Meridian Vanilla Stout
Ecliptic Brewing

 

 

Chilled, then poured this 12oz can into an imperial pint glass.

Look: Dark almost-black, with a tan/brown head that dissipated very slowly. In fact, every after 15-20 minutes there was still a layer of tan foaminess lingering on the beer.
Smell: dark roasted malts, hoppy bitterness and earthy notes of peat
Taste: taste follows the smell, dark roasted malts but not super malty, hop up front and then bitter on the back like an Irish Stout, no vanilla and no booze. The hop is the defining note, more so than the roast.
Feel: medium feel with a nice smooth tickle of carbonation that lingers as it warmed

The picture above of this beer shows that it is a “Dry Irish-Style Stout with Vanilla” but our 2021 can says “American Stout with Vanilla.” Ecliptic could have stopped at “Dry Irish-Style Stout.” We do not get any vanilla, which we were hoping for. Dan is an Irish American and so he says this is definitely a dry, barley and rye stout without a ton of other notes. The earthy notes are also typical of a dry Irish stout, but there is NO vanilla even as we let it warm. Somewhat disappointing given what that it was labeled an American stout with vanilla, neither of which were true.

 

 

2 week old can into a guinness glass. Really fantastic 3 finger dark tan head, awesome retention, held for over 20 minutes, very frothy too. The nose is a faint roasted malt, some peat maybe. Taste wise we get an awesome classic Irish dry stout with just the right hint of vanilla: roasted malt, dry woody peat, rye, and a touch of vanilla just at the end to sweeten it up. The feel is good and crisp, clean, neat, and dry.

This is a fantastic take on a old school dry Irish stout. I was worried that, when buying a vanilla stout, it would basically just be vanilla ice cream in a glass. I am pleasantly surprised! Great dessert beer!

 

 

Look: Jet black with a highly vigorous tan head that builds quickly and holds before slowly settling, leaving great lacing behind
Aroma: Roast, vanilla beans, baking cocoa, some earthiness, and warm brown bread
Taste: Roasted barley, dark chocolate, and vanilla come on strong upon initial sip before being hit with a load of deeply earthy hops and a little sharp dryness. Big time bread follows that along with more roasted grains and finishes with chocolate and vanilla notes
Mouthfeel: Full, medium-high carbonation, and a back and forth between softness and some sharpness and dryness throughout
Overall: I dig it. I’m a fan of these folks’ offerings so was glad to see when they made this as a new beer last year as the market can always use more stouts. Though I was initially hesitant on the vanilla aspect as to me, it can overpower other flavors if not utilized properly and they nailed that balance, in my opinion. Pretty hoppy too which adds to the uniqueness as it is not always present in non-imperial stouts and something I enjoy. Tasty and recommended

Poured from can packaged last month, into snifter glass.

L: Black as night, SRM 40+. A mighty brown foam with tight, dense bubbles- well retained for some minutes. Little visible carbonation. Appears rather light for a dark, dark stout.

S: Toffee and caramel upfront, followed by chocolate and vanilla notes, all backed by roasted barley Sharp and direct.

T: Gentle vanilla toffee and surprising hop bitterness for a moment, that is quickly washed away by roastiness. A strong coffee aftertaste. Very similar to the experience of a fresh cup of coffee with a splash of vanilla creamer. Bold on the coffee flavors with nuanced tones elsewhere, of vanilla and dark wood.

F: Deliciously silky smooth . A quick hit of carbonation rushes away leaving a coated mouth. Medium bodied.

This brew absolutely belongs on nitro. It nearly feels of it from the can. As a dry Irish stout, it is excellent. Decadently creamy, bold and decisive, with hot coffee and barley notes. I greatly appreciate the subtly of vanilla added, it goes a long way creating a more savory experience- one could sip several. One of the better stouts I have come across in a while.

12oz can from the brewery.

Black and opaque with a creamy beige head that sticks. Smoky and bready in the nose. Lively carbonation level with a super creamy mouthfeel. Tangy, roasty, char, coffee, cocoa nibs, and bitter with a hint of rind. Vanilla is barely detectable, but it does become a bit more pronounced as the beer warms up. Personally, I wouldn't have bothered as this beer is just fine without. Finish is incredibly dry; as it should be.

Despite being billed as "Vanilla Stout," this is a solid Dry Irish Stout.

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing nearly opaque black in the glass with a half finger khaki head with good retention and nice lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt and a little biscuit, cocoa and vanilla. Flavor is dry toasted malt with light char, baker's chocolate, light coffee and slight vanilla. Medium bodied with light creaminess. A very authentic tasting dry stout with a pleasant, lightly charred malt body and light cocoa and coffee notes. There isn't much overt vanilla flavor, but the vanilla does seem to smooth the edges of the dry malt. Nicely done.

12 oz. single from Safeway West Salem OR.
$8.99 SIXER.
Typical but welcome blackest body and frothy yellow head.
Nice coffee and malt aromas;
Taste is mainlly the same..coffee..cream and some vanilla.
Mouth feel is good..
Nice vanilla Stout

12oz can

Pours two fingers of creamy light brown head into my nitro glass. Retention is very very good. Initial lacing looks nice as well. Body is completely black, even when held up to light. Looks really nice so far.

Nose is as advertised, dry, earthy vanilla, coffee, roasty, burnt toast. This is a very full aroma, clean, and it clearly highlights each characteristic. Somewhat simple on the surface, but a little more complex underneath. Pretty impressive. Maybe a tad abrasive, but I’m not complaining.

Flavor follows suit. Roasty, though not quite as in your face as the nose, not burnt, which is fine. Vanilla comes across in a more silky, semi sweet way, not quite as earthy, also fine with this. Not getting much in the way of coffee notes, not the end of the world, but always nice to translate aroma to flavor. Overall the flavor is a just little toned down from the aroma, it works in its own way though, it’s very smooth and drinkable, but I also enjoyed the kick that the nose had. So the flavor isn’t terribly worse, just different.

Mouthfeel is pretty nice. Very dry, I think I like stouts to be a tad more balanced than this, but for the style this is accurate. Bitterness in the form of roasted malt is also not hard to come by here. Carbonation is about medium. Body is actually on the lighter side. Overall maybe not my preferred mouthfeel, but very to style.

With the exception of the dryness and bitterness, this is very clean, smooth, and crushable.

Appearance turned out great. A small sliver of head hung around all the way down, and the lacing was very thick.

Overall this is an exceptional beer. Personally the dryness is a little much, and the flavor could have followed the aroma a little better, but overall very very good.

Well, what have we here? Canned just 10 days ago. Having plenty (ahem) of first hand experience with Irish stouts having worked in Ireland in days past, I look forward to this.

A rich, almost black pour. Check.
Light nose, whiff of roasty malts. Check.
Dry taste, no sweetness, lingering bitterness. Check, a liitle thin on this one.
Good but not excessive carbonation. Check.

I don't pick up much vanilla, just sort of a background flavor that hides out until the finish.

Overall, while it plainly didn't come from St. James Gate, but it's very enjoyable.

Bordering pitch black with mirroring clarity, Meridian is a proper looking stout. Capped by a creamy espresso like tan foam that persists very well, leaving behind ring after ring of sticky lace.

Smells right proper too, with a huge roast presence. Dark coffee and burnt brown sugar with a mineral water/ metallic finish accompanied by a savory herbal tone.

Heavy once again on the roasty qualities with burnt bread coming before dark chocolate. Vanilla goes unnoticed just as in the aroma. But as indicated by the aroma, each sip ends with that classic English and Irish iron metallic taste. As it warms, a mild cola like blend of spices seems to creep through.

All char and bitter ends leaves little room for sweetness from this full flavored and full bodied session beer. But the key to any Dry Irish Stout is to be just that. Dry. And this one finishes exceptionally so.

Though the advertised vanilla seems to lack a presence, this is still quite a well made stout and fits the style appropriately. Perfect rainy day sipper here. Now excuse me while I have another, and drop the needle on my favorite Pogues album.

Slainté!