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Description:
With a beautifully crafted, copper colored, English style porter at its heart, Atwater's Vanilla Java Porter tips its hat to the modern audience with the addition of vanilla and coffee that is locally brewed cold to eliminate burnt flavors. The beer, vanilla, & coffee tumble together, enhancing the smooth nature of each. (Description provided by company)
Brewer:
Beer Style:
ABV:
5.50% ABV
Availability Frequency:
year-round
Containers Available:
bottle
draft
Locations Where Available:
Midwest
East Coast
MidSouth
Store/Serve Temperature:
45-54 degrees F
Comments
French Vanilla Coffee Beer
I had a period in college where I loved spiking my coffee with French vanilla creamer...lots of flavored creamer. This beer, for better or worse, took my brain back to memories of that former addiction.
Vanilla Java Porter is an exceptionally dark brew. Mine went into the pint glass with a pinky-thin tan head, which shrank to a ring. I poured it cooler than 50 degrees and barely smelled anything. As I drank and the glass crept up through the 50s, the smell became much more pronounced, so you may want to pour it at or above 50. Once the aroma bloomed from the glass, I get mostly vanilla with toffee tones. The flavor is very similar with the vanilla accompanied by some coffee bitterness. I guess Atwater Brewery's use of vanilla extract explains how forward the vanilla is on the nose and tongue. It has a medium body with enough carbonation to complicate gulping the beer.
In the end, the vanilla was too strong for me as I made my way through my pint. Avoid unless you really like vanilla.
Usually "vanilla" means boring...
Pours a pitch black, with a couple of fingers worth of a bubbly tan head. The head dissipates within a minute or so.
If you let this beer come up to room temperature, there is a lot in the nose - vanilla (no surprise), coffee (again - expected), some noticeable caramel malt sweetness, and even some hints of maple syrup.
The vanilla does compliment the dark, roasted malt flavors, but there is a little bit of maple syrup-like sweetness that doesn't quite seem to belong. If you dislike typical stouts bitterness, however, this sweetness may be more enjoyable. Except for the out-of-place sweetness, the flavors are quite well balanced overall, and the finish is nice and clean.
Medium full body, with a moderate amount of carbonation.
Although there was a little bit of oddness from the occasional syrup-y sweetness, the Atwater Vanilla Java Stout is really a well done beer for someone who likes both stouts and vanilla. If you're not a fan of vanilla, though, you should probably stay away.