
Drinks extremely smoothly. Amazing actually. Seems like it "should" be too sweet, but the vanilla is extremely pleasant, and the sweetness is never quite overwhelming.

Excellent.

Updated after a few more cans. It is a little over the top with the sweetness. Still a delicious beer, but not a 5.
Sep 04, 2022
 
Rated: 4 by TMoney2591 from Illinois

Dec 09, 2021
Photo of colts9016
Reviewed by colts9016 from Idaho

3.87/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Review 1688
Imperial Stout With Vanilla
Hubbard Cave Brewing
Date: unknown
Imperial Stout
I had this beer in my cellar for about a year. I used a tulip glass; the temperature was 46 degrees. A hard pour created a 1/2 fingered dark tan head. The retention of the head is dismal, left no lacing the glass. The color charts around SRM 36, dark brown, nearly black. The appearance of the head is below average. I have seen stout with a higher ABV with a longer-lasting head.
Vanilla is strongly followed; by dark roasted malt and chocolate. Nosing further, I detect treacle, dark brown sugar, coffee, raisins, cream, cereal grains, char, and earthiness. The vanilla and the sweet component of the beer are just overwhelming.
I taste dark roasted malts, char, Maillard, smoke, chocolate, dark roasted coffee, vanilla, cereal grains, earthiness, treacle, figs, floral, and leather.
The mouthfeel is chewy and thick. The body is heavy, has low carbonation, a lasting finish.
I have issues with this beer. The vanilla is strong but somehow is underwhelming the beer. The stout portion of the beer is good but for a 12 ABV, wanted more complexity. It is a solid beer, but I have consumed better Vanilla Stout.
Oct 18, 2021
Photo of vette2006c5r
Reviewed by vette2006c5r from Minnesota

3.99/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours black, with a small, but long lasting and lacing tan head. Aroma is lots of vanilla. Flavor is filled with a natural, vanilla bean, sweet, but not too sweet. Good body and feel. Overall, great stout base, with lots of vanilla.
Oct 16, 2021
 
Rated: 4.67 by Allurex from Kansas

Oct 12, 2021
 
Rated: 1 by VaporDome from New York

Oct 04, 2021
 
Rated: 4.57 by Eman17 from Illinois

Aug 02, 2021
Photo of Roguer
Reviewed by Roguer from Connecticut

3.98/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Very good head production, especially considering the ABV; fantastic retention and lacing.

Roasty, sweet, rich aroma, with vanilla, brown sugar, caramel, toast, and caramel.

Quite sweet and lightly roasty on the palate; cola, tons of vanilla. The back half is increasingly roasty, almost smoky, with notes of toast, char, campfire smoke, and molasses. Red wine, brown sugar, caramel. Much sweeter than I expected, and lacks bite, but otherwise a very enjoyable brew - with an unexpected smoky twist.
May 23, 2021
 
Rated: 4.57 by spookybear

May 11, 2021
Photo of tigg924
Reviewed by tigg924 from Massachusetts

4.26/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25
2018-2. Pours opaque, jet black in color with one third inch head. Taste is Bosco, milk chocolate marshmallow and vanilla. Heavy body, low carbonation, sweet and roasty. Vanilla is there but never overwhelming. Never gets to cloying level. Does not push boundaries but is done really really well. Worth the splurge.
Apr 17, 2021
Photo of micada
Reviewed by micada from New York

4.37/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
2020-03 can poured cold to a tulip glass. Color is deep, dark molasses black. Head is non-existent other than a trace of a penumbra, and a lot of sticky dotted lacing. Nose has a bit of cherry with the vanilla, maybe even a marshmallow presence. First sips bring out an interesting sort of sweet char, with vanilla pervading the whole sip, ending with a birch beer bite...very interesting, and not quite what I expected at all from this as I go through it. Mouthfeel is medium to full, with quite a lot of lingering flavor between sips. Alcohol has a minor bite up frint, with a mild warming. I’ll let it warm up a bit more, but so far it’s very enjoyable.
Mar 28, 2021
Photo of gregy55902
Reviewed by gregy55902 from Minnesota

4.15/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Pretty good offering, was just a bit lacking in the vanilla aspect of things. Nice roasty base though and was good in all other stout aspects, especially in hiding its big ABV. Not too sweet either, which is what turns me off of a lot of today's stouts. Might check out their other stuff.
Feb 07, 2021
Photo of firesidewithphil
Reviewed by firesidewithphil from Illinois

4.31/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Hubbard's vanilla imperial stout is one of their most balanced and complex. It borders on vanilla extract but doesn't quite go overboard. The barrel aged version is probably insane and I hope to try it some day. Surpringsly enough (for HC), this one actually needs a touch of sweetness.

IG: @firesidewithphil
Jan 31, 2021
 
Rated: 4.25 by paulish from New York

Oct 28, 2020
 
Rated: 4.09 by mdfb79 from New York

Oct 25, 2020
 
Rated: 4.12 by Bandi from New York

Oct 23, 2020
Photo of metter98
Reviewed by metter98 from New York

4.08/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
A: The beer is jet black in color. It poured with a short tan head that rapidly dissipated, leaving a narrow collar around the edge of the glass.
S: Moderate aromas of vanilla are present in the nose along with underlying hints of dark and chocolate malts.
T: Similar to the smell, the flavors of vanilla prominently stand out in the taste in front of underlying notes of dark and chocolate malts. There is a slight amount of bitterness.
M: It feels medium- to full-bodied and very smooth on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: With all of the vanilla, this beer might seem like it is a little one dimensional, but it does an exceptional job at hiding any traces of alcohol from the taste and is very easy to drink.

Serving type: can
Oct 23, 2020
 
Rated: 4.3 by Jdells09 from New Jersey

Oct 18, 2020
 
Rated: 3.74 by Mikexw from New York

Oct 13, 2020
Imperial Stout - Vanilla from Hubbard's Cave Brewery
Beer rating: 89 out of 100 with 81 ratings