Vanilla Skyline
Hubbard's Cave Brewery

 

Vanilla Skyline from Hubbard’s Cave. 16 fl oz can, purchased 03/03/26 from Half Time, received 05/03/26. $ 16.24 (Including tax and shipping)/$ 1.015/fl oz). Stored at 40 degrees F at home. Reviewed 24/03/26, review 3714. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Undated can. Served at 52.8 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature is 55.5 degrees F.
Appearance – 3.75
First pour – Amber Brown (SRM 18), clear.
Body – Brown (SRM 20), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear-lit, amber-brown at the edges.
Head – Average (Maximum 1.1 cm, aggressive center pour) Biscuit, high density with a rocky top, short retention, rapidly dropping to a 0.2 cm crown and a thin partial cap.
Lacing – Poor. Only an emaciated line of near-microscopic bubbles suggests any attempt at lacing.
Aroma – 3.75 – Coffee, chocolate, No hops, no vanilla, no alcohol. As the temperature rises, both coffee and chocolate fade and vanilla emerges.
Flavor – 3.5 – Begins with bitter chocolate and much less coffee than the nose suggests. No malt, no hops, no vanilla, no alcohol (12 % as stamped on the label). No dimethylsulfide, no diacetyl. Distinct gastric burning which mellows as the temperature rises at the end.
Palate – 3.5 – Medium: Watery attempting to become creamy: Soft but lively carbonation.
Style: Fits the BA description.
Final impression and summation: 3.5 (After deducting 0.25 point for an undated can) Not much to say – one and forever done.

16oz can. No dating information found.
Total eclipse, black colored body. Thin light tan colored head, but this does not last, and only exists shortly after as a very thin ring and a minor surface storm.
Aroma is led with vanilla, followed by chocolate.
Taste is vanilla sweet, with additional flavors of chocolate brownie and graham cracker. Long lasting aftertaste with all flavors toning down as the profile progresses.
More than medium mouthfeel. Syrup texture. No bitterness, but quite sweet. Higher ABV% is well hidden. Lower, but supportive, carbonation.
Dessert beer than emphasizes the sweet vanilla.

 

L: Typical stout, thick, black, light doesn't pass thru, small khaki head fades quickly.
A: Vanilla.
T: Vanila, there is some chocolate lurking back there.
F: Thick, smooth, not as sticky as expected.
O: If you like vanilla in your stouts, buy it.

A quick review as part of an online beer tasting. Let out at RT for ~15 mins before pouring into a Spiegelau stout glass. Canned on 12/22/23 and consumed on 05/04/25. ~8$ for a 16oz can.

A&S: Jet black beer, not much head. Aroma is vanilla and dark chocolate. Pretty straightforward. Not getting a tone of dark fruits, alcohol, or sweetness

T&M: The taste includes coffee upfront and a good amount of vanilla in the aftertaste. Not overall sweet. A tad bit of smokiness to it as well. Alcohol is well hidden. Mouthfeel is the biggest aspect to be desired. I don't think stouts automatically need to be super thick, but this one is on the very thin side of stouts at best. It has a decent about of carbonation, but that fades pretty quick.

Overall: I wasn't overall impressed by this beer. It ends up being a pretty fair value if you are looking for something that has good bang for the buck.

 

 

 

Pours rich black with a thin ring of copper colored head along the rim. Aroma is very vanilla, a nice, newly minted vanilla, ripe with the promise of spring. Mouthfeel is thick and a bit bitter, with taste coming in as chocolate and some vanilla. ABV is definitely present though not distracting. Rich, but not overly complex.

Pours opaque, dark brown in color with one quarter inch head. Taste is deep vanilla pod, Breyers ice cream style, vanilla wafer, with bad chocolate medicine. Heavy bodied, low carbonation, sweet and roasty. My first sip. I was like wow the vanilla is awesome, about as good as I have had....butunfortunately the stout and chocolate is equally as polarizing. There is a torched white sugar Taste. I wanted to like this but I just cannot.....so close to being great.

Fine pour, good color, decent head.

Very faint vanilla on the nose, would have liked more.

Easy to drink, again, the vanilla is not strong enough.

Good beer, not great.

Poured room temp from a can into a 16oz pint glass. Beer poured a black coffee color with 1/4" tan head that was very short-lived. Holding the glass to a bright light there is a notable burgundy hue around the corners of the glass.
Aroma is immediately brown sugar and vanilla. Malty nuances as well as some caramel...little bit of
burnt sugar. If you blindfolded me and put this under my nose and asked what was there, I would say fresh baked milk chocolate and white chocolate chip cookies without hesitation. Very inviting on the nose.
Taste follows the aroma. Chocolate, burnt sugar, vanilla. Good roastiness and some tobacco follows. Just a hint of hop bittering at the end, but the hops are merely a minor accent to this one. Not tasting any alcohol...maybe a slight warming on the swallow as would be expected at 12%, but the alcohol taste is well-masked. There is some decent carbonation in the mouthfeel but oddly the head doesn't linger and zero lacing with this one. There is some creaminess to the mouthfeel, a hint of peppery spice on the tongue if you're really tasting for it.
This fits the style and is tasty. Any more sweet and I would have described it as cloying. Enjoyable as a dessert beer, not sure I could drink more than 1 or 2 in a sitting. Would get one again.