Vanilla Vanity

Vanilla is one of those flavors that everyone seems to get excited about when they see it next to some beverage that usually doesn't include it; from french vanilla coffee to Vanilla Coke to vanilla vodka, the applications usually meet with mild to wild success (especially Vanilla Coke, which in my humble opinion is the best soda in the history of... soda). I am absolutely no exception to this rule, and when I spotted a Vanilla Porter (sitting conveniently next to my staple, Wild Blue) in an Austin supermarket, I immediately snatched it up.

Despite its full-of-potential name, this offering from Breckenridge Brewery sounds a bit better than it is. Taken solely as a porter, it fares relatively well, with a solid taste and heavy, though surprisingly somehow bland, flavor. My major problem with it falls with the promised vanilla, which is completely lost in that heaviness, emerging only as an aftertaste not discernible until about a full five to ten seconds after sipping. While this is, admittedly, an interesting taste phenomenon that warrants a certain praise, I wasn't able to conquer that initial disappointment; I was looking forward to a vanilla porter, not a porter with a vanilla chaser.

Breckenridge Vanilla Porter
Overall Rating: 6/10