Official Team BEER-FI (Beer Appreciation Thread!) - Page 112

Cool clip! No idea what you're drinking but the color is nice

Victory at Sea is hands down the best porter I've ever had. This is incredibly well balanced, it reminds me of a nice piece of vanilla cake in a coffee house. There's this wonderful vanilla and roasted coffee aroma that is sweet and inviting, I don't think I've ever smelled a better beer. The taste is sweet and bready with vanilla up front into a slightly bitter roasted coffee flavor and hints of cocoa. There's no trace of alcohol in this despite the 10% abv, I could get in trouble with this. I love this and will buy it every time I see it.

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Originally Posted by keanex 

 

 

Victory at Sea is hands down the best porter I've ever had. This is incredibly well balanced, it reminds me of a nice piece of vanilla cake in a coffee house. There's this wonderful vanilla and roasted coffee aroma that is sweet and inviting, I don't think I've ever smelled a better beer. The taste is sweet and bready with vanilla up front into a slightly bitter roasted coffee flavor and hints of cocoa. There's no trace of alcohol in this despite the 10% abv, I could get in trouble with this. I love this and will buy it every time I see it.

Yeah, Victory at Sea is a great imperial porter.  Vanilla and coffee are very well integrated into the roasty and chocolatey porter. 
 

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Originally Posted by keanex 

 

Victory at Sea is hands down the best porter I've ever had. This is incredibly well balanced, it reminds me of a nice piece of vanilla cake in a coffee house. There's this wonderful vanilla and roasted coffee aroma that is sweet and inviting, I don't think I've ever smelled a better beer. The taste is sweet and bready with vanilla up front into a slightly bitter roasted coffee flavor and hints of cocoa. There's no trace of alcohol in this despite the 10% abv, I could get in trouble with this. I love this and will buy it every time I see it.

Thanks for posting your impressions, I've read similar comments for Victory at Sea and look foward to opening one of the bottles that I've cellared. I've also heard and read that Ballast Point's Black Marlin porter is also quite good and ranks right up there. Will have to remember to pick up a few bottles of Black Marlin porter on my next purchase.

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Originally Posted by keanex 

Pretty cool idea, I like that.

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Originally Posted by Eee Pee 

Yeah, that was neat.

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Originally Posted by Ultrainferno 

Cool clip! No idea what you're drinking but the color is nice

Cheers! 

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Originally Posted by keanex 

 

I've never had the Victory At Sea Coffee Vanilla Imperial Porter but I'll look out for it next time I'm in Total Wine.

I searched for it on Beer Advocate and it's the 5th favorite American Porter on there! http://beeradvocate.com/lists/style/159

My recent favorite porter is the Smuttynose Robust Porter.

Well to be fair there's only one porter really above it above it, Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald, I've never had that though. Founders Porter is third and it's my second favorite, so I definitely agree with the list. I don't count things with less than 100 votes though as there's too much potential for huge score changes. Something with 500 is realistically something that has stood the test of tongues.

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Originally Posted by keanex 

Well to be fair there's only one porter really above it above it, Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald, I've never had that though. Founders Porter is third and it's my second favorite, so I definitely agree with the list. I don't count things with less than 100 votes though as there's too much potential for huge score changes. Something with 500 is realistically something that has stood the test of tongues.

I like Founders Porter more than Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald as it has the nice medium roasted malt flavors that bring on semi sweet chocolate and medium roast coffee without the darkly roasted astringency that the bottle of Edmund Fitzgerald I tried had. 
 

I moved to Raleigh over the holidays and now I get to explore a whole new world of micro brews! WNC had some really amazing and passionate brewers and I see that same culture starting to take root here in the triangle. Recently tried a Red Oak amber lager that impressed me a lot. I've always wanted to get my hands on some because I used to pass the brewery on I-40 often to and from college.

I love NC micro brews!

Terrible picture, one of the best stouts I've ever had. Lots of sweetness with a hazelnut aroma with some dark fruits, the taste matched and it was a smooth sweet beautiful beer. 

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Originally Posted by keanex 

Terrible picture, one of the best stouts I've ever had. Lots of sweetness with a hazelnut aroma with some dark fruits, the taste matched and it was a smooth sweet beautiful beer. 

I just had a Blackout Stout a couple of weeks ago as well and thought it was excellent.  It was a year old bottle, but it was really smooth, and I found the same dark fruit, nutty, and dark chocolate flavor profile.  

Today was an awesome day, there was a local head-fi meet for most of the day, then I went to the first of many SF Beer Week events I plan on attending and had a few awesome beers.  

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Originally Posted by keanex 

Yeah it's odd that a state with perhaps the best distribution in the country, New Jersey, is up there for worst place to go to a bar.

It's not impossible to find a decent bar in NJ.  If you're ever near Metuchen Hailey's Harp & Pub right next to the train station has a great beer selection (mix of some better known and some craft beers) and good food too.  Of course I've yet to find anyplace around here that matches the pub we went to the last time I visited home (Maine). 30+ beers on tap and I'd never seen any of them before, my only regret is that I couldn't try them all.

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Originally Posted by daigo 

I just had a Blackout Stout a couple of weeks ago as well and thought it was excellent.  It was a year old bottle, but it was really smooth, and I found the same dark fruit, nutty, and dark chocolate flavor profile.  

 

I'm thinking of buying a case, then again I love stouts...

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Originally Posted by AltairDusk 

 

It's not impossible to find a decent bar in NJ.  If you're ever near Metuchen Hailey's Harp & Pub right next to the train station has a great beer selection (mix of some better known and some craft beers) and good food too.  Of course I've yet to find anyplace around here that matches the pub we went to the last time I visited home (Maine). 30+ beers on tap and I'd never seen any of them before, my only regret is that I couldn't try them all.

In South Jersey you're best off going on the train to Monk's Cafe or one of the many other bars in Philly, it really just doesn't compare in South Jersey.

Deschutes Conflux No. 2, a collaboration between Deschtes Brewery and Boulevard Brewing. This Belgian style IPA pours a light gold color and a bit cloudy with yeast seditments floating in the beer. Doesn't have much head retention, has a floral aroma with hints of orange, lemon and pine. Has a light mouth feel with a mild initial sweet taste followed by a citrus/tart character ending with mild (really mild for a IPA) hop bitterness. Easy drinking beer, would by the next release in the series.