Bourbon Barrel Aged Vanilla Porter
Nashoba Valley Brewery

A nice fluffy thick rich head rises to a finger and fades slowly, leaving a nice lacing of memory on the sides of the glass. The beer is just about pitch black, with hints of super dark brown light shining through on the thin parts. The beer has some nice legs too, as it slowly runs down the sides of the glass with a slight oily complexion.

The nose has quite a few things going on. In front is some woody esthers and oak, not overpowering though. With that comes some bourbon aromas, with a slight sweet caramelized barrel sugars aroma. Under all that is a nice porter aroma, with some light roasted malts, touch of coffee, some nice caramel, plenty of vanilla, some chocolate malts even. Some sweetness and just a hint of booze. The vanilla is pretty dominant as my nose becomes accustomed to the oak and bourbon, as well as dark malts.

The taste begins with some malts some light creamy malts, some roasted barley, some chocolate malts, a nice baker's chocolate, and touch of bitter dark chocolate, a hint of coffee. Some caramel in there as well. Plenty of vanilla again, lots of it. It's pretty sweet, with just a hint of booze, but smooth and creamy. Also the oak is there, some woody esthers again, lighter than the nose had, but there, with a bit of the bourbon. The oak and bourbon which was the front runner in the aroma, takes a back seat to the nice soft malts, with some nice chocolate and plenty of vanilla. It's actually very silky. It finishes drier. The woody esthers come out a lot more on the finish, as well as the oak, bourbon, and a bit of toffee. Some of the vanilla lingers as well, but almost all the malts have disappeared. There also is no hint of burnt flavors or over roasted minerality. I get a bit of lactose on the finish as well, adding to that creamy taste and texture. Although, it probably could have used a hint of some light mild spicy hops here as well.

The only critical thing I can really say is the body, which seemed to be a bit thinner than it should have, but then again this is a porter and not a RIS like the rest of the beer seems to advertise. But, what it does have is a nice creamy, super smooth and silky texture. It has decent carbonation, which is OK for being from a growler.

It is surprisingly drinkable, with a nice somewhat sweet start and dry finish. The lactose seems to really help dry the finish. No off flavors lingering, with some light oak and vanilla on the finish that helps you remember the beer for a while after.