The Weekly Pint: Breckenridge Vanilla Porter
Posted by Roger the Beerist at 4/11/2008 8:45 AM and is filed under Great Assortment,Porter,Beer review,Weekly Pint 
"The problems of two people may not amount to a hill of beans," said Frank Drebin (masterfully portrayed by Leslie Nielsen in The Naked Gun). "But this is our hill and these are our beans."
That movie was hilarious. You're probably wondering what it has to do with beer. Not much, really, I just thought it was funny. I guess the only real link between that quote and this week's pint is the bean reference. I drank the third bottle from the Great Assortment, a six pack of assorted beers purchased in Tempe, AZ after the Great Arizona Beer Festival. It's a vanilla porter and Breckenridge Brewery uses vanilla beans, directly from Papua New Guinea and Madagascar, in the brewing process. See the connection now? Whatever.
I noticed it at the Arizona Beer Fest and made sure to make my wife try it. She liked it, just as I knew she would. It's a sweet piece of beer candy. I found out it's better in three ounces than twelve, though.
It had a refined, blossoming, dirty ivory head which fell rather fast, leaving a thin bead atop a brown and red body. The aroma was fabulous, beginning with a tinny fruit smell, progressing to harsh roasted grain. Then the vanilla blankets both, melding and blending them together. No hops were evident - even though they use four different hops: Chinook, Tettnang, Perle and Goulding - and as you all know that suits me well.
It was tingly right at the tip of the tongue and that tickle of carbonation was just enough. The body was incredibly slick with the vanilla weaving itself everywhere. It's just amazingly sweet. In fact, I'd say the vanilla clogs up the body. Yet, it doesn't seem out of place. I know, that sounds contradictory; but the vanilla belongs in this beer. It finishes dry even though it's a sticky and thick beer. Overall, it was sweet and creamy. It was like a root beer float with extra ice cream and some whipped cream. Oh, and some vanilla extract poured on top.
I found it hard to drink, which is something I never thought I'd say about a beer, but it really is a good beer. Craft beer drinkers, or beerists as I now refer to people in the craft beer world, will certainly enjoy the beer. It's a fantastic extrapolation on a classic beer style. I don't think it's a cross-over beer. Sure, it would expose an average beer drinker to a powerful taste but it might just be too much.
Until the next pint ...
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