Breckenridge Vanilla Porter

Friday April 18, 2008

A Flurry of Porters (Part 1):

• Breckenridge Vanilla Porter

“To ski all day and drink great beer every night…” To some this is a pipe dream… well for Richard Squire, founder of Breckenridge Brewery, this soon became life and could you really ask for a better one? Squire started on his passion by home brewing and in February 1990 his pet project took off, opening the first, of three, restaurants and brewpubs in Breckenridge, Colorado. But it wasn’t until May of 1996 that the brews that Squire created were available outside the restaurants. That year, Breckenridge Brewery expanded to a full bottling line to ease the growing demand of their beer. Over the past decade, Breckenridge Brewery went from a small 3,000 barrels-a-year brewpub to 30,000 barrels-a-year, becoming one of the most successful craft breweries in America.

The Vanilla Porter is the first review from Breckenridge Brewery by BeerGenius and I will admit it, not my favourite beer from Breckenridge (Small Batch 471 IPA… just so you know). What this beer does have is an exceptionally dark brown body that lightens out around the edges. I didn’t get too much foam out of my pour, I would say about a half inch of head, with minimal retention. The aroma of the beer is simply great. It was like Starbucks… only with alcohol. The chocolate, coffee, and roasted nut aromas rose out of this beer with a hint of the vanilla that was promised in its name. Aroma and bouquet matched the taste almost perfectly. It started with a full-bodied dark chocolate taste and finished with a creamy hint of vanilla. So I guess it was worth the trip to Madagascar and Papua New Guinea to get the vanilla beans they used to finish off the flavour of this beer. A good way to describe this beer to friends is silky and smooth, and who doesn’t like that.

Body: 16. The Vanilla Porter was rich and dark in colour. The head dissipated for the most part in about two to three minutes.

Nose: 18. Porters have a distinct coffee and chocolate smells to them, now throw in some subtle vanilla notes to the aroma and it just gets better. I did a little more research into the hops that compose this beer, which are; Chinook, Tettinang, Perle, Goulding, and found out most of these are aroma-cultivating hops, which explains the intense nose from this beer.

Character: 18. I have to admit, I really hoped that this beer didn’t turn out like the Grape Pale Ale, where it promised to have a flavour and it didn’t deliver… at the same time, I was afraid that adding something like vanilla would over-power the taste and turn this beer sickly-sweet. Breckenridge put just enough flavour for you to know, but not so much that it over-whelms your senses. It also had a good hop bitterness to malt sweetness.

Originality: 16. How do you make a porter better? Breckenridge Brewery’s idea was to add vanilla beans from halfway across the world during the brewing process.

Versatility: 17. Due to the nature of a porter, it is best to enjoy it after the meal. In fact, the Breckenridge Brewery website, http://www.breckenridgebrewery.com/, suggests making a milkshake out of the Vanilla Porter by adding ice cream. Now doesn’t that sound good!!!

Overall: 85/100. This beer looked good, it smelled good, and it tasted good. Too bad I don’t have an extra one to make that milkshake because I am about ready to make dinner…


Beer: Vanilla Porter
ABV: 4.7%
Brewer: Breckenridge Brewery (Breckenridge, CO)
Availability: Year-round
Reviewed by: Jeffrey Ward

Sorry guys. I got sick and didn’t get a chance to finish the porter post. I will get more of it up next Monday and Wednesday. Thanks.

Samuel Adams "Long Shot" 2007

Tuesday April 2, 2008

The 2007 winners of Samuel Adams “Long Shot” Home Brewers Contest:

• Mike McDole’s “Imperial IPA” originally brewed in California
• Rodney Kibzey’s “Weizenbock” originally brewed in Illinois
• Lili Hess’s “Grape Pale Ale” originally brewed in Hawaii

Since 2006, Samuel Adams Brewery in Boston, Massachusetts has been encouraging home brewers across the nation by sponsoring American Homebrewing Contest called “Long Shot”.

In 2006, over 1500 beers were submitted to five different regions for judging. Winning brewers got the opportunity to have their beer brewed by Samuel Adams and be a part of the first “Long Shot” mix pack. The 2006 “Long Shot” was an exceptional year; it contained “Boysenberry Wheat” by Ken Smith, “Old Ale” by Donald Oliver, and “Dortmunder Export” by Bruce Stott.

In 2007, more entrants equaled more beers. Judges sifted through more than 1900 beers by more than 1300 home brewers… as Samuel Adams founding brewer, Jim Koch, said, “this is proof positive that Homebrewing is alive and well!” The winners for 2007 were Mike McDole with his "Imperial IPA”, Rodney Kibzey with his “Weizenbock” and Lili Hess with her “Grape Pale Ale”. Unfortunately, due to hop shortages, Samuel Adams won’t be able to brew Mike’s "Imperial IPA” until 2009.


I started with Kibzey’s “Weizenbock”. Remarkable in color and the head that was produced with what I deemed a perfect pour. The first thing I noticed about this beer truly was the color, a dark, unfiltered brown, almost amber. The head of this beer stuck around for a good ten to fifteen minutes and provided a balance of fruit and spice aromas. I picked up a bouquet of dark fruits and allspice, with a dominating factor of clove. Weizenbocks typically have more alcohol than their cousin, a Dunkel Weizen, but as far as being able to smell the increase in alcohol was not there. Taste on the other hand, you could tell that it had more alcohol than your average beer at 7.2%. Continuing with taste, sweet wheat with fruit and spice is a great way to describe it. Fruits that I managed to pick out include banana, coriander, and dark fruits. The mouthfeel of this beer was pretty exceptional. A creamy, medium to full body with almost a caramel malt taste. The only thing that detracts from it is it leaves a chalky after-taste.

Body: 15. The Weizenbock has a beautiful, unfiltered amber color.

Nose: 17. This beer is very fragrant. No two doubts about it. The head ensures that your first smell is the clove and allspice, once this dissipates, the banana among other fruits take over.

Character: 15. It is not like I didn’t like the taste of this beer. I liked the initial taste… the complex malts mixing with the fruits and spices. The after-taste left something less than desired, a chalky and bitter taste, so much so that I needed to cleanse my palate before thinking about anything else.

Originality: 20. Let’s face it. Almost every beer has been done. But this beer was originally brewed at home and beat out some 1900 others to be included in Samuel Adam’s “Long Shot” mixed pack.

Versatility: 16. I am at an impasse here. I liked, not loved, this beer. It would probably be great more towards the end of a meal, specifically dessert, like chocolate fondue with an assortment of fruits, that way you magnify the highlights of this beer, its intense caramelized malts and fruit aromas.

Overall: 83/100. Like I said, I liked, not loved, this beer. The flavour stays with you a long time after you drink it. It is has characteristics that I enjoy, but some that I don’t. With that being said, congratulations Rodney Kibzey on your fine beer!

Beer: Weizenbock
ABV: 7.2%
Brewer: Rodney Kibzey (original brewer)
Brewed and distributed by: Samuel Adams Brewery (Boston, MA)
Reviewed by: Jeffrey Ward


Grape Pale Ale… first of all, the name intrigues me. The past two reviews I have done have been pale ales, and if it is not apparent, I like pale ales. The first notes for this beer is how clear and filtered it is. The head on the Grape Pale Ale dissipates very, very quickly (15 seconds, maybe), leaving you to admire a light-bodied golden ale. The bouquet for the beer was slightly floral and grassy, typical of pale ales. If it looks and smells this good, then it must taste this good… but looks can be deceiving. After tasting it, I took a huge yawn, which is a metaphor for its taste… boring. It tastes more like a light beer, than pale ale. Again, I must emphasize the lackluster attempt at flavour for this beer. I barely tasted the supposed grape infusion, unless it is that millisecond of sweetness right when the beers hits your mouth and taste buds. After about half of the beer, I could taste a little bit of fruit, green grapes and orange zest, specifically, but I really had to concentrate and swirl a little to get that. Upon reading the label more closely (and some other reviews), apparently maple syrup was added sometime during the brewing process, so maybe that is why I got the sickly sweet flavour that I couldn’t exactly grasp. I sit here at my computer, still with half this beer left, not really wanting anymore of it…

Body: 13. The Grape Pale Ale was a light-bodied golden ale. Looks good…

Nose: 13. The Grape Pale Ale aspired to be a lot. The bouquet was light, grassy, and slightly fruity. In my opinion, its floral aspects and fruity smell/taste was not well protected because the head dissipated too quickly.

Character: 7. I think I would have liked this beer better had it tasted more what I envisioned… a pale ale mixed with a couple of grape Jolly Ranchers in it. Instead, I got a light beer that supposedly had grape flavouring. The maple syrup not only confused me, it confused this beer. Pale Ales are hoppy and pop on your tongue and taste buds. This one just sat there lifeless and too sweet for my taste. I hate to say it, but this beer failed at taste factor from the first sip to when I decided to not drink anymore. If you want a strong fruit flavour with your beer, try a Lindeman’s Lambic beer.

Originality: 15. I feel like I might be unfair in this score because the other “Long Shot” beer, I gave an automatic 20 to… but if Samuel Adams Brewery thought this was the best beer that one of their employees could come up with and brew, then I fear what they will make next…

Versatility: 12. If you want to taste the grape, then I suggest eating a bunch of grapes with this beer. Other than that, this beer would probably fit at the start of the meal with a light salad with a fruit infused vinaigrette or at the end, with a dessert with berries.

Overall: 60/100. Not every beer I will like. Samuel Adams Grape Pale Ale a testament to what I don’t like in beers. I need flavour, this beer didn’t have it, and I need to want to actually finish it, and I didn’t.

Beer: Grape Pale Ale
ABV: 5.35%
Brewer: Lili Hess (original brewer)
Brewed and distributed by: Samuel Adams Brewery (Boston, MA)
Reviewed by: Jeffrey Ward



Next Week: I will try to get together two, hopefully four posts. Expect beers from Breckenridge Brewery, O’Dells Brewery, Avery Brewery, and Great Divide Brewery… oh yeah, and it will be a flurry of porters…

Well Kids...

Well kids (I mean those above the age of 21, because why else would you be here, naturally...), it looks like it will only be me posting for a while. Jameson has taken refuge in Iraq for the next year doing something with computers and non-alcoholic beer. Let us laugh in unison at him for a moment... He swears he is working for the Marines, but we all know what he is really doing... making sand castles, professionally, of course!

In attempts to keep our pet project going, I, Jeffrey Ward, have agreed to drink twice as much beer and blog two times as much... which if our track record proceeds us, will be four times this year... kidding. Anyways, I just had a get together with a lot of our friends in which I called "Beergenius.net presents: Beer-ster Egg Hunt 2008". I bought almost 80 different varietals of beer for my guests to hunt for and enjoy! (The idea is copyrighted... don't even think about it... once again, kidding) So let's get this ball rolling, this beer drank (drunk?), and get you all trying what I thought was intriguing enough to buy!!!

The next post will actually be a beer review(s)... I promise!!! In fact, I'll give you all a head start... I purchased the "Sam Adam's Long Shot Ale 6 pack" which contains Rodney Kibzey's "Weizenbock" and Lili Hess's "Grape Pale Ale". Was it worth it? Will I be disappointed? Post coming tomorrow!!!