Not really much interesting to say here for this one. I'm a big fan of Stone. I'm a big fan of smoked porters. I even tried to brew my own once, although I have a sneaking suspicion that this one here might just be a bit better than mine. Add real vanilla beans though? That's more than enough to get me to pull the trigger. To the beer!
Vanilla Bean Smoked Porter pours a deep dark brown. Not quite black and just this side of totally opaque. There are some reddish hues hiding out around the edges. It's capped off by a finger of bubbly, resilient tan head.
The aromas on this beer are pretty subdued, almost disappointingly so. Faint hints at roasty chocolate and coffee notes mixed with some light vanilla scents and a bit of a vegetal note. There's also a slight hint of herbal hop aroma.
If the aromas were a bit disappointing the flavor of this beer makes up for it in spades. Silky smooth with a big, full, rich, mouth coating sweetness. Subtle espresso and dark chocolate flavors mingle with a very nice smoky tang. There's a lot of very nice roastiness going on here. The vanilla comes out late and adds a really nice complexity to the sweetness. It's also clear that it's authentic vanilla flavor and not any artificial business or vanilla extract. An earthy, bitter, surprisingly citrusy hop punch finishes things off.
Another hit from Stone. If the aromas had been a bit more robust this might've been something really special though. As it is, it's still a very tasty beer that you'd do well to check out.
HD
No comments:
Post a Comment