Vanilla Bean Porter
Union Station Brewery

 

This brewery is part of the John Harvard chain. Had this on tap today. There haven't been any reviews for this in a long time, things have changed. It was not on cask and wasn't even close to 6.7% ABV, it was 5%.

This is your very standard Porter. Not smokey at all and a bit thin but worth a try.

 

 

 

This is a classic cask conditioned beer with a little bit of vanilla flair. I was particular interested in trying this beer, because I had recently brewed my own vanilla porter (of course not cask conditioned).

A- Dark brown with a very light lacy head just as a cask beer should have.

S- The beer has a nice aroma of vanilla as well as chocolate and some coffee.

M- The carbonation is very light in the beer, which is exactly as it should be for a cask conditioned ale.

D- This is what I was hoping I was going to get. There were notes of coffee and chocolate. A very nice roasted malt flavor that ends with some sweet vanilla. Overall a very pleasurable drink. It is the kind of beer that many do not want a second pour of that night because of how much is going on. That is not a negative, but the reality of what it is. It is an interesting and enjoyable drinking beer, but it is not a session beer and does not aim to be one.

On-cask 10/17/2010 at the brewpub in Providence, RI, served in a US tumbler pint glass.

A: The beer is a deep dark brown color, with a large dense beige head that fades very slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma contains roasted malts, coffee, vanilla along with touches of chocolate and hops.

T: The taste is very creamy with sweet flavors of vanilla and coffee up front. There's also a hint of chocolate in the background. The hops presence is very faint but perfect for this type of beer and creates a good balance. The after-taste is slightly sweet.

M: Very smooth and a little crisp, medium-to-heavy body, medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

D: Tasty, goes down very easily, slightly filling, decent kick, good representation of style, this is a nice darker beer to stick with for a whole evening if you're in the mood for the style.

A..Beautiful dark porter with white foam and excellent lace. Cask-conditioned (which is why I ordered it). This is how beer should look in a glass.

S..The vanilla was inviting, to say the least. The coffee presence was stronger than expected (in a good way). This beer smelled like something I was going to enjoy...

T..Unfortunately, the taste left a lot to be desired. The vanilla and coffee flavors did not blend all that well. The vanilla taste, was in fact, far too sweet; almost like a dessert drink. Seemed like too many flavors were added to this porter. Very disappointed.

M..Average porter, full bodied.

D..Had trouble finishing this glass and was certainly not interested in a second pour.

Pumped from the cask with my lunch at the brewpub on Thursday, January 19.

Poured an incredibly dark brown. Definitely not black, but a brown like hershey syrup. Foamy brown head took up residence on top of the beer that never quite went away. Nose was very subtle with a blend of vanilla and milk chocolate.

Flavor was not as vanilla as I was expecting after the hype by the bartender. Just a subtle, smooth presence of vanilla behind everything else going on in this beer. Chocolate and toffee came through at first. Bits of cherries. Slight hop presence towards the finish but the hops with the cherry flavor tasted kind of like cherry Robitussum to me. Nice medium body but perhaps served a bit too warm even for a cask ale.

This must be the cousin to the cask porter already listed.
A very dark brown/ black opaque beer. Has a big foamy light brown head and a little bit of lace. The aroma of vanilla rises up from the glass like a siren calling from the sea. There is also an interesting smoky quality in the background. The flavor starts of with a nice sharp bittersweet chocolate note. Which blends quickly with the vanilla character. As the glass warms there are coffee and cherry chocolate note wandering around to tantilze you further. All ending in a good semi sweet dry finish.