Dark Side Vanilla Porter
Empyrean Brewing Company

Dark Side Vanilla PorterDark Side Vanilla Porter
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From:
Empyrean Brewing Company
 
Nebraska, United States
Style:
American Porter
Ranked #376
ABV:
5.7%
Score:
84
Ranked #23,187
Avg:
3.7 | pDev: 12.97%
Reviews:
155
Ratings:
387
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jun 02, 2023
Added:
Nov 27, 2002
Wants:
  25
Gots:
  79
An infusion of an old-world beer style and contemporary soul. Smooth, dark and roasted with highlights of chocolate, coffee and vanilla. Brewed with American, Canadian and English grown barley, American hops, Madagascar vanilla beans and natural vanilla extract.

23. IBU
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 3.72 by Chuckdiesel24 from Illinois

Jun 02, 2023
Photo of whynot44
Reviewed by whynot44 from Missouri

3.84/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Black coffee color with a modest but lasting tan head and some decent lacing. The aroma is dark roasted malt, hints of cofee, dark chocolate and vanilla. The taste is the same withsome herbal hops adding to the coffee and cocoa bite for a nice balance. The body is medium, good carbonation, smooth and very drinkable. Altogether, this is a very tasty porter. The vanilla seems to round out the coffee and chocolate, very nice.
May 31, 2023
Photo of dcotom
Reviewed by dcotom from Iowa

3.9/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Poured from 12-ounce bottle into a tulip glass. This is a pretty one! Deep blackish-brown body, with a long-lasting three-finger head of light tan that left circles of lacing. Aromas and flavors of roasted malt, char, burnt coffee, and vanilla. Medium-light bodied, with good carbonation and lots of roasty bitterness. Finishes dry, with some bitterness, char, and a slight tart note lingering on the palate. Overall, a very good and drinkable porter.
May 21, 2023
 
Rated: 4 by cryptichead from Illinois

Jul 08, 2022
Photo of Beginner2
Reviewed by Beginner2 from Illinois

3.72/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Bought from Beermiscuous Lincoln Park. Glad that I could try Empyrean's flagship and, I presume, cash cow.
Nice to spend part of a crummy, rainy March Saturday afternoon with Dark Side. It is ordinary nowadays among its peers; but extraordinary when it started two decades ago. Others' reviews will suffice for me. Balanced.

This is my first brew from Empyrean, so I went on their website and two points got prompted. First, that Empyrean is what I consider a second generation micro... those that got started in the previous Century. And it is rare that I have any of that 2nd generation for the first time in 2022. Second point, that Empyrean's businesses (including a restaurant, Lazlo's) are helping to revive a city center that, like all of America, has had to develop reasons for people to come downtown again. And beer is as good as any reason I can think of. And for that, I give Empyrean good OA Hugs.
Mar 19, 2022
 
Rated: 3.8 by travelguy from Ohio

Nov 06, 2021
Photo of Jelitikasez
Reviewed by Jelitikasez from Missouri

3.33/5  rDev -10%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
This is probably a better porter than I'm giving it credit for due to my own tastes. The foam was pretty loose, more like bubble bath bubbles than creamy stout bubbles. If you like thin, crisp and bitter without much weight, depth and roundness, I guess you'll like it. More like an IPA than a porter, except for color.
Nov 05, 2019
Photo of Burgy
Reviewed by Burgy from Minnesota

4.06/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours very dark with almost no head (from a tap). This beer's best attribute is its smell - significant cacao notes with undertones of vanilla. The vanilla comes through more at the finish. Overall a solid vanilla Porter.
Oct 01, 2019
 
Rated: 3.94 by nruhlig from Minnesota

Sep 27, 2019
 
Rated: 3.98 by craigbelly from Iowa

Sep 13, 2019
 
Rated: 3.98 by cbcrunch from Wyoming

Sep 01, 2019
 
Rated: 3.94 by Lord_Thom from Nebraska

Jan 01, 2019
 
Rated: 3.25 by COBEERHUNTER from Colorado

Sep 09, 2018
 
Rated: 3.6 by GarbageMan10 from Texas

Jul 26, 2018
Photo of Proteus93
Reviewed by Proteus93 from Virginia

3.56/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
A: Jet black pour, as per the norm. The head was a little hesitant in forming at first, but once it rose up, it became a creamy and retentive animal.

S + T: Roasted malts at the forefront, with very little vanilla detected. Rather than the rich chocolate and coffee that may be expected from the malts, it has a pretty grainy, 'barley scent.' Taste is a little more along the lines of what is expected--dark chocolate, though the vanilla is again somewhat muted.

M + O: Full-medium body, complemented by an appropriate amount of carbonation for the weight of the body. It finishes smooth and even a little dry.
Jul 15, 2018
Photo of Captain69
Reviewed by Captain69 from Illinois

4.14/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
STOPPED AT THE BREWERY , THE RESTAURANT IS TO YOUR RIGHT AROND THE CORNER, GREAT BEERS - WAS ABLE TO PURCHASE A MIXED 12 PACK. THIS BEER -VANILLA PORTER WAS SMOOOTH - BOUGHT A SEPRATE SIX PACK
May 24, 2018
 
Rated: 3.7 by NolaHopHead from Louisiana

Mar 13, 2018
Photo of MonDak_Joe1953
Reviewed by MonDak_Joe1953 from Minnesota

3.38/5  rDev -8.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Poured from 12oz bottle into glass. Marked best by 'April 2017'.
Very dark body, just a little light passes through at the glass bottom. Very light tan, thin head, minimal lacing.
Aroma of dark roasted malt, dark chocolate, with a whiff of sweet vanilla.
Taste of dark malt, sour apple like fruit (maybe from the coffee aspect), very little chocolate or vanilla.
Rather thin mouth feel, dry.
Not an expressive taste, and dry aftertaste.
Nov 05, 2017
 
Rated: 3.58 by UnderwhelmingAlcoholic from Kansas

Sep 24, 2017
 
Rated: 3.93 by ipeters1017 from Wisconsin

Sep 23, 2017
Dark Side Vanilla Porter from Empyrean Brewing Company
Beer rating: 84 out of 100 with 387 ratings