Stone Smoked Porter with Vanilla Beans

Brewed by Stone Brewing Co.
Style: Porter
Escondido, California USA

Serve in English pint, Shaker

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On tap at the bistro. You really need to let this one open up to get any of the vanilla flaovr. Light vanilla aroma and flavor, I guess I’ve come to expect ’over the top’ from stone. Nice beer but not special.

Tap at Beachwood BBQ. Black with a nice white head and good lacing. Strong vanilla aroma. Flavor has some strong vanilla followed by some bitterness and roasted malt. Did not get much smoke. Nice take on the original.

Tap @ Falling Rock. Poured black with a big creamy stiff off-white head. The aroma was of vanilla with some chocolate underneath. Roasty, chocolate flavor. Vanilla didn’t blend enough for me. The flavor was short. Semi-sweet finish with a light to medium body. Cask mouthfeel.

Sample provided by Styles. Dark brown/black body with small tan head, some lace. The nose is smoke, chocolate, light cola and molasses. The flavor is moderately sweet with vanilla, milk chocolate and caramel. Medium body is thin with light carbonation.

UPDATED: NOV 13, 2010
Name: Smoked Porter, Vanilla
Date: October 11, 2007
Mode: Firkin
Source: Falling Rock
Appearance: black, creamy beige head, scattered lace
Aroma: huge sweet vanilla aroma with just a touch of chocolate
Body: creamy body
Flavor: rich chocolate flavor enhanced by the big vanilla sweetness, light oaky bitterness in the finish

Name: Smoked Porter, Vanilla
Date: October 07, 2010
Mode: draft
Words: duckworths
Appearance: clear dark brown, drippy lace
Aroma: sweet vanilla and rich chocolate aroma
Flavor: sweet chocolate flavor, lots of vanilla, earthyness keeps the sweetness from getting out of control, long bitter finish bordering on astrengent

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 12/20
Rating: 3.2/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: ** /4

Poured from beer engine at Falling Rock during GABF. Pour is very dark, almost black with a moderate sized head. Tons of vanilla aroma with a nice malt sweetness to boot. Lightly sweet with vanilla and candy, there is some grainy/roasty malt too, but the vanilla is really forward. You know this is a porter rather than a stout, but the vanilla really makes it something else. Creamy medium body and mouth feel. Jen said this was the best beer she has ever had. I don’t know if I’d go that far but it is something special.

On tap at Stone brewery. Excellent aroma of cofee beans and dark rich taste, a little too sweet at times but overall a good brew that one can enjoy.

Post MiBGF party, thanks Chris for getting the "growler" of this brew: Deep brown with reddish highlights topped by a beautiful creamy tan head that left very good lacing upon the glass. The aroma has notes of vanilla beans, chocolate and toasted malts, bready, tobacco, slight smoke and some grassy vapours too, NICE! The taste starts with rich sweet vanilla and mocha tones supported by a meaty smoked finish. Light grassy and coffee undertones noted here and there. The mouth feel is spritzy and aggressive with a dry finish. This is very nice and I like the overall product, not a cloying vanilla imbued beer but could stand a bit more of the original smoke character.

Draft. Blackish beer with a nice cream colored head. Vanilla, slight smoke aroma. Vanilla, smoke, rich malt flavor that lingers. Well balanced. Medium body. Nice drinking. The vanilla definately adds another nice layer for complexity and makes it very drinkable.

Courtesy of Styles

Growler: Big smokey aroma with moderate vanilla and light chocolate. It pours a dark brown with some red hilights and a small beige head. The flavor has moderate chocolate and light vanilla. The finish is lightly nutty with some black coffee. The smokiness is extremely faint. I prefer the regular version.