Vanilla Java Porter
Original Gravity Brewing Company

 

 

This beer was a total surprise to me!!! I got it at a local, family-run liquor store that was just now finally trying their hand at selling something other than Michelob and Budweiser. I did not expect much, but I got a lot. It has a smooth and rich taste that is totally captured by its title. Yes, I taste vanilla in this coffee-like porter. Very sweet! And at only $1.89 a bottle, I will have to try this beer again and again and again!

On tap at Pete's Garage. Originally, I thought this was Atwater's Vanilla Java Porter, but the waitress assured me it was OG's version. I felt at ease when I noticed a few other OG beers on the menu, too. In a dimly lit bar, this one looked to be completely black, though I didn't have really any light to hold it up to. The light-tan foam on top recedes eloquently over the course of a few minutes, leaving behind some patchy lacing before it's gone.

A light vanilla aroma is the first thought upon bringing my nose to the glass. I like the vanilla style here - more "vanilla bean" than "vanilla extract", which is great news. I'm getting a good amount of coffee beans in the background, too; mostly sweet and creamy rather than roasty, burnt, or charred, but there's nothing wrong with that. Some residual sugar smells like it's around, almost in a slightly caramel-like manner.

The taste contains a bit more roasted malt than I would have guessed from the nose, but it's still accompanied with a large coffee bean flavor. Vanilla doesn't strike first, rather it crescendos from the start and peaks about halfway through. Much like I expected, the brew is rather sweet and creamy, although it stops just short of being cloying or sickening.

One of my biggest complains was a sharp astringency that would sting near the final moments of each sip. I would guess that this unwanted contribution is most likely from the roasted malts, although I can't really say for sure. It doesn't hurt the flavors too much, but it really prevents you from putting this one back easily. The body could stand to be a bit more robust, too; it feels a bit thin, and the high carbonation doesn't exactly help with the astringent notes.

Overall, a decent porter. Nice, sweet, and full of a good coffee-vanilla combo. Maybe a little too sweet in large quantities, although I did finish my pint without much of a problem. With a bigger, creamier body and a less sharp astringent finish, this could stand to be a damn good vanilla/coffee based porter. As it stands, it's still good, and much better than Atwater's version.

 

 

 

Almost no beige head or lacing on the glass. The smell was of artificial vanilla and syrup. This doesn't taste anything like beer, but rather flat vanilla cola. The taste is overwhelmed by vanilla extract, no coffee is present that I ca taste. This was so bad I couldn't finsh a quarter of it. An expensive drain poor. Avoid.

A-Deep,dark brown with ruby highlights and a thin light tan head that left spotty lace.

S-Light vanilla sweetness and robust dark roasted coffee aroma.

T-A perfect blend of roasted malt, dark roasted coffee and sweet vanilla highlights. No one ingredient out shines the other and all work together to form a delicious melding flavours.

M-Mediumbody with good lingering flavours and bitterness.

D-Well...like it states on the board at OG---BEER, COFFEE, VANILLA---YUM! This was the surprise of the night truly outstanding stuff.