Ballast Point Victory at Sea Coffee Vanilla Imperial Porter

Holy Java! I can taste the coffee in my colon! It’s like a coffee enema. It’s like Starbucks and Anna Nicole Smith rolled into one. Coffee aroma and flavor was off the hook. When it came to the flavor it was chocolate too. This Black beer didn’t have much head after being drawn from O’Brien’s but I didn’t hold that against it. What a great beer. Wonderful. Is this considered Baltic Porter or does Porter cover it.... Anyway, what a great beer! Did I already say that? Huh must be the 12%... I asked the server for cream and sugar and a cardboard sleeve. I guess I will be here instead of Starbucks tomorrow morning. What a great Beer.

On tap at Ballast / Home Brew Mart. Muy Grande! Black as a beer can get. No light through this one. Aroma of roasty sweet coffee. Vanilla has backed off over time. Tan head for how black the beer is. Coffee is evident but no astringency associated. Even with the high alcohol the finish is rather dry. Mouthfeel tastes like it should leave more of a cloying effect. Dangerously drinkable. After dinner, next to a fire, with a bowl of Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.

At Toronado SD, MAN was this good! Like liquid Whoppers with a touch of vanilla & coffee. Velvet smooth and creamy all the way around.

Bottle shared by mspindler..Pours black with a beige head.. Aroma is lots of cold coffee and vanilla.. Flavor is dark chocolate, coffee and vanilla.. Very smooth beer.. I want more!!

Tap at Toronado, San Diego. After I started drinking the beer, I talked with the guy next to me at the bar. Turns out Jesse is the roaster at Caffe Calabria (only a half block from Toronado - gotta love North Park) which provided the coffee for this beer. He explained the details of how Ballast brewed with the coffee he provided. Anyway, I liked the beer so much that I had to get a growler fill at the Scripps Ranch location. Pours an almost pitch black with 3/4 inch of tan-colored head. Nose is more cocoa powder than coffee. The taste starts with chocolate then moves into the coffee -- a nice roasted coffee flavor that is balanced well, not too strong. Slightly bitter in the finish. This is a very big beer at 12% but the alcohol is hidden well. Caffe Calabria also provides the coffee for the Offshore Porter from Pizza Port (Solana Beach). But this is much better. Altogether a great beer.

On tap and growler from the brewery. Totally HUGE porter with volumes of Caffe Calabria coffee to eloquently mask the 12% alcohol offering. Drinks almost like an iced coffee but with the exact opposite effect, if taken in large doses, as I tend to. The perfect marriage of coffee and ale. Dark, inviting, delicious. This ale should, obviously, go into steady rotation. Limited supply, so hurry up!

I saw this on the make or break, and remembered I had this one and didn’t rate it. I remember the dark pour and the intense flavors of coffee, chocolate, vanilla, and bourbon. Pretty intense beer. Definetly worth a try when you see it.

Pours a dark black, no light will penatrate this porter, with a thick, creamy tan head. Aroma of coffee. Taste of coffee and chocolate. This would stand up nicely to Speedway, I’d love to get some to do a side by side.