Vanilla Option #2
Rock Bridge Brewing Co.

12 oz can purchased from Lukas' in KCMO, poured into Prairie Rastal glass.

Deep thick inky black, obsidian; topped with heavy creamy beige head that looks like cappuccino. This is stunning.

Aroma is like a spiced vanilla latte with oreo cookie on the side. It is literally dessert in a glass to my nose. Some mild coffee notes as well, but this is full-on pastry.

Flavor brings a lot of pastry element forth in the form of vanilla cookie, vanilla bean, chocolate milk, and spiced coffee, but fades off quickly into water and iron, about halfway through and into the finish. Finish is of water and iron and slight day old watery coffee.

Feel is creamy, but watery, has a good carbonation and interesting coffee roastiness with some lingering hop resins.

Overall this is a pretty good stout but due to it falling off to water halfway through I don't think I'd spring another $12 on a 4 pack.

 

Pours a black color. 1/2 inch head of a tan color. Good retention and great lacing. Smells of vanilla, sweet malt, alcohol, lactose, hint of roasted malt, hint of wood, and chocolate. Fits the style of an American Imperial Stout. Mouth feel is smooth and creamy, with a low carbonation level. Tastes of strong vanilla, sweet malt, alcohol, lactose, hint of roasted malt, hint of wood, and chocolate. Overall, good appearance and amazing feel, with a decent aroma and body, but the blend is overly vanilla.

 

 

Black in color with no light penetration. There's a quarter inch of creamy brown on top. The aroma is of vanilla and lactose. I'm tasting vanilla, black coffee, lactose, and then there's a strong vanilla finish. The mouth is lightly oily and viscous.

 

 

 

 

Pours black with a finger of khaki head. Head retention is moderate with no lacing left behind. Aroma is large notes of vanilla bean, which comes off a little artificial and fake. Vanilla bean is backed up by roasted and toasted malts. Milk chocolate, coffee, and lactose appear in the aroma, but pale in comparison to the vanilla bean. Flavor profile is again - large notes of vanilla bean. Roasted and toasted malts are certainly present, but hide behind the vanilla bean addition. There is a touch of lactose, chocolate, and coffee in the mix as well. Mouth feel is smooth, and slippery, but feels a bit flat. It has a medium thickness. Overall, a good stout for those seeking vanilla bean. The vanilla bean really masks the base beer, giving the coffee and milk only a glimpse of sunlight.

Served in a 12oz snifter from a 12oz can.

This is a vanilla bomb. Big vanilla sweet cream with nice coffee and chocolate. A huge improvement from the regular option 2. My only knock is it is a bit thin, but it is so crushable at 9.2%

 

 

Type: 12-oz. can
Glass: Rip Current 8-oz. beer glass
From: Goebel Liquor / Rob’s World of Beer in Wichita, Kan.
Price: $3.99 (I think)
Purchased: March 14, 2018
Consumed: March 22, 2018
Reviewed as: Milk / Sweet Stout
Misc.: No canned on date

Picked this up and the base version on a recent work trip to Wichita, Kan., without even looking at the ratings. Like the original Option No. 2 (which I gave a 4.44), went with Milk / Sweet Stout instead of American Double / Imperial Stout. From what I gathered online, this version has added vanilla beans instead of coffee beans. However, the original Option No. 2 listed it as, “An Imperial Milk stout brewed with vanilla-hazelnut coffee beans.” Not sure how vanilla beans instead of vanilla-hazelnut coffee beans will affect it. Either way, loved the original and was hoping this would be as close to as good.

Poured a pitch black color with 2-to-3 fingers of rocky, khaki-tan head. Calm setting underneath with no noticeable bubbles. Excellent spiderweb foamy head. World-class foamy head. (Sight - 4.50)

Smelled creamy vanilla, white chocolate, caramel, toffee, horchata, malt chocolate and warm milk. (Smell - 4.25)

Taste was a bit better than the nose. Wow, vanilla version might have been just as good. Got vanilla, white chocolate, caramel, toffee, hints of butterscotch, horchata, chocolate syrup, white mocha and cocoa. (Taste - 4.25)

Full body. Sticky texture. Average carbonation. Long, smooth finish. (Feel - 4.50)

Another damn good milk stout. Not quite as good as the original in my opinion, but close. (Overall - 4.25)

4.29 | 95 | A

Received from @gibgink in a trade – Thanks Dennis!
Undated 12 oz can, stored at 42 degrees and served at 52 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter.
Appearance – 4.25.
Body – Dark brown/black, opaque.
Head – Large (Maximum 5.5 cm, aggressive center pour), tan, medium density, good retention, slooowly diminishing to an irregular five to fifteen mm ring and a complete layer with rocks with a serpentinous upper ring of tiny bubbles connected by irregularly spaced and shaped columns to the ring.
Lacing – Excellent. Wide blocks of tiny to small bubbles separated by windows.
First pour – Brown, clear.
Aroma – 4 – Sweet, malted milk. When the glass warms to 56 degrees, the malted milk aroma dissipates and a hint of vanilla comes through. No hops on the aroma.
Flavor – 4.25 - Oddly, the first taste has a slight malt bitterness, almost like bitter chocolate. The bitterness has no taste of hops until the aftertaste. Toward the middle a bit of vanilla rides in on the lactose sweetness. No alcohol, no diacetyl, no dimethylsulfide.
Palate – 4 - Medium, creamy, soft carbonation.
Impression and summation – 4.25 – Generally, I’m not a fan of milk stouts nor brews with vanilla added. However, this may be the exception that proves both rules. Despite the initial unexpected bitterness, this smooths out to be sweet but not cloying with the vanilla actually putting in an appearance in both the nose and mouth without being overwhelming. The drinkability of this beer is deceptive, the 9.2% ABV is totally hidden and has the potential to sneak up on you and leave you bleeding in a dark alley. The hops play their role, balancing out the sweetness of the malt and lactose. This brew not only looks, smells, and tastes good, it feels good in my mouth.

12oz can. Poured out an opaque, jet-black color with a small, tan head of foam. It smelled of vanilla, chocolate and roasted malt. Very strong vanilla flavor with hints of chocolate, toffee and roasted malt.