Vanilla Bourbon Stout
Coeur d'Alene Brewing Co.

On tap at the brewpub in Coeur d'Alene in August 2009. Couldn't put this review in with the rest of my backlog earlier, as this place was listed as closed for a period of time.

I'll start off by saying that this was one of the worst beers that I've ever had, and probably the worst that doesn't come in an aluminum can and have the color of urine.

The color is a deep black. No head. No lacing. No legs. There is nothing going for this--it looks like still, thin mud. This was probably also the best aspect of the beer, as it only irritated me rather than making want to vomit.

The nose and taste are both just disgustingly awful and each aging component of the beer deserves its own F. The vanilla was ridiculously overpowering and tasted like they dumped an ounce of vanilla extract into my pint prior to serving it. The bourbon component was equally horrendous was just overpowering amounts of booze. This seriously smelled more bourbony than bourbon. The two did not combine well, either.

Everything about this beer was harsh and boozy. This was downright awful and I could barely stand to keep my nose within a foot of it, let alone drink that much. I tried to go back to it as it warmed, but it was just so, so, so bad. I am not exaggerating when I say that I literally threw up a bit in my mouth after trying this.

I'm a big fan of dark beer and I went to the Coeur d"Alene brew pub in Moscow for lunch and ordered this stout. Not much of a head and was served at a temperature that was a little warmer than that to which I am accustomed. I loved it. My wife is not a beer drinker at all and I asked her to try a sip and she immediately noticed the chocolate flavor. I am going to recommend this one to a friend; it's even worth a trip to Moscow. I had no idea of the high alcohol content. She drove home.

I was poured a three ounce sample from the tap at the Alehouse in Moscow, ID.

A: It poured a dark black that when back lit had a slight ruby hue around the edges. There was a wonderfully dark caramel head that receded quickly leaving a slight collar around the rim of the brew.

S: POW..the vanilla burst out of the glass assaulting my nose and overwhelming all other aromas. I fought to pick up something other than the vanilla and did detect a touch of burnt chocolate and bourbon but it was a struggle to get past the vanilla.

T: I may be vanilla "sensitive" but from the get go the vanilla flavor overpowered all others and that is not a complement. The sweet chocolate malts and bourbon only served to make this beer a mass of sugary sweetness that reminded me of eating a block of milk chocolate followed by a spoonful of sugar.

M: It had a very thin body given it is a stout. The sweet front and lingering oily vanilla aftertaste made it difficult to judge this brew.

D: I am not a fan of stouts but this one was nearly undrinkable. One was too much...possibly in shot sized portions and only when celebrating the return of Halley's Comment.

Comment: This beer is more candy than beer. It reminded me in some ways of my grandmothers bourbon balls but without the bready malty flavors to balance the sweetness.

Three beers and your out. That's what my wife told me as we had to get to the Spokane airport to return home. I had already tried the Lakeside cask and a pint of Scottish ale.
A coin toss between the stout and porter came up heads so I ordered the VBS. Unfortunately there was no head on the dark opaque pint put in front of me. A very strong vanilla aroma masked any bourbon. The flavor like the aroma was of vanilla but then some chocolate was detected but I was still looking for the bourbon part. Medium body, light on carbonation. All in all a strongly vanilla flavored dark beer that wasn't very remarkable in my opinion I personally wouldn't order another, now I wish the coin had come up tails so I would have tried the porter.

Served on tap as 16oz glass ($4) at the brewery in Coeur d'Alene, Id. Pours with one finger brown head that goes slowly to a ring leaving some lace. Black color. Light carbonation and full bodied. Strong vanilla nose. Starts with vanilla flavor then bourbon kicks in with bourbon flavor lingering. Apparently the ABV is 5.9%.

So I finally make it to brewpub I've wanted to try and they have a bourbon stout on...hmmm. I can't belive this is such a high alcohol beer. Sure it has the bourbon flavor, but it actually drinks a fair amount easier than most Imperials. The alcohol hits you quick though, I felt the effect rather quickly, leading me to believe it was 13%.

Very dark black, but not as thick as the heaviest Imperials out there. Light just gets through. Nice tan head.

Nose is pretty strong vanilla, but much more going on here - the bourbon is present along with a earthiness. Roast also present.

What is amazing is the way this starts on the tongue, soft and smooth, then the vanilla bean flavor followed by some smoke and roast malt. The start is almost watery...can't be...but it is. The bourbon is subtle, but it may be hidden with the added vanilla bean. Seems that many bourbon barrel beers are awash in vanilla flavor anyway. The barrel aging adds a hint of wild flavor that really works. There is lot going on here, vanilla, bourbon, roast, smoke.

It is really hard this is such a high octane beer!

A really interesting beer and unlike many others of style...well done.

Now available by the growler $20 (if you buy their's), $10 if you bring your own.

UPDATE: 5/4/05
The best way to experince this beer is to drive to CDA brewing's main brewpub in Coeur d'Alene. It is FAR better presented there, as the beers are served on-tap at at decent temperature, unlike their sister brewpub in Spokane in the Steam Plant Grill. The change really brings out the bourbon flavor, as well as the vanilla in the background. Unfortunately, they do not let you have this one in a growler, as it's currently a limited-run beer. The good news is that they are probably going to make it a regular beer due to it's popularity. BTW, I spoke to someone at the brewery, and it's even stronger than I had originally heard - 13%! Also, I got the name wrong - it's actually called Bourbon Vanilla Stout. Not a big difference, but it better summarizes the beer.

ORIGINAL REVIEW:
Had this on tap at the Coeur d'Alene brewery's brewpub located inside the Steam Plant Grill for $3.90 (despite the menu saying all beers were $3.50, but my other two were $3.23 on my bill, so I can't complain). The abv is a rumor I heard from a bartender at another Spokane watering hole, so it may not be correct.

This was a very dark brown, with a moderate tan head that stuck around for a while. Due to CDA's propensity to serve their beers way too damn cold, it sat long enough for the head to drop before I started working on it. Lots of lace.

The smell on this was quite nice. Big, bourbon/alcohol scent that was balanced by a rich, roasty smell, with a whiff of vanilla throwing a light cloak over the proceedings.

The first flavor to be noticed is the vanilla, which is mild. At least it seemed to be, as it was swiftly followed by the big bourbon flavor and the rich, fine coffeeish, dark chocolaty roastiness. This is a big, tasty beer. The vanilla taste never completely went away, but was like a wispy frame around the bigger flavors. Yum!

I actually thought this would be a little thicker. It was full-bodied, but I was expecting something downright viscous, and it wasn't. Still, lots of people would probably find this more than enough.

This went down so easy, despite the obvious alcohol flavor. It was like a big, rich dessert, and acted as one for my order of calimari, which was very good as well. Nevertheless, this is not a session beer. If I had a second one of these, I probably couldn't have driven to work later in the day.
FWIW, the bartender said she was getting many orders for this, and heard it was the same at the main CDA brewpub out by the lake. She said it's popularity might lead to it being a regular offering. I hope so, as it has far and away the most character of anything I've had from this brewery.