Rye'der On The Storm
Alpine Beer Company

 

 

 

On draft at Alpine Tasting Room, Alpine, California. Dark looking, great head and lacing. Has the chocolate aroma and vanilla taste. The taste is good and the rye and vanilla make it smooth. Overall a nice porter to try.

On tap at Alpine Beer Company’s tasting room in Alpine, CA.

I have to admit, outside of Bourbon County Vanilla, your boy isn’t the biggest fan of Vanilla. That being said...hey! This one isn’t all that bad! It’s like that one time when Raul went to Spearmint Rhino and his favorite girl, Midnight Sanchez, wasn’t there - so he had to “settle” for Misty Rain instead. But you know what? Misty wasn’t that bad!

Now, like I said, this beer is no Midnight - but it’s still tasty and worth a twirl. It’s a bit light on texture, but the Rye and Vanilla is pretty nice.

Get it!

$ 16.57 (Including shipping)/bomber ($ 0.753/oz) from Blackwell’s, San Francisco, CA.
Best by 13 Jan 17 (Was in date when I received it, mea culpa) served at 42 degrees into a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter, consumed between 45 – 54 degrees.
Aroma – Chocolate and vanilla, fades to nearly nothing.
Head large (Maximum 5.8 cm, aggressive pour), tan, frothy, medium density, average retention, diminishing to an irregular six to nine mm frothy ring and a rocky layer.
Lacing – none.
Body – dark brown/black, opaque.
Flavor – very slightly bitter, chocolate and vanilla blend so both are barely distinguishable. There is a faint spiciness from the rye malt. Everything is very muted. There is a short bitterness hanging on the palate after swallowing. No hops, no alcohol, no diacetyl.
Palate – medium, approaching creamy, soft carbonation.

This is a decent porter with well-balanced and blended flavors. In fact, the flavors are so well balanced that there is no reason to buy this porter over something cheaper since it only distinguished by its lack of any flavor standing out. Perhaps if I’d have opened it sooner…

Appearance 3.75, Aroma 3.75, Flavor 3.5, Palate 4, Overall 3.5.

 

 

 

 

 

Poured from 22oz bomber into a dimpled mug. Best before 1/13/17, so I'm still under the wire!

Appearance: rich, dark brown hue with a thick finger of frothy tan foam atop. Very nice.

Smell: sweet and chocolatey with just a dash of vanilla. It's nice, but a bit too sweet for my taste.

Taste: roasty, chocolatey, a little sweet and again with just that hint of vanilla. The roasty element here is really nice and does a great job counteracting the heavy sweetness from the aroma.

Mouthfeel: medium-light body with a pretty big carbonation and a decent creaminess.

Overall: this is a tasty porter, and I could see quaffing a lot of it. The smell is a bit sweet, but the roastiness is big in this one and it keeps me coming back.

 

 

Bottle poured into a Green Flash Brewing Co pint glass

A: Pours dark brown with a frothy milk chocolate head that settles to a light layer and leaves some nice lacing.

S: Vanilla, cocoa powder, roasted malt, dark toasted bread, a touch dark fruit, and a little toffee sweetness.

T: Vanilla, roasted malt, cocoa powder, burnt toast, a hint of smoke, dark fruit, a little spicy rye, and some toffee sweetness.

M: Medium body, moderate carbonation.

O: Vanilla comes off a little artificial, but overall it's a pretty decent porter for 5.3%