Vanilla Porter | Breckenridge Brewery
Brewed by:
Breckenridge Brewery
Colorado, United States
breckbrew.com
Style: American Porter
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 5.40%
Availability: Year-round
Notes / Commercial Description:
Deep in the jungles of Papua New Guinea and Madagascar grows the perfect ingredient for an extraordinary Porter brewed in Colorado. Breckenridge Brewery’s Vanilla Porter. An ale that has all the chocolate and roasted nut flavor of a classic Porter, with an enigmatic surprise thrown in for good measure.
Added by Mebuzzard on 01-13-2006
HISTOGRAM
View: Beers
Ratings: 4,348 | Reviews: 1,123
Reviews by Misfit138:
4.12/5 rDev +12.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Poured from bottle into pint glass
A- Very dark brown in color with bubbles much like a soda, fair head that went away fairly quickly
S- Sweet vanilla with some hints of roastiness
T- Very sweet vanilla with some hints of roasty bitterness
M- Medium bodied and fairly carbonated
Overall- Very nice beer. I certainly welcome this beer to your rotation to mix up the standard porter- Very good vanilla taste.
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look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Poured from bottle into pint glass
A- Very dark brown in color with bubbles much like a soda, fair head that went away fairly quickly
S- Sweet vanilla with some hints of roastiness
T- Very sweet vanilla with some hints of roasty bitterness
M- Medium bodied and fairly carbonated
Overall- Very nice beer. I certainly welcome this beer to your rotation to mix up the standard porter- Very good vanilla taste.
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More User Reviews:
3.67/5 rDev +0.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
I have recently been avoiding flavored beers. The few that I have had, from chocolate stouts, grapefruit IPAs to, yes, vanilla porters, tasted artificial and the added flavors overwhelmed the beer they were supposed to enhance. I tried this at a restaurant on a whim and enjoyed it. The vanilla is not all powerful, and it allows the porter taste like it should: only with a whiff of vanilla in the nose and on the tongue!
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look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
I have recently been avoiding flavored beers. The few that I have had, from chocolate stouts, grapefruit IPAs to, yes, vanilla porters, tasted artificial and the added flavors overwhelmed the beer they were supposed to enhance. I tried this at a restaurant on a whim and enjoyed it. The vanilla is not all powerful, and it allows the porter taste like it should: only with a whiff of vanilla in the nose and on the tongue!
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3.53/5 rDev -3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
On tap at Lindley Park Filling Station here in Greensboro.Poured into a standard pint a deep dar brown with some ruby hue to it,a thinner but well sustained off white head atop.Big sweet vanilla aromas mixed with some roasted notes,flavors are quite sweet up front with vanilla and molasses flavors, there is a decent drying woddy,earthy finish to keep it from being sweeter than it already is.Not bad but the sweetness up front can be a bit much though.
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look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
On tap at Lindley Park Filling Station here in Greensboro.Poured into a standard pint a deep dar brown with some ruby hue to it,a thinner but well sustained off white head atop.Big sweet vanilla aromas mixed with some roasted notes,flavors are quite sweet up front with vanilla and molasses flavors, there is a decent drying woddy,earthy finish to keep it from being sweeter than it already is.Not bad but the sweetness up front can be a bit much though.
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3.59/5 rDev -1.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Pours a medium to dark brown with a half inch tan head that was poorly retained and left a couple rings of lacing. Smell is vanilla, coffee and chocolate. Taste follows the smell with vanilla first and foremost followed by coffee, semi-sweet chocolate, nuts and malt. Lightly carbonated, mouthfeel is thin, a bit watery for my taste. I like the vanilla flavor, but this beer is just good, not great.
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look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Pours a medium to dark brown with a half inch tan head that was poorly retained and left a couple rings of lacing. Smell is vanilla, coffee and chocolate. Taste follows the smell with vanilla first and foremost followed by coffee, semi-sweet chocolate, nuts and malt. Lightly carbonated, mouthfeel is thin, a bit watery for my taste. I like the vanilla flavor, but this beer is just good, not great.
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4.29/5 rDev +17.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Bottle drank at Freshcraft in Denver, CO.
Pours a semi-clear dark brown color with a 1/2 inch tan head that fades to an oily film. Thin rings of lace line the glass on the drink down. Smell is of dark roasted malts and vanilla beans. Taste is of dark roasted malts, vanilla cola, and vanilla extract. This beer has good carbonation with a soda-like crisp and clean mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good porter with some unique vanilla flavors. I would definitely get this one again. My first beer from Breckenridge.
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look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Bottle drank at Freshcraft in Denver, CO.
Pours a semi-clear dark brown color with a 1/2 inch tan head that fades to an oily film. Thin rings of lace line the glass on the drink down. Smell is of dark roasted malts and vanilla beans. Taste is of dark roasted malts, vanilla cola, and vanilla extract. This beer has good carbonation with a soda-like crisp and clean mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good porter with some unique vanilla flavors. I would definitely get this one again. My first beer from Breckenridge.
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3.93/5 rDev +7.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
A solid drinkable Porter, a beer I'll definitely buy again. However, I didn't get a taste or scent of vanilla. This Porter has a wonderful dark color, with a pleasant coffee / bitter smell. This tasted, like it smell. For me it was very balance.
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look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
A solid drinkable Porter, a beer I'll definitely buy again. However, I didn't get a taste or scent of vanilla. This Porter has a wonderful dark color, with a pleasant coffee / bitter smell. This tasted, like it smell. For me it was very balance.
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2.73/5 rDev -25.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
Roasted walnut brown on the desktop, maroon with orange highlights when backlit. A golden ecru cap sits atop the beer and begins to deflate as surface bubbles pop! pop! pop! in rapid succession. Better than average lace helps turn this into a pretty good looking porter.
The nose is weak and isn't all that porterish. That's somewhat surprising since the malt bill runs the gamut from pale to caramel to chocolate to black to roasted barley. Precious little of the darker malts were used, I'm guessing. I do appreciate the unmistakable aroma of vanilla, so all is not lost.
Breckenridge went to the trouble to acquire vanilla beans from New Guinea and Madagascar. I guess a blending of the two is required to get exactly the vanilla flavor they're looking for. Why then does it taste like poor quality vanilla extract? Despite the fact that it has a great deal of flavor, I'm not enjoying the beer as much as I was during the first few sips.
It's a little too sweet, with a chocolate and caramal extract flavor. I'm sure the brewery uses quality ingredients, it just doesn't taste like it. Vanilla, which I usually love, is becoming more overpowering as I drink. Good thing the bottle is only twelve ounces.
The body/mouthfeel is both thin and slightly sticky, a combination of characteristics that has always made me think that sugar was added (after fermentation) to a relatively light-bodied beer. It's a fairly unexciting mouthfeel that might have been helped by a few more bubbles. Nah, probably not.
A vanilla porter sounds like something I would enjoy. It's too bad this winter seasonal isn't very good. I have no idea where the fault lies, but the beer tastes fake. Never mind the word 'partakable' along the bottom edge of the label. I won't be partaking of Vanilla Porter ever again.
1,798 characters
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
Roasted walnut brown on the desktop, maroon with orange highlights when backlit. A golden ecru cap sits atop the beer and begins to deflate as surface bubbles pop! pop! pop! in rapid succession. Better than average lace helps turn this into a pretty good looking porter.
The nose is weak and isn't all that porterish. That's somewhat surprising since the malt bill runs the gamut from pale to caramel to chocolate to black to roasted barley. Precious little of the darker malts were used, I'm guessing. I do appreciate the unmistakable aroma of vanilla, so all is not lost.
Breckenridge went to the trouble to acquire vanilla beans from New Guinea and Madagascar. I guess a blending of the two is required to get exactly the vanilla flavor they're looking for. Why then does it taste like poor quality vanilla extract? Despite the fact that it has a great deal of flavor, I'm not enjoying the beer as much as I was during the first few sips.
It's a little too sweet, with a chocolate and caramal extract flavor. I'm sure the brewery uses quality ingredients, it just doesn't taste like it. Vanilla, which I usually love, is becoming more overpowering as I drink. Good thing the bottle is only twelve ounces.
The body/mouthfeel is both thin and slightly sticky, a combination of characteristics that has always made me think that sugar was added (after fermentation) to a relatively light-bodied beer. It's a fairly unexciting mouthfeel that might have been helped by a few more bubbles. Nah, probably not.
A vanilla porter sounds like something I would enjoy. It's too bad this winter seasonal isn't very good. I have no idea where the fault lies, but the beer tastes fake. Never mind the word 'partakable' along the bottom edge of the label. I won't be partaking of Vanilla Porter ever again.
1,798 characters
3.02/5 rDev -17.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2
A: Dark Brown with a tan head. Shiny.
N: Vanilla extract, chocolate, toasted grain, fudge.
T: A light, average porter with some basic coffee and chocolate notes thats had a ton of vanilla poured into it.
MF: Light, slightly sweet from the vanilla. Slightly syrupy.
D: Ok for one but wouldnt want any more.
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look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2
A: Dark Brown with a tan head. Shiny.
N: Vanilla extract, chocolate, toasted grain, fudge.
T: A light, average porter with some basic coffee and chocolate notes thats had a ton of vanilla poured into it.
MF: Light, slightly sweet from the vanilla. Slightly syrupy.
D: Ok for one but wouldnt want any more.
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4.06/5 rDev +10.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
I have to preface this with the admission that I don't usually do porters. Overall, if you are looking for a typical porter this brew might not be the best choice.
Poured from a bottle into a pint glass. The head was very thin and disappeared almost immediately, liquid was nearly opaque. I expected more vanilla scent out of the bottle, but there wasn't much. The taste was very smooth with a fair amount of vanilla (not too sweet or overpowering) and a bit of a coffee edge. Its nice and roasty without any bitterness. This feels and tastes like a much lighter beer with quite a bit of carbonation. I wish it were a little creamier, but overall I like it a lot. Would purchase again.
686 characters
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
I have to preface this with the admission that I don't usually do porters. Overall, if you are looking for a typical porter this brew might not be the best choice.
Poured from a bottle into a pint glass. The head was very thin and disappeared almost immediately, liquid was nearly opaque. I expected more vanilla scent out of the bottle, but there wasn't much. The taste was very smooth with a fair amount of vanilla (not too sweet or overpowering) and a bit of a coffee edge. Its nice and roasty without any bitterness. This feels and tastes like a much lighter beer with quite a bit of carbonation. I wish it were a little creamier, but overall I like it a lot. Would purchase again.
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3.73/5 rDev +1.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
The color is inky black, wit ha half-inch of foamy head. It smelt of licorice and molasses, which kind of anticipated a sickly-sweet taste. However, the vanilla comes in and saves it, adding in some sarsaparilla, and a hint of something else... anise? I dug the mouthfeel, which was creamy, like a scoop of ice cream was plopped in the glass. But this beer doesn't feel right for anything but sipping, and I'd recommend it for dessert.
435 characters
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
The color is inky black, wit ha half-inch of foamy head. It smelt of licorice and molasses, which kind of anticipated a sickly-sweet taste. However, the vanilla comes in and saves it, adding in some sarsaparilla, and a hint of something else... anise? I dug the mouthfeel, which was creamy, like a scoop of ice cream was plopped in the glass. But this beer doesn't feel right for anything but sipping, and I'd recommend it for dessert.
435 characters
4.15/5 rDev +13.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Dark brown pour with a strong beige head that fizzles quickly. The coffee and vanilla notes meet my nose immediately and the flavor is there as well. Strong coffee and vanilla sweetness and a smooth finish. Over all lack of aftertaste. The body is a little thin for the style in my humble opinion, but the carbonation is good. The flavors are so bold and clean, each sip is interesting. If the body was a bit more substantial it would be just that much better. I bought twelve and don't anticipate having any trouble finishing each one.
536 characters
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Dark brown pour with a strong beige head that fizzles quickly. The coffee and vanilla notes meet my nose immediately and the flavor is there as well. Strong coffee and vanilla sweetness and a smooth finish. Over all lack of aftertaste. The body is a little thin for the style in my humble opinion, but the carbonation is good. The flavors are so bold and clean, each sip is interesting. If the body was a bit more substantial it would be just that much better. I bought twelve and don't anticipate having any trouble finishing each one.
536 characters
3.67/5 rDev +0.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.25/5 rDev -11.2%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Vanilla Porter from Breckenridge Brewery
Beer rating:
3.66 out of
5 with
4,348 ratings
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