Vanillanoize
Mikerphone Brewing

 

Had on tap. Midnight black matte body with a brown foam head. You get the rye and then vanilla in the nose with supporting roasted malt, leather, lactose and dark chocolate. Taste does very well to take you on a journey into the abyss of rye, leather, dark chocolate, roasted malt, a slight kiss of ash before sweetening to a lighter balance with the vanilla and lactose. Malt backbone is so soft yet study, lush, shapes the profile allowing the rye textures and vanilla coolness to play. Would love to try this in a barrel

 

 

 

 

 

Tasted in a tumbler from draft at the Mikerphone Brewing taproom on March 23, 2019. Imperial rye stout brewed with vanilla and lactose. Sweet and full bodied.

 

 

 

 

 

This beer is straight up toasted marshmallow. Like, I’ve picked up a lot of random flavors and aromas from beers, but if you don’t smell toasted marshmallow from this, you’ve either never had one, or your nose fell off. Flavor is super balanced, and not too sweet.

 

 

 

 

Appearance: Dark black body with thick cap of medium brown head.

Smell: The vanilla notes here are extremely pleasant. Very pure smell of vanilla; nothing artificial in the nose regarding vanilla adjuncts. Clean and spicy; yet fairly restrained rye. Hint of chocolate / roasted grain.

Taste: Starts off with a hint of rye and mellow bitterness. Middle of the taste the vanilla starts to develop its rich intensity quickly. You know this is vanilla flavor. Its got huge vanilla flavor. The rye layers over top of the vanilla notes with a light spicy and extremely clean rye flavor which balances the rich vanilla extremely well. The beer finishes with such a nice balance between rich vanilla and rye flavor. I don't even taste much "stout" in this stout because there is so much vanilla and rye. Traditional stout flavors just so faintly exist because the vanilla and rye are so focused and pronounced.

Mouthfeel: medium bodied stout with low carbonation. Carbonation level is definitely adequate for this beer. This is a really well made beer; it feels very silky and smooth. It must be "Jedi" level usage of lactose during the brewing process to achieve this over the top silky smooth mouthfeel this beer attains. It has that perfectly barrel aged silky mouthfeel without ever touching a barrel. How did you do that(Mike and Shawn)?

Overall: This is a dessert stout for sure. Its the best non barrel aged stout that I have tasted with a Mikerphone label on it by a land slide. It is unique because of how much vanilla and rye flavors this beer has with such great balance & finesse. I still cant wrap my mind around the fact that this beer is a dark big stout that does not have the big roasty(coffee/roasted grains) notes or the sweet & rich chocolate notes that most stouts possess. Its rich vanilla and unadulterated clean / spicy rye flavor. The nearly flawless mouthfeel drives the beer towards home run status. Illinois would be a better place if it was more like Vanillanoise. Just saying!