Cocoa Vanilla Porter
Bad Jimmy's Brewing Co.

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing nearly opaque in the glass with a half finger dark khaki head with great retention and thick lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, milk and dark chocolate and vanilla. Flavor is moderately dark toasted malt, cocoa and vanilla; the flavor thins out somewhat into the finish, but reveals a little char to malt, giving it a little character. Medium bodied with mild creaminess and good carbonation. A good porter that delivers on the cocoa and vanilla as advertised. The flavor is straightforward, but pleasant, but a little more deep malt into the finish would help this a bit. The aroma had really nice real chocolate notes in it, while the flavor was more like light cocoa. Good balance and tasty.

 

 

On tap into a shaker at a Ballard restaurant. The appearance is quite dark, with a nice head that doesn't last long, but leaves a bunch of lacing. The smell, and the taste, are heavy on the vanilla. Yes, there's cocoa there, but it's the background harmony notes; the vanilla is the tenor lead. So this seems almost like a milkshake beer, but fortunately, it's not at all sweet. It's got a medium roasty character. Overall, it's pretty good.

 

 

I had this beer on-tap in a pint glass at the brewery.

Appearance: very dark brown, nearly black, with a thin layer of tan foam. Not bad.

Smell: dark malt with hints of cocoa. Not too bad.

Taste: sweet with a nice vanilla flavor up front and some cocoa toward the end. A bit of a dessert beer, but a good one.

Mouthfeel: medium rich body with a good carbonation and a nice creaminess. Satisfying.

Overall: like I said, it's a bit sweet, but otherwise a very drinkable beer.