Dark Vanilla
Element Brewing Company

Dark VanillaDark Vanilla
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Element Brewing Company
 
Massachusetts, United States
Style:
Black IPA
ABV:
8%
Score:
80
Avg:
3.34 | pDev: 15.57%
Reviews:
3
Ratings:
22
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:
Photo of 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
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.25 by EatonHops from Massachusetts

Jan 14, 2019
 
Rated: 3.57 by orangesol from Pennsylvania

Jan 11, 2016
 
Rated: 3.51 by Uzarnayme from Vermont

May 23, 2015
 
Rated: 3.85 by rallyr32 from New York

May 18, 2015
 
Rated: 3.56 by N1Nkasi from Connecticut

Apr 17, 2015
 
Rated: 3.5 by Dave_Treat from Virginia

Apr 03, 2015
Photo of brother_rebus
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
Sweet malty and medium bodied. Very strong yet pleasant vanilla taste. Dissipates well.
Mar 24, 2015
 
Rated: 3.53 by Child_Pugh from Rhode Island

Mar 23, 2015
 
Rated: 3.5 by tkdchampxi from New Jersey

Mar 23, 2015
 
Rated: 3.07 by djrn2 from New Jersey

Mar 23, 2015
 
Rated: 3 by fossage78 from Massachusetts

Mar 23, 2015
 
Rated: 2.95 by JasonHaviland from New Hampshire

Feb 23, 2015
 
Rated: 2.9 by SadMachine from New Jersey

Dec 23, 2014
Photo of rjp217
Reviewed by rjp217 from Massachusetts

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, 2014
Photo of jbertsch
Reviewed by jbertsch from Massachusetts

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, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by JakerLou from New Hampshire

Feb 09, 2014
Photo of Dope
Reviewed by Dope from Massachusetts

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, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by DrewBest from Massachusetts

Dec 30, 2013
 
Rated: 3 by huddyball from New Hampshire

Dec 20, 2013
Dark Vanilla from Element Brewing Company
Beer rating: 80 out of 100 with 22 ratings