Ballast Point Victory at Sea

Brewed by Ballast Point Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Strong Porter
San Diego, California USA

Serve in Snifter

Thanks to petesuphi for sharing the rest of his bottle with me. One of my all time favorite porters. A - Pours jet black with a fluffy two finger tall tan head leaving light streaks of lace down the glass. S - Smells of rich coffee, sweet vanilla and chocolate and the ever present dark roasted malt. This ones nose is absolutely intoxicating. T - Starts off with a big dose of dark roasted coffee slowly giving way to a nice mix of vanilla and milk chocolate sweetness. The smooth feel really makes this one easy to drink. Finish is a mix of sweetness and dark roast, lignering on the pallet for some time. M - Heavy body and flavor with moderate carbonation. Smooth feel with a sweet / roasty finish that clings to the pallet. Goes a bit flat at the end of the glass otherwise pretty good. O - I could drink this every day no problem. The flavors are spot on and the alcohol is all but undetectable. I am glad I picked up a few of these to last the the rest of the year.

Very strong coffee presence with a hint of vanilla. Not too oily with perfect carbonation. This beer is very good at hiding the alcohol taste but leaves a hint that goes well with the roasted coffee.

bottle. pours thin black with medium off white head. aroma of vanilla and coffee. taste is super espresso/coffee with not much vanilla showing up.

Pours dark with a thick creamy head. Leaves good lacings. Vanilla, coffee, and smoke fills the nose. Good body with hints of vanilla followed by burnt toast and coffee. Finishes a little dry. Bourbon version is better, but this could be my daily drinker.

Big coffee flavors and aromas but the vanilla is hardly present. From there it was a pretty standard imperial porter with big malt flavors The coffee lent a pretty nice bitter aftertaste, but it wasn’t really balanced. Enjoyable beer nonetheless.

Found this beer to be remarkably appealing and easy to drink. Perfect balance of coffee flavor that does not over power the need to taste something that resembles a "beer". Had on tap in my shop in Wake Forest, NC. Interested in comparing the taste from the bottle.

Poured into a snifter from a 22 ounce bottle un-dated.

A: Beautiful pitch black body with a dense tan head that compliments this perfectly. This beer simply looks amazing.

S: This smells absolutely wonderful, there’s a perfect balance of vanilla and fresh roasted coffee here, reminds me a lot of vanilla cake actually with coffee. This is wonderful, my only complaint is wishing it were a tad stronger.

T: Absolutely wonderful, there’s bready vanilla flavor into a silky rich cocoa coffee flavor. It’s as if I’m sipping on a mocha cappuccino with some vanilla flavoring. This is complex, intense, and very easy to drink.

M: Thick and syrupy with light carbonation, this is filling and feels great.

O: This is hands down the best porter I’ve ever had, I have no complaint with this and will be buying one every time I find one.

Pours very dark brown, just under black. Dark tan two finger head. Looks yummy! Smells like coffee, roasted malts come through, and a tiny bit of vanilla. Taste like coffee with a splash of irish cream, and bright hops help make it interesting. I am so happy that the vanilla is not overly done, it is there, but not distracting you from the other flavors. You might even over look the vanilla if casually tasting it. But this is such a deliciously good beer, I’d hate to know some one if just mindlessly drinking it away. Very enjoyable!