Vanilla Java Porter (VJP)
Atwater Brewery

Poured into a Dogfish Head Signature Glass. Poured to a color of dark brown with a very dark red behind it. About a finger of head . Creamy on top that fades to fish eye bubbles. The aromatics are not very present. Fairly sweet smell with alcohol. Not much off front. Sort of a muted feeling when it hits the lips. Then the tangy, followed by a slight bitter. This parts seems to come over the pallet too fast then fades out very quickly. There is lingering bittersweet dry mouth feel. Yep, sweet java. This should definitely should not be served right out of the fridge. The head lingers very disorganized on the glass. Kind of fell it in my head. Caffeine maybe? I'm not finding the vanilla so much.

Solid beer. My only real complaint is the mouthfeel, it's just thin, nothing else about it. That's probably just a consequence of the 5% abv though, which makes it a little more approachable, so I'll cut it some slack for that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tastes and smells a bit like a chocolate milkshake. I’ve had better.

 

 

Poured from 12 oz. bottle into a tulip glass. It pours a very deep cola color with a thin, khaki-colored head that dissipated quickly. A subdued nose: mostly roasted malt, cocoa, and earthy nuts. The taste is primarily char, bakers chocolate, and burnt nuts. There is little of the cocoa that I smelled. The vanilla bean is noticeable in the after taste. In that sense it's rather one dimensional. The mouth feel is okay for a Porter but on the thin side. The carbonation is appropriate and at 5% ABV it's quite drinkable. Overall, there is nothing wrong with this Porter but nothing memorable either. I would recommend it as an accompaniment to a burger, cheese steak or other substantial meat dish rather than for casual drinking.

 

 

12 oz. bottle into a pint glass with a very dark brown almost black color, tan head and decent lacing. Aroma is vanilla front and center, some coffee and caramel notes as well. Taste is more coffee than vanilla with notes of chocolate, roasted malt and nuts. Mouthfeel is smooth, thin bodied with decent carbonation and somewhat sweet finish. Overall, its a decent porter. I like vanilla, but its a bit too sweet and thin-bodied for me.

 

Very good head production, although it looks a touch fizzy and light, and is remarkably smooth and even. Retention, however, is ridiculously good. Dark beige/light tan head; body a shade darker and thicker than cola. Flat fields of lacing with decent legs.

Nose is a very nice blend of toast, caramel, toffee, dark fruit, cola, vanilla, and coffee - really a straight forward traditional porter profile, simply with vanilla added.

Very thin on the palate - perhaps not surprising for the low ABV, but still disappointing. Light bodied; semi-dry.

Grape, prune, and coffee up front; the light mouthfeel robs the flavors of any immediate impact. Growing toastiness mid-sip, with mild notes of coffee along with toffee, a touch of brown sugar, and cola. Nutty, a touch of chocolate, light toast, and more vanilla on the finish.

A very straight forward but pretty tasty beer. Nothing is off about it, but it doesn't really stand out from the crowd. A thicker body would have been preferred, but I suppose this is all about providing a good amount of flavor in a light, drinkable body.

Poured black with a two finger tan head. Heavy lacing is present. Nose leads with pronounced vanilla followed by a whiff of mustiness, then burnt sugar. I like vanilla though. Taste of vanilla cream, malt an nuts that lingers on the finish. Thin mouthfeel and carbonation. Overall, ok. This is not a porter that you want to shout about, but it is very drinkable.

the VJP is so good, there is a whole family of variants (of which, all are quite good, too). This one is widely available, sometimes in larger quantities, and the price is usually very fair (around $10 for a 6er). the only downside, as with many other porters, is can be a little heavy if you are drinking more than a couple and this one is quite sweet, another downside for anything more than 2, maybe 3 in a session. Still, very happy to have those couple. A seasonal multi-pack with a raspberry, boston cream and coconut variant could have a place in my fridge all year long.

 

 

 

As they say, a light and soon gone brown head. Vanilla smell, not much else. The thing I don't like about vanilla porters is they seem to be all vanilla and no porter. This isn't terrible, though, and I like the creamy texture.

 

 

 

Light copper colored with yellow highlights. There’s a fingernail of dishwater white on top. The aroma is of vanilla and cold brewed coffee, but is tough to seek out. I’m tasting vanilla, light roasted coffee and, oddly enough, coriander. The mouth is silky smooth.

 

 

Pours black with a finger of khaki foam. Head retention is okay. Aroma is vanilla, cream brulee, coffee and burnt sugar, layered over subtle earthy, bready, toasty malts. Really pleasant, robust coffee and coffee cake up front that is followed by hearty malts. Flavor profile is vanilla, cream brulee, coffee and sugar with bready, earthy, toasty malts. Really light sweetness up front that lingers throughout, but takes a slight undercutting at the finale, netting it more of a balance. Mouth feel is lightly grainy with very subtle effervescence. It has a medium-thick consistency. Overall, coffee and vanilla mingle well, forming a light dessert opening, with malts rounding out the remainder of the profile.

Served in a 15.5oz Speigalau tulip from a 12oz bottle.

 

 

On tap at Detriot Airport. Poured an opaque, jet-black color with a small, off-white head of foam. It smelled of vanilla, chocolate and toffee. Very strong vanilla taste with chocolate and toffee.

Drinkable porter with balanced vanilla and cofeee. Not too sweet, good mouthfeel. Would work well with lots of food.

Not sure why this is just “ok” accdg to this audience but...you all wrong af. This is a good, if not VG!, Porter. ✊