Vanillionaire
Southern Grist Brewing Co.

Solid beer. Nothing special about the appearance—nearly black and viscous, with no head. Pillowy vanilla taste reminiscent of marshmallow, with roasted char and notes of chocolate malt. Modest carbonation. Medium feel.

 

Im a huge SG fan, but this beer is ungodly sweet. The vanilla is solid in flavor, not as strong as id honestly expect, but holy goodness is this a bottle of syrup

 

 

 

Pour is pure black, with a milk chocolate brown that dissipates very quickly. The aromas feature char notes, milk chocolate, and LOADS of vanilla.

The taste is built around the vanilla notes, but the milk chocolate flavors are allowed to shine, which really elevates this, IMHO. I just wish it had a bit more body - if it did, this would be world class, again IMHO.

 

 

From the bottle, this pours opaque black with a half inch tan head that quickly fades, leaving no lace. The smell is a massive vanilla punch in the face with some earthy undertones that I assume are from hops. The taste follows with marshmallow and chocolate swirling around each other with a hint of coffee and a faint earthy finish. Medium texture with low carbonation. This is a tasty vanilla stout that could use a boost of ABV or a bourbon barrel treatment to ease the sweetness and make this world class. But, as I understand it, Tennessee has strict limits regarding alcohol content on beer brewed there.

Disappointed given the hype and lines to get some, and the categorization as an Imperial Stout. Deep dark brown body that's fairly thin, with minimal mocha head and more carbonation that I expected. Smell is vanilla- and coffee-heavy, which is to be expected, with some bakers chocolate and a little roast. Taste follows with a lot of very sweet vanilla, dark roasted coffee, a little cream, a little dark chocolate, and maybe a little dark wood. But the vanilla and coffee taste almost artificial, like a canned cold-brew coffee, with very little depth and a slightly unpleasant bitter-sweet aftertaste as the coffee and vanilla play tug-o-war, not harmoniously blend. I don't expect SG's dark beers to be big-time lookers or as thick and sticky as I typically like by Imperial Stouts, but they usually have some really great flavor profiles, and this one just isn't there for my palette.

On tap at the source. A dark brown and nearly opaque color. There was a soft light tan head that left quickly but formed wispy laces. The aroma was rich vanilla, marshmallow, and chocolate. As billed, the taste was serious vanilla with sweet marshmallow and some chocolate. Rich and full bodied. Carbonation was on the low side. Very enjoyable but a bit too sweet for me.