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Dark Vanilla
Element Brewing Company
- From:
- Element Brewing Company
- Massachusetts, United States
- Style:
- Black IPA
- ABV:
- 8%
- Score:
- 80
- Avg:
- 3.34 | pDev: 15.57%
- Reviews:
- 3
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Jan 14, 2019
- Added:
- Dec 11, 2013
- Wants:
- 1
- Gots:
- 1
Dark Element on vanilla beans
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by kvgomps:
Rated by kvgomps from New Jersey
3.5/5 rDev +4.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Jul 01, 2015
3.5/5 rDev +4.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Jul 01, 2015
More User Ratings:
Rated by brother_rebus from Maine
4.31/5 rDev +29%
look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
4.31/5 rDev +29%
look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
Sweet malty and medium bodied. Very strong yet pleasant vanilla taste. Dissipates well.
Mar 24, 2015Reviewed by rjp217 from Massachusetts
3.31/5 rDev -0.9%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
3.31/5 rDev -0.9%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
Bottle date of 2013-12, poured into my snifter...
A - Hazy dark brown in color with a decent one finger head. The head quickly fizzles and there's not much lace to speak of
S - Vanilla up front, then a lot of candy type aroma. Lingering notes of root beer
T - Just an absolute vanilla bomb. I was hoping it would fade a little with the 6-7 months of age but not so. Absolutely cloyingly sweet
M - Light body, huge carbonation, hoppy bite
O - This beer needs a lot of work. The vanilla is overwhelming and not in a good way. It's like drinking a vanilla soda. The carbonation is out of wack. It could of used some BA and less vanilla. Too bad because I had high hopes.
Jun 22, 2014A - Hazy dark brown in color with a decent one finger head. The head quickly fizzles and there's not much lace to speak of
S - Vanilla up front, then a lot of candy type aroma. Lingering notes of root beer
T - Just an absolute vanilla bomb. I was hoping it would fade a little with the 6-7 months of age but not so. Absolutely cloyingly sweet
M - Light body, huge carbonation, hoppy bite
O - This beer needs a lot of work. The vanilla is overwhelming and not in a good way. It's like drinking a vanilla soda. The carbonation is out of wack. It could of used some BA and less vanilla. Too bad because I had high hopes.
Reviewed by jbertsch from Massachusetts
1.46/5 rDev -56.3%
look: 3 | smell: 1.25 | taste: 1 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 1.5
1.46/5 rDev -56.3%
look: 3 | smell: 1.25 | taste: 1 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 1.5
So dissapointed. Regular "Dark" is such a hreat beer from them. But this variant is horrid. I don't get how it passes QC. The vanilla tastes both extremely excessive and also cheap. Doeant mesh well with the high level bitterness the beer has. Drain pour.
Mar 22, 2014Reviewed by Dope from Massachusetts
3.78/5 rDev +13.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
3.78/5 rDev +13.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
Bottle from 10/13 I believe.
A: Pours a dark brown, not quite black. Tall, airy and fizzy light brown head. Head fizzes out and dissipates quickly. Just a little splotch of lacing here and there. Decent retention at least.
S: True to its name, loads of vanilla. A touch of chocolate and char. Kind of a nougat type aroma in general, reminds me of a three musketeers overall.
T: Kind of a sharp hoppiness up front. Piney and resinous I would say. Bitter, bitter chocolate and maybe even a hint of coffee follows. There is the vanilla but not as strong as the aroma. Again, it's more of a nougat type flavor. A little more hop bitterness in the finish. Lingering vanilla and bitter cocoa in the aftertaste.
M: Medium bodied, sharp and bitter, long lingering hop aftertaste.
O: I'm not sure what to think about this one. Dark Element is arguably their best beer but this just feels messy and disjointed. The base beer is normally a sort-of black IPA but the addition of vanilla just does not work for me. It's not hoppy enough to be a black IPA, not sweet enough to be a chocolate/vanilla porter/stout...it's just kinda meh as a result. Too bad, I had high hopes for this one. It's not bad by any means but it's not nearly as good as you'd think.
Jan 04, 2014A: Pours a dark brown, not quite black. Tall, airy and fizzy light brown head. Head fizzes out and dissipates quickly. Just a little splotch of lacing here and there. Decent retention at least.
S: True to its name, loads of vanilla. A touch of chocolate and char. Kind of a nougat type aroma in general, reminds me of a three musketeers overall.
T: Kind of a sharp hoppiness up front. Piney and resinous I would say. Bitter, bitter chocolate and maybe even a hint of coffee follows. There is the vanilla but not as strong as the aroma. Again, it's more of a nougat type flavor. A little more hop bitterness in the finish. Lingering vanilla and bitter cocoa in the aftertaste.
M: Medium bodied, sharp and bitter, long lingering hop aftertaste.
O: I'm not sure what to think about this one. Dark Element is arguably their best beer but this just feels messy and disjointed. The base beer is normally a sort-of black IPA but the addition of vanilla just does not work for me. It's not hoppy enough to be a black IPA, not sweet enough to be a chocolate/vanilla porter/stout...it's just kinda meh as a result. Too bad, I had high hopes for this one. It's not bad by any means but it's not nearly as good as you'd think.
Dark Vanilla from Element Brewing Company
Beer rating:
80 out of
100 with
22 ratings
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