Brewster Cogburn
Saloon Door Brewing

A fun change of pace dessert beer. Smells like a cream soda and is pretty easy drinking for such a big beer. Certainly wouldn’t want more than one per sitting, but a fun alternative to IPAs.

 

Thanks to Ozzylizard for this one, from his NBS BIF #14 hits. OK, an "Imperial Vanilla Cream Ale"? New one for me, let's see what we got. 12oz can (dated 7/15/21) poured into 12 oz tulip. poured a clean, clear, very attractive dark-honey gold color with 3/4 inch of barely off-white head that had good retention and light lacing.

Very strong vanilla at the front of the nose. Strong vanilla in the middle of the scent. Vanilla at the back end too. No real grain, malt or hop aspects show up.

Similar on the tongue, although, after a few minutes, some base beer did start to show through. Or, I had just adapted to the vanilla. A bit of alcohol heat did pop up at the back of the palate. There was some sweetness associated with the style that made itself known as well.

The body was medium-full, very smooth, and had a finish that was a touch sticky sweet.

Drinkability was good, but the sheer strength of the vanilla component got to be a bit much.

Overall, a pretty nice brew. If they toned the vanilla down a notch, they'd have a real winner here. Certainly worth a try if you see it.

Poured from a can into a snifter
Appearance – The beer pours a deep golden amber color with a one finger head of off-white foam. The head has a great level of retention, with it slowly fading over time to leave a light level of foamy lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma of the brew is heavy of a vanilla crème soda like smell mixed with lots of caramel and a good deal of breadiness. Along with these aromas comes notes of marshmallow and a light toast. Overall the aroma is very robust and inviting.
Taste – The taste begins with a nice doughy and bready flavor that is paired with lots of crème and caramel. These flavors make the base taste of the flavor profile, lasting thought the entire flavor transition. As the taste advances on the tongue, there is a development of a light herbal and hay flavor, all while a marshmallow like sweetness (vanilla, crème, and sugar) comes to the tongue, taking the taste to the end and leaving one with a sweet, but smooth creme taste to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is creamy with a carbonation level that is average. For the style and the big flavors and abv (which is hidden well), the feel is great and makes for a nice slow, but easy-going sipper.
Overall – A nice sweet and robust crème ale with a great flavor. A great dessert style brew.

 

This is an interesting, alright, and overall enjoyable beer here. An "imperial cream ale", didn't know that was a thing, but I do enjoy them. They pour out a deep golden color, a little bit of straw colored opaqueness. I was initially drawn in by the high alcohol content; these were not refrigerated at my store. I tried them both at room temp and frigerated and yeah they should probably be a little chilled lol. The smell is faint but there is a little bit of that cream soda sweetness, a little bit of that clean sudsy beer smell.

The taste has a little bit of a sharp wheaty thing going on, then the cream soda flavor comes in like a Jones soda or similar old school bottled soda from your local grocer. There's a little bit of a booze element that follows up, a little bit of an almost sickly sweetness at times if you start taking big gulps, but it's pretty decent swill. And it sure gets you some kinda buzzed, especially the way I like to drink 'em. A decent beer capable of giving you a good buzz. I've been trying a few of this brewery's offerings lately and I've had some pretty good stuff, will report back in the future.