Beer – #425 – Mike’s – Vanilla Coffee Porter

Mike’s Vanilla Coffee Porter – from the tap – I last drank a version of this in a bottle in November 2012 – and loved it then, I wonder if I still love it now. This is the non-Organic version.

Brewed by Mike’s Brewery in the style that is of a Porter and they are Taranaki, New Zealand

Flavour Initial sweetness gives way to fresh roasted coffee with low bitterness and an After Taste of Espresso coffee desert

At 8% ABV a litre (33fl Oz) would be 6.31 standard drink units in NZ, and this bottle would be somewhere around 640 calories worth.

When VCP arrived on the scene, marrying the satisfying hit of a freshly roasted morning coffee with the creamy full taste of a rich dark porter, Mike’s couldn’t help but feel that this son was close to perfection. It’s good morning and good night all at once, a double shot of endlessly satisfying seer rich flours and subtle coffee bitterness that’s smoother than your local barista.

VCP, quite possibly. Very Close to Perfection.

I guess the proof will be in the drinking.

MrsPdubyah says she is surprised I’m having a beer after our night out last night, I say hair of the dog.

It’s dark then, no surprises there. Vanilla and Coffee are the aromas on opening. Nothing surprising there.

Lovely Pour, fantastic head that looks like lush milkshake, aroma is strong in this one.

And the mouthfeel is like a milkshake, a lovely coffee chocolate milkshake, but with a slight bitterness in the carry. Get in!

Initially then all is good, and you get sucked into a dreamy state. Then you blink and the illusion passes, and you wonder. Because mostly that the fullness of the mouthfeel gives way to an impression that this lacks a bit of body, and that it could do with the vanilla or the coffee being cranked up a bit. A notch. A Tad.

Just a bit.

But this is a bracingly good, quaffingly good, and thoroughly enjoyable. There isn’t a lot to indicate that this is a beer of 8% ABV and that will get you into trouble in quick order if you let it.

I chose this over the 8Wired Flat White, a Coffee Stout but I’m thinking this. First time around both those beers were startling. I brought this and then went to the pub to have the other, and found that it wasn’t exactly as I remembered, less full and creamy. Although the last time I had this beer, some 250 beers ago I seem to have stumbled upon something near perfect. Now though either I’ve changed or this has, and yes this isn’t the organic version I get that.

The Aromas in this, the strong coffee, is really nice and enjoyable, the aroma does a lot for the taste carry. I do wish though that this was fuller in the mouthfeel in some way, or that the coffee or vanilla was picked out slightly more.

picky picky picky.. because I’d easily and willingly have another of these if I was out drinking and it was on tap. I’d also like to stand up this and the Coffee Stout in a side-by-side. When I’m rich again perhaps.

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 8 a of its unknowable scale that is the things from the thing. 8 is ‘very good’ on the unknowable and arbitrary scale that I use without much science or reason.

The double dip review

Am I enjoying it? Yes it starts with a hiss and roar, looks great, and drinks well. Would I have another? I have had enough with the bottle that I have. Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? Yes I probably would, it’s nice enough and well mannered without any sharp edges that would cause consternation.

I’ve been toe tapping along to some Trumpet Jazz, ands no better than Bill Coleman – This is the very good “Afromotive in Blue” It’s nice to have a range of music and styles to hand, and this seemed a goof choice.

PORTER

Black or chocolate malt gives the porter its dark brown color. Porters are well hopped and heavily malted. This is a medium-bodied beer. Porters can be sweet. Hoppiness can range from bitter to mild. Porters are often confused with stouts.

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