Hunter Vanilla
18th Street Brewery - Gary Taproom

Poured on tap black with an attractive mocha colored head. Aroma is subtle roasted malt and vanilla. Taste is roasted malt stout and real vanilla beans. By far my favorite aspect of this beer is the pillowy, creamy mouth feel. Overall quite nice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome back to New Beer(s) from @jkblr Sunday (Week 776), MKII, Part 2! He is my only current shipping trader with @tone77 as a local, in-person trader & he was CANcerned that perhaps I was giving his beers short shrift. Perish the thought! I was saving them for an NBS, but then other NBSs spiraled outta CANtrol & I kept pushing his to the back burner. Well, here we go!

From the CAN: "Stout brewed with Lactose Sugar and Cocoa Nibs"; "Double Milk Stout with Vanilla added"; "Vertical Series 02/08"; "Drink fresh. Unfiltered. Sediment may occur."; "Hunter, our creamy Double Milk Stout with Cocoa Nibs and Lactose is a beer so sumptuous it demands respect. In part to of our Hunter Vertical Series, we added whole Vanilla Beans to compliment its roastiness with an elegant rounded flavor. "

Vanilla to vanilla, in case you questioned my series of progression today. This beCAN to sound better & better as I CANsidered it so I Crack!ed open the vent to see what lay inside. The CAN's verbiage suggested that I employ a slow, gentle C-Line Glug so as not to rouse the lees. Fine by me. I watched in rapt fascination as a pseudo-cascade led to the formation of two-plus fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, deep-brown head with decent retention, slowly falling away to wisps. Color was obsidian Black/Opaque (SRM = 44) & not only was it not allowing any light penetration, it seemed to be sucking the light in the room towards it! Ahhh! I'm afraid! Nose was more like it - if you advertise "Vanilla", then bring vanilla! This smelled like vanilla ice cream dumped into a cuppa joe to cool it down. Yum. It was definitely roasty & slightly smoky with a coffee-like quality, but the vanilla was holding its own. Mouthfeel was big, full & creamy, either a testament to the brewer's art or the result of the addition of lactose or perhaps a CANbination of the two. Either way, it was really big in my mouth & on my tongue. Speaking of big, this was REALLY BIG in the vanilla department! It was unabating & I might not have enjoyed it if they had sprung it on me as a surprise. Instead, they were totes up front about it as an adjunct & I was ready as a result. Even then, it was not really all that sweet, given its style. Granted, I was not going to mistake it for a Dry Stout, but given its adjuncts, it could have been much sweeter. I am now intrigued to try the others in the series as a result. Finish was semi-sweet & as long as I CAN keep sweet beers at bay, I am gonna take @jkblr up on his challenge. YMMV.

Had poured from pint can, stamped on bottom (apparently) canned on “9/27/19,” into nonic pint.

The vanilla adds sweetness but also brings out the hop bite from the original beer, which is a nice balance of lactose, cocoa nibs and roast malts, and this beer is all the better for it.

16oz can stamped 9/27/19 (one month ago) poured into a tulip pint glass at fridge temp, no ABV listed on can. The beer pours very dense black with no light penetration and sticky mocha colored head. The head recedes to a thin cap and leaves some lacing. The aroma offers baker's chocolate, coffee, vanilla and some vague sweetness. The taste is super rich chocolate, vanilla and coffee laced milk stout with just a hint of tangyness and roasty bitterness on the finish. The mouthfeel is creamy & full bodied with just less than medium carbonation and a semi dry finish. Not cloying, no obvious ethanol. Overall, very good to excellent. Pours like motor oil and really packs the flavor. Recommended.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pours a strong dark brown head with good retention. Body is bold and deep black.

Nose is full of roasty goodness: coffee tones and a touch of red grapes from the roasted barley; bitter and semi-sweet chocolate are a blend of aromas from the cacao nibs and the malt; vanilla beans are a subtle but nice complement.

Extremely roasty on the palate, which is quite a shock. Dry and bitter, with the focus on the malt and yeast presentation. Burnt toast, red grapes, black coffee, cherries, and cream. Lip-smacking chocolate and vanilla on the finish.

Thick, smooth, and creamy. Nearly chewy, but it somehow doesn't come across as a high ABV stout.

A very tasty stout, this is definitely true to the English style (vice a big sweet American stout). That's definitely a surprise with most AIS adjunct stouts being much sweeter and far less roasty (or at the very least representing different flavors through the barley and yeast selection), but after the surprise wears off, it's very nice, indeed.

Stout brewed with lactose sugar and cocoa nibs with vanilla beans added. Poured from a can into a Stone IRS tulip. The pour is black and viscous and sports two fingers of dark brown head with good retention. The nose is roasty and rich with strong notes of roasted malt, cocoa powder, and vanilla.

Medium-full body with a firm feel. Iget the roasted malt and toffee up front, some bittersweet chocolate, and then a nice hit of vanilla. Finishes with lingering flavors of roasted malt, chocolate, and vanilla.

An excellent milk stout. Very much like standard Hunter, but the vanilla is a nice accompaniment. It is not overdone either. There is just enough vanilla to complement the roastiness, but not so much that it creates an unpleasant flavor. Definitely recommended.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Canned 6/11/18; drank 6/25/18 @ the Yarchives.

Black appearance.

A violent pour yielded a huge dark tan head; a thick curtain of lace.

Medium roast coffee bean, vanilla, milk chocolate & mild fresh earth flavors up front.

Creamy medium thick mouthfeel.

Vanilla & medium roast coffee bean flavors up front; chocolate syrup & mild fresh earth notes on the finish. No booze heat.

An easy to drink, flavorful take on the style; well above average.

 

 

 

16oz can, date stamped 2/12/18. Jet black thick pour with a tall brown head that holds good retention. Aroma is vanilla and creamy milk chocolate but not a lot going on. Bolder flavors with sweet notes of milk chocolate, vanilla, mocha latte, mild pepperiness on the finish. Mouthfeel is insanely thick and smooth, nice carbonation, finishing more sweet than bitter. Really good milk stout with vanilla, but I'm not sure the price was justified here...

The beer pours a Pitch Black with a thin tan head that recedes immediately. It has low carbonation. The beer smells of cocoa powder, hazelnuts, vanilla ice cream, and lactose. It tastes cocoa powder, milk chocolate, hazelnuts, vanilla ice cream, and lactose. The mouthfeel is medium and creamy. I don’t know old this beer is, but it held up fine.

I love the simplicity of what this beer is doing, in that it does it extremely well. I'll say it again, a stout does not need to be barrel aged to be delicious. The vanilla goes so well with the roasted malt, perfect for a milk stout. Not overly sweet, in fact after the wave of vanilla, it leans a little bitter which I really thought was done well!

Thanks to FFFjunkie for this one. Poured into a snifter. Like the base beer, nice and viscous on the pour. Subtle vanilla comes through on the nose in the midst of milk chocolate and floral hop notes. The taste followed the nose with present but restrained vanilla, milk chocolate, and floral bitterness. Sticky and full bodied. Nice - I enjoyed this one more than their base beer.

2014 (02 08 series) 22oz bottle poured to snifter, near black, thick brown head, very good retention, minor lacing. Base malt nose. Taste shows roasted malt, chocolate, some vanilla, signs of oxidation as expected. Silky feel with heavy body and average carbonation.

 

This was a very good milk stout like the original. Smooth and well balanced. The only thing I could ask is for a little bit more vanilla to come through. It was a little hidden.