Atwater Vanilla Java Porter

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

Serve in English pint, Shaker

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   update pic

UPDATED: MAR 15, 2007 pours black with a one finger dark brown head that disappears pretty quickly. aroma is of coffee and a touch of vanilla and hops. has a medium body with very little lacing. flavor is strong coffee with a touch of vanilla and hops. has a nice little touch of carbonation to it, it is not to bad of a porter just a little different from the rest. has a little slick oily feel to it and kind of numbs the tongue as well. this definitely has a strong coffee flavor to it but i also noticed a little bread aroma and flavor as it warms.

from the bottle, poured black with a brown head. aroma bitter sweet chocolate, coffee, malt, some sourness, just got a hint of vanilla. flavor, roasted malt, chocolate, smoke, and than the vanilla sugar as it warms. a little thin on the mouth feel but not to bad

UPDATED: JAN 24, 2007 on tap @ Coles Buffalo, NY. Not much head on this opaque black brew. Vanilla aroma taste very evident but the java seems to be lacking. The flavors seem to be knocking into each other rather than blending. over all not too bad.

On tap. The beer arrived at the table with minimal head and was an opaque black. The aroma was very nice – the vanilla notes were stronger than the coffee. The flavor wasn’t quite as appealing as the smell. Thick on the palate and easy to drink, with hints of chocolate. Not a bad beer but not one I’d go out of my way for.

12 oz bottle. Opaque black color with bubbly rapidly disappearing head that reduced to nothingness. Aroma was malty chocolate with a hint of coffee. Mouth feel is on the thin side. Flavor is roasty for the most part with a bit of chocolate.

Courtesy of Ibrew2or3. Thanks, Dave. First an observation. If you freeze this what comes out tastes like a decent Imperial Stout. Eisporter! <P> The aroma is dominated by coffee followed by lesser concentrations of roasted malt and some sweet cream and vanilla notes. The body is a dark ruddy brown and holds a diminishing thumb thick tan head. <P> It’s all spent coffee grounds through the fore and middle. Some roastiness and muted sweetness appear toward the backend. A hint of chocolate along with mild vanilla notes pops up in the aftertaste. It’s not a great beer, but it’s not great in an approachable way. It’s the kind of beer you’d never go out of your way for, but that you’d probably always finish a pint of. The mouthfeel is actually pretty good for the style, might even be slightly thicker than standard.

12 oz bottle poured black and pulled up a decent sized mocha colored head that lasted a while. Initially the aroma was cream soda like but not too strong. Then a nice coffee and burnt malt aroma rose up with some chocolate and a hint of vanilla. The flavors from the first sip were a little too bright. But after a while my taste buds adjusted and a smoothness grew. There is some obvious coffee, chocolate, vanilla and burnt malt flavors. But by some combination of these notes a cream soda flavor is created. That isn’t a taste I care to have in a beer. Fortunately it isn’t too strong. Overall this beer is a bit too sweet for the style but has enough complexity to keep it interesting.

Thanks for the bottle, Duane. The head is light orange and khaki. It tops a very black body. Cheap coffee and peanut butter make up the bulk of the aroma. There is a light hint of the vanilla. The taste has some nasty peanuts shells and a little bit of cheap chocolate. There is also some strange notes that remind me of fried eggs. This beer is off and seems like the bad coffee dominates and influences the other flavors.

Bottle. Poured black color with an average frothy brown head that was mostly lasting with good lacing. Moderate roasted sweet malt aroma. Medium body. Medium sweet flavor with a light bittersweet finish of short duration. My expectations were not met.

UPDATED: SEP 5, 2012 Sampled from a 12 oz brown bottle this beer poured a black color with a huge dark brown head. The aroma was sour, roasty malts with only a faint hint of vanilla and no coffee. The mouthfeel was smooth and creamy. The flavor was roasty, toasty and bitter with a hint of vanilla on the finish. Absolutely no coffee flavor. Fairly boring really.