Leinenkugels Snowdrift Vanilla Porter

Brewed by Leinenkugel Brewing Company (Tenth & Blake Beer Co.)
Style: Porter
Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin USA

Serve in English pint, Shaker

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Location: 12 oz bottle from Oak Tree, 11/30/12

Aroma: The nose has some chocolate malts, roast, and a pretty good amount of vanilla
Appearance: This beer pours a dark brown color with a small beige head and almost no lace
Flavor: The taste has even more vanilla then the nose, with the other malts moving into the background. It comes off rather sweet, with a little roast, chocolate, and just a hint (of hardly noticeable) bitterness.
Palate: It is medium bodied, though it’s quite sweet, its not particularly sticky, but it does feel a little too fizzy
Overall Impression: I thought this was a pretty decent one. Considering that it is from Leiney, I wasn’t expecting much, but it turned out alright. It’s a little too sweet and a little too fizzy for me, but it has some nice components. Decent stuff, not great, but it exceeded my expectations.

Very deep mahogany colored beer when held against the light. Thin beige head. Nose of vanilla extract. Very big vanilla extract flavor with a little bit of the chemical/artificial taste that I get in some of the vanilla porters, it is not too intrusive. Some caramel sweetness, milk chocolate, and faint roasted grains, all of which are coated by the vanilla. As is warms there is some burnt caramel corn notes. Not a bad use of vanilla in beer.

12 ounce. Thin sort of porter body with fairly strong vanilla taste. The vanilla, though, doesn’t blend blend well with rest of beer and leaves an artificial taste.

(bottle - 12 oz - Night of the Titans 2013) Found a bottle in the fridge near the end of the night so I tried it. Brown pour with a light puffy head. Sweet vanilla and roasted malt aroma, almost like a roasty milkshake. Flavor has some of that mildly fake vanilla extract flavor mixing with some light and watered down coffee with some cocoa stirred in. Not bad but nothing special either. Decent porter.

Aroma is slightly oxidized malts and vanilla. The flavor is vanilla, oxidized malts and an acidic/oxidized finish.

Bottle. Pours dark brown/black with tan head. Aroma of dark roast and vanilla. Flavor of dark roast, malty with vanilla, light sweetness. Medium body with high carbonation. Overall, I think this is a fun, tasty beer.

Pour is a dark brown with a large tan head. Aroma is of some roasted malt, maybe some vanilla and a bit of alcohol. Flavor is about the same. Decent roasted malt to start then a trace of vanilla. Finish is bitter malt with some caramel. Really needs more of the vanilla.

12oz bottle with a twist-off cap, thanks to Greg. Best by 2/11/13. Dark clear brown / red color. Thin light brown head. Little loose dots of lace. Sweet taste. Lighter carbonation. Medium body. Kind of a sticky aftertaste. Vanilla extract aroma, caramel, not much portery goodness to back it up. OK, but I’m not a fan of this

Draft at Dick’s Last resort, Chicago. Opaque, brownish black, with a thin head. The head manages a bit of light brown like a stout. Some vanilla definitely works into the nose, with a sweet malty backing. Surprisingly rich vanilla taste with a sweet chocolate malt, too, almost like a Yoo Hoo. A good rich seasonal that I would recommend just for its easy availability.

Serving: 12 oz. bottle from Wegmans Leesburg. It pours a deep cola like color with a small, tan head. The nose smells like musty vegetables, fake vanilla, and rotting wood. The flavor, thankfully, is much better. Heavy vanilla with milk chocolate and a touch of lingering off vegetal notes. Medium to full body. There are certainly worse beers, but this one has it’s fair share of rough edges.