So what have you done this week to celebrate American Craft Beer Week? It’s easy to participate – simply grab a craft brew, pop it open, and get to work.
Ideally, find a brew that is brewed close to your home. Supporting your local brewery, as has been done for thousands of years, is part of the fun, along with drinking tasty beer that you might not have otherwise come across.
Because BeerGenius is omnipresent, I am allowed to drink whatever I want. In this case, it’s cold and rainy in the midwest – fine weather for mid-May – and a porter was called for.
It has been a few years since I’ve had the Vanilla Porter from Breckenridge Brewery in Breckenridge, Colorado (if it wasn’t evident where the beer was from), so I decided to give it another whirl. Here are my impressions:
Pours a deep brown w/ a quickly dissipating khaki head. notes of cherry and sweet malt on the nose.
Upon first sip, the beer is a malt storm on my palate – super syrupy sweet, with a touch of vanilla and caramel.
I had this beer several years ago when it was first released by Breckenridge, and in agreeing with how my friend Andrew described it, it’s quite forgettable. This beer needs something. I’ve got suggestions, but I’m not the brewmaster.
I absolutely love vanilla, but this porter just doesn’t do it for me. On the bright side, this beer is completely sessionable, and is accessible to non-porter drinkers. This is closer to a complicated brown ale
Here’s the breakdown:
- Originality within style (17): Great idea, subpar execution, unfortunately. Wish more brewers would give it a go.
- Nose (16): Notes of cherry, touch of vanilla, caramel, and sweet malt.
- Mouthfeel (14): A bit thinner than most porters – no lingering of any one particular ingredient.
- Character (13): Losing points here because it doesn’t exactly live up to expectations. Overly sweet.
- Overall Quality (15): I like Breckenridge, but this one needs a bit more experimentation.
- Total (74): Misses the mark. Sorry Breck.
Beer: Breckenridge Vanilla Porter
ABV: 4.7%
Brewer: Breckenridge Brewery – Breckenridge, CO
Availability: Year-round, Most parts of country
Reviewed by: Jameson Huckaba (twitter: @jamesonhuckaba)
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hey @beergenius, you like this review of Breckenridge’s Vanilla Porter? You should give Beergenius.net’s review of Breckenridge’s Vanilla Porter (April 2008) a read!!!
Kidding Jameson!!!