Valleyview Vanilla Porter
Wichita Brewing Co. & Pizzeria West

 

This is a good porter, I think. The taste is rich and full of grain notes and the finish is not heavy at all. They say it has a strong vanilla flavor but I guess I don't taste that too much. I mean, it is there, but it is not that overpowering. I recommend this if you like Am Porters, it is a good one!

 

 

 

 

 

12 ounce can at Old Chicago.

Pours black with a nice head of tan foam.

Smells definitely of vanilla, roasted malt, quite sweet.

Taste is lightly sweet from the vanilla, has a nice roasted malt infusion, body is smooth as silk.

Excellent!

 

 

 

12 oz can no born on or best by date
Black to dark brown with a 1/2" tan head, decent retention and lacing.
Roasted malts, pipe tobacco, faint vanilla.
Malt flavor is same as in the aroma, roasty, some smoky notes and faint vanilla...easy to drink.
Medium body with a decent carbonation and a lingering roasted malt flavor. Never gets sweet.
Good one.

 

Exceptional stout. Easily a new favorite of mine.

Looks black in the glass, no head. This is a very good vanilla session stout.
Big vanilla, sweet milk chocolate. Very smooth and easy drinking. I would get again.

I do love a good vanilla porter. I actually love most, but you know.

Trying out another local beer that's brewed about 15 minutes away, I'm a little staggered at how good this beer really is. I've nearly gone through a six-pack now, having only bought it via the recommendation of a worker at local liquor store, saying "it's one of the best vanilla porters [he'd] ever had", to poorly paraphrase him. I went on that, hoping for the best, given that most beers brewed around here don't get many reviews. Well, I couldn't agree with him more.

The can looks okay, but I get the slightly odd feeling that Kansas breweries love wheaten-yellow, white, and black color schemes for their canned beers. It's not very thrilling. (I drank this straight from the can, as I do every beer. I have no word on the pour, but I'm sure you won't be sued for doing so.)

I'm not a big beer-smeller, but it does smell nice, and fairly mild, too. Reminds me of wheat perhaps, with the apparent notes of vanilla.

Yes, it tastes very much of vanilla, as it should, but not of a harsh, biting vanilla: a smooth, silky vanilla that works together with everything else very nicely. The overall taste seems to walk the line between a satisfying experience and a fleeting one, where a pleasant taste is left in the mouth after each sip, neither instantly gone with the gulp nor imparting your taste buds with a paralyzing, awestricken glory. And for its nearly 6% ABV, I can barely taste the alcohol content! You can just be sipping it casually and easily forget you're even having a beer. It's quite smooth, too. Not a ridiculously thick smooth, but a nice, clean smooth.

I'm glad I got a six pack of this, because it's becoming one of my favorite go-to beers to just have when I'm doing anything at home. The taste is great taste, it's smooth, it doesn't knock you flat... and it's local! If you get a chance to grab it, give it a go.

9/10

When in Kansas...

L: Poured a nice brown rocky head that with fairly good retention. Black body that lets no light through.

S: Roasted malts with hints of chocolate and vanilla.

T: Roasted malt up front, followed by vanilla notes. Leaves a chocolate like after taste. Nothing unpleasant about this unless you are in to really bitter beers. It's pretty sweet, and it is a bit much by the time you get to the bottom of the glass.

F: Pretty smooth and full bodied. Light to medium carbonation. A little bit of dry feeling in the mouth after awhile.

O: I love a good chocolatey stout or porter, so this one is right up my alley. Strong flavors without over doing anything. Well balanced, although maybe a little hint of bitterness to mellow out the sweetness couldn't hurt. A bit too much sweetness to it as you get down to the bottom of the glass.