I bought a sixer of this beer at the corner store I usually patronize when I want a bottle of St. Ides Special Brew or a tallboy of Four Loko. Unfortunately, drinking my first Vanilla Java Porter from Atwater Block Brewery made me wish I was drinking a fruit flavored malt liquor instead. I had a distinct idea in my head of what this beer might taste like when I purchased it. It would have a thick, rich texture. The coffee flavor would add a neat acidity to the rich porter flavor but not overpower it. The vanilla bean would barely be perceptible - probably just a drop's worth of flavoring per bottle.In reality, this beer tastes like high gravity lager brewed out of stale Tia Maria. It is disgustingly sweet with a syrupy aftertaste. Despite its sweetness its texture is thin and weak, perhaps as a result of the overpowering coffee flavor. If a good java porter is a latte (one part coffee, 5 parts mixer) then this is a cafe au lait - the coffee is mixed in equal proportion with the other ingredients. This might be somewhat palatable if the coffee flavor was high quality. It's not - it tastes like Sanka concentrate.
Atwater Block Brewery is located in Detroit, MI. After drinking their Vanilla Java Porter I wonder if this is the block they're referring to.
Please provide a review of Four Loko when you have a moment. I've been very curious about the colorful can accenting the malt liquor door at 7-11 for quite some time, but never dared purchase it.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've ever had a beer that was advertised as containing vanilla that was any good. Coffee in beer, however, can be a magical mix. Try the AleSmith Speedway Stout if you ever get the opportunity (pretty limited California distribution)... it'll make your peepee go doing doing doing.
Gladly! I have a tallboy of Four Loko Watermelon flavor in my fridge right now. Shit's intense!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip.
I find any porter that has to add 'vanilla' to its name to be highly suspect- a good porter should have some hints of vanilla naturally, putting it in the name just tips me off to the fact that it was probably brewed with an infusion of vanilla extract, which is not at all what I'm looking for in that class of beer (or any beer, for that matter).
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