Stone Smoked Porter with Vanilla Beans

I ordered a glass of Stone Smoked Porter with Vanilla Beans while on The Beer Circle PA tour at Al’s of Hampden. The beer pours a black color with a frothy off-white colored head. The aroma consists of smoke, vanilla, chocolate, and toasted malts. The taste is smooth with a strong vanilla presence and a light smoke background that gets stronger as it lingers. Balancing out all of the flavors is a peppery finish derived from the hops. The alcohol content is 5.9% ABV. The addition of vanilla beans to this beer really made it smooth drinking, but it did not eliminate the strong smoke presence. I loved how the smoke intensified as it it lingered in the mouth, and I would drink this again.

Pizza Boy Brewing Test Batch Porter with Vanilla Bean and Kopi Luac

I gave the Test Batch Porter a sip from Pizza Boy Brewing and was about to order a glass when I saw that Al had tapped a firkin of the Test Batch Porter with vanilla bean and Kopi Luac. The beer pours a black color with a frothy beige head that leaves a nice lacing on the glass. The aroma is big on coffee with some chocolate and vanilla hanging out in the background. The taste is smooth and silky with a chocolate flavor up front before a big coffee push takes over the tongue. The coffee flavors taste completely fresh like a coffee shop. A sweet vanilla finish overtakes the bitter coffee flavors. The alcohol content is 5.6% ABV. Wow, was this beer excellent. I know the base of the beer was quite tasty, but adding the Kopi Luac and vanilla beans just took it over the edge. It was one of the better coffee infused beers that I have tasted.

Troegs Java Head with Vanilla Beans and Bravo Dry Hop

I stopped into Al's of Hampden after receiving a tweet from Al that he just tapped Troegs Java Head with Vanilla Beans and Bravo Dry Hop on hand pump. I could not contain my excitement to try this beer. The aroma has good helping of vanilla accenting chocolate with a pine background. The taste is smooth and creamy with dry chocolate bite but smooth vanilla finish. The aftertaste is piney and satisfying. As with the Java Head, the alcohol content is 7.5% ABV. What an amazing reincarnation of an already great beer. The vanilla added smooth and sweet notes to the finish that was also helped with the creaminess that the hand pump adds.