Soko Bag's The Vanilla Jawn
Soko Bag Korean Fried Chicken & Beer

Soko Bag Korean Fried Chicken & Beer "Soko Bag's The Vanilla Jawn"
16 fl. oz. can without production codes or freshness dating
$16/4-pk @ Soko Bag on 9 August 2025

Notes via stream of consciousness: It's brewed by Animated Brewing in Coatesville, PA. A rough pour has delivered a dark brown body beneath a finger's width of creamy khaki colored foam. When held to the light you can see that it's hazy, and there are orange and golden highlights at the base of the glass. There's not a whole lot in the aroma although you can kind of make out the vanilla and a little bit of a cake-like cocoa and caramel note. On to the taste... I didn't know there was cinnamon in here, there's nothing on the label about that, but the cinnamon is the dominant note. It's bright with the vanilla supporting it, and it reminds me of cinnamon toast crunch cereal. The dark malt isn't really that dark at all. It looks like a porter, and I won't argue that it's not, but it's coming across as more of a brown ale to me. I like it. I think the balance between the cinnamon, vanilla, and toasty, caramelish, and cocoa powder-like maltiness is quite nice. The cinnamon is about as forward as you can push it but it doesn't cross the line. Now, is this a great beer for summer on a very hot day? I'm going to say not, but hey, there are spiced beer fans that love this kind of stuff all year 'round. In the mouth it's medium bodied and gently crisp. This is just 4.9% ABV so I wouldn't expect the body to be fuller but I wonder what it would be like if they did a maltier and stronger version for winter. All in all it's fairly well done, and very nicely balanced.
Review #9,259