Atwater Vanilla Java Porter

Brewed by Atwater Block Brewery
Style: Porter
Detroit, Michigan USA

Serve in English pint, Shaker

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beer is very light to taste. lots of vanilla smell and taste with a bit of coffee taste to the finish. not a beer id buy again, but also not a beer id say no to if offered.

Bottle. 4/11/13. Pours dark brown-black with a thin but fluffy beige head. Aroma is sweet, vanilla, chocolate, caramel, nutty, chocolate milk. Taste is watery, dirty; vanilla dominates (which I don’t "hate"), some chocolate, yeast, bread, no coffee but in the finish; bitter coffee finish. No lacing. Medium carbonation. Thin, watery mouth feel. Better than I expected. Still not great. The vanilla is the star here; I don’t mind. But even more than the vanilla, an underlying element of tasteless generality prevails. That being said, it has flavor. It’s nearly sessionable. I could see this being an excellent gateway beer.

UPDATED: APR 14, 2013 Pours a soda brown with a two-finger khaki head and decent lacing. Delicious aroma of vanilla, coffee and chocolate. Taste is also vanilla, chocolate and coffee up front with roasty malts and a hint of hops in the background. Vanilla tastes artificial, but still very tasty. Nice finish of chocolate, malt and even a little hop bitterness in the aftertaste. Palate is a little thin with average carbonation. Very tasty, but the palate definitely needs some thickening. Much better than the low style and overall ratings let on.

12 oz. bottle. Pours black with a tan head. Aromas are coffee primarily. You get a little bit of the vanilla on the palate, but not overwhelming. Coffee is the driving force. A bit high on the carbonation, but overall not a bad beer.

Bottle. Pours black with a small, beige head. Roasted malt and coffee aroma with a hint of vanilla. Flavors of roasted malts, coffee and light chocolate with an artificial vanilla note. Similar finish.

Nice dark pour with an off-white head. Aroma features quite a bit of vanilla, coffee/roast are a little more subdued. The flavor is similar. Nice balance between the vanilla/coffee/chocolate. It does taste a bit like a tootsie roll, but I’m alright with that. Mouthfeel is the weakest aspect of the beer, but the flavor is good enough that I want to keep drinking. Solid brew.

Draft to taster. Looks good for the style; a fairly opaque cola with foamy light beige head that dissipates into sticky lacing. Smells solid; very vanilla-forward. Tastes like it smells, but a bit unbalanced (not enough dark malt). Average on the palate. Nothing special, but better than the ratings indicate.

Appearance: Looks like your typical porter. Pitch black in color. A decent tan head that gets small really quickly. Surprisingly nice lacing. Smell: I can get some of the vanilla in there, but then there’s this off-smell. I’m not quite sure what it is, but it almost makes the pleasant vanilla aroma mean nothing. Taste/feel: This is a pretty decent beer, as it’s a nice change from the typical coffee/chocolate powered porters out there. The feel is a bit of a let down as it’s a little watery, but the taste is surprisingly decent. I do get some traces of espresso and coffee, but it’s not super strong, and it’s balanced pretty well with the vanilla in there. A solid porter from Atwater.

Pours deep dark brown, light nose of vanilla and a little toast. Flavor first goes to pretty deep roasted coffee and light vanilla along with, caramel, chocolate, toast. I think could use a little more vanilla upfront but overall good porter.

This pours a dark brown color with a slight, beige head. The scent is not very strong but contains hints of coffee, caramel malts, and vanilla. The taste and texture are much weaker than I would expect from this porter. There are some robust flavors, roasted malts, and vanilla in the taste but they are fairly weak. Not bad tasting at all, the taste just needs to be beefed up and give off stronger flavors in my opinion.