Bavarian Cream Vanilla Java Porter (VJP)
Atwater Brewery

 

 

 

This one went from bottle to red solo cup. Yeah, I know. But it was New Years so there we are. Cola in color, with a but of insubstantial foam that was here and gone. Coffee and cream aromas, just slightly different from regular old Java Porter. The cream comes through more in the flavor, with hints of Bavarian cream pie coming though. All in all, just not significantly different enough from VJP

Very dark brown with only some slight foam. Vanilla and cream aroma Typical porter flavor with little to no hints of coffee. Somewhat disappointing

Welcome to my initial entry of Happy Water You Drinking for New Beer Sunday (Week 705)?!? I CAN promise you that a) I am NOT drinking water (right now) & b) these will all be Bottles (gasp!) as part of the eradication of The Bottle Backlog here at Chez Woody. There is nothing wrong here. Do not attempt to adjust your screen. For the remainder of the day, I will control all of my content that you see & read. There are no alien pods in my basement, so there is no need to alert the authorities. Please stand by for further entries.

From the Bottle: "English[-]Style Porter brewed with Vanilla and Bavarian Cream Coffee Beans"; "Pairs with: Coffee Houses, Tap Houses, Any Houses."

I feel as though I am about to be housed by the House of Lancaster! Eeek. I Pop!ped the cap in spite of my fear & began a C-line pour that netted just under two fingers of fizzy, foamy, rocky, deep-tan/light-brown head with low retention. 8=( It had reduced to wisps in the blink of an eye! I used that selfsame eye to eyeball its color, which was Very Dark Brown to Black/Opaque (SRM = > 34, < 44), allowing just enough light penetration to be able to note garnet highlights at the edges. Nose was redolent with vanilla, underlain with a roastiness, most likely coffee. Mmm. I usually take my coffee like my women - hot & black, but occasionally, I will thrown some vanilla cream in the mix. Seriously, though, it was quite evocative of coffee with (a little too much, IMHO) CoffeeMate Vanilla Creamer. I would go a little less heavy on the vanilla, especially since it does not get top billing in this beer. Mouthfeel was thin-to-medium, a little light for an English Porter. The taste remained a bit heavy on the vanilla, which would be fine except for the idea that VJP already exists as a separate beer. Yes, I was tasting coffee, but it was fighting to be heard over the din of vanilla that threatened to drown out everything else. Finish was dry and roasty, so maybe the coffee was being given a fighting chance.

This is a brewery whose beers I find to be hit-or-miss with little in-between. I am calling this one an in-between since it is a good idea that simply needs tweaking. The coffee flavor should be more assertive is the bottom line. YMMV.

 

A chocolate-y dark brown body with a creamy beige cap of 1/2 finger.

Aroma is 100% imitation vanilla. Crack a cap of it and you'll see they're one and the same. Very slight spiced sarsaparilla behind that.

Flavor is slightly chocolatey, but mostly like a coffee stout with imitation vanilla added at bottling. The flavors have not meshed, the imitation vanilla simply sits on top of a mediocre coffee stout base and reminds me of a beta homebrew.

Feel is carbonated nicely but imo, judging fairly it's overcarbonated for a porter.

Overall, this seems like something that would come out of the kitchen rather than something that would be brewed by a company that distributes. Not all that impressive. Drinkable, but marginally.

 

Oof. Big aroma of creme soda. Taste like artificial vanilla/creme soda. I didn't really get any coffee. A touch of roastiness from the Porter, but way overpowered by the other flavors. There's a beer in there somewhere - it was just tough to find.

The look is of that of a freshly brewed cup of joe, but we all know joe doesn't have a head this nice.
This beer really hit me in the sniffer right away with it's decadent notes of a sweet vanilla ice cream, If I may.. followed cocoa, molasses, and coffee. Yet together it all creates something so much more than what I described. A must try if even if coffee is not your thing IMO.
The taste, oh the taste!! Bavarian creme describes it oh so well, just like biting into a boston creme donut but not as sweet and chasing it with a sip of cold brewed vanilla bean coffee with roasted fine brown malts... Hey I'm giving it my best!!
Overall feel is a fine java porter worthy of it's name, maybe give this beer a try if you're into this sort of thing. I feel you'll find something you'll really enjoy. I know I'll be grabbing another one soon. Cheers!!

12 ounce bottle into pint glass, bottled in 1/2018. Pours crystal clear very dark brown color with a 1-2 finger dense light khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big milk chocolate, cocoa, nutty coffee, vanilla, whipped cream, marshmallow, fudge, caramel, brown sugar, toasted brown bread, light herbal, and roast/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malt, coffee, vanilla, and lactose notes; with great strength. Taste of big milk chocolate, cocoa, nutty coffee, vanilla, whipped cream, marshmallow, fudge, caramel, brown sugar, toasted brown bread, light herbal, and roast/toasted earthiness. Mild herbal/roast bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of milk chocolate, cocoa, nutty coffee, vanilla, whipped cream, marshmallow, fudge, caramel, brown sugar, toasted brown bread, light herbal, and roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, coffee, vanilla, and lactose flavors; with a nice roasted bitter/sweet balance, and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth and moderately creamy/silky lactose mouthfeel that is great. Minimal sticky hops, chalky roast, or dryness. Zero warming alcohol as expected of 5%. Overall this is a delicious dessert style English porter! All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, coffee, vanilla, and lactose flavors; very smooth, flavorful, and easy to drink with the minimally bitter finish. Tastes just like the dessert in every way. Very big creamy lactose flavors; with balancing vanilla, coffee, and malts. A very enjoyable offering, and spot on style example.