Empyrean Dark Side Vanilla Porter
An infusion of old-world beer and contemporary soul. Smooth, dark and roasted with highlights of chocolate, coffee and vanilla. Pair with beef, Indian or Asian cuisine and chocolate or vanilla desserts.
3.3
187 reviews
Lincoln, United States
Community reviews
12oz bottle - pours a dark brown with thin off white head . Faint cocoa aroma . More hops present than I would have expected . Meh ... Ok
12 oz. bottle. Pour is dark brown. Quickly diminishing off white head. Aroma of roasted malts, coffee and some vanilla. Taste was coffee, malty and slightly sweet. Very good.
Bottle. Roasted malt aroma with notes of chocolate and vanilla. Pours deep brown with a thin tan head with decent retention and some lacing. Starts starts with roasted malt flavors but a fairly light body for a porter. Finishes smooth with the sweet chocolate and vanilla characteristics really coming forward for a nice ending. Nice vanilla porter despite the lack of body.
Dark brown pour with a white head. The aroma has mild vanilla with some malty roast. It has a medium body with average carbonation. The taste is mildly bitter with a dry finish.
Pours a very very dark brown, with a white head that dissipates almost instantly. Smells mostly of vanilla with a hint of coffee and even less chocolate. Taste is a creamy vanilla with with a coffee aftertaste. Not my absolute favorite, but definitely worth another buy.
Brown. Light vanilla and in the aroma. Flavor is surprisingly light, some roasted malt. Light overall. OK.
Pours opaque brown/black with a thick head that does eventually dissipate, but leaves a decent lace. Aroma is all sweet, with generically malty sweetness being the primary, and vanilla, coffee, roastiness coming in underneath. Flavor follows, but even more pronounced on the sweet vanilla flavor, so much that it seems almost like an artificial additive of some kind. Not recommended.
Solid light bodied porter
Coffee and roast body
Dry finish
Hints of Vanilla on the Finish
Nothing wrong here, but nothing great. Dark brown pour with medium tan head. Aroma with roasted malt and more chocolate than vanilla. The porter part is exactly what you’d expect from an average porter, but dialed back a bit. So is the vanilla, which comes through faintly at the end. A bit too thin and carbonated for me, but not so much to be a problem. I’d happily drink this if given to me, but wouldn’t choose it if I had options.
Had at a beer tasting. It's fine. Thin and low abv with a decent vanilla sweetness in the background. Not really much else going on.
Pours dark brown with an inch thick head. Nose is coffee with a hint of vanilla. Mouthfeel slightly creamy. Low/ medium carbonation. Pretty typical porter base, nothing super exciting. Less pronounced vanilla than other vanilla porters. Finishes slightly dry with coffee notes. Unexciting but solid.
Exactly as advertise, has a strong coffee-bite, vanilla aftertaste. As a porter it stands well, however, as much as it defines itself form other porters, it falls in comparison in the traditional sense. It is a beer I need to be in the mood to drink, but when I am, there aren’t many better
Good beer overall, very smooth and easy to drink. I'd definitely buy it again but if it's between this and other porters I'd buy another.
bottle in trade to glass. some aroma, but more malt and roast in aroma. nice dark pour. taste was subdued - slick, roast, porter. ok brew!
Bottle. Pours dark brown with small tan head. Nose is cocoa and some vanilla. Taste is some bitter chocolate and some vanilla. Sweet.
dark brown to black with a thin off white head. aroma is roasty malts and coffee. flavor is more coffee, roast, and chocolate.
On tap at JL Beers. Medium body, a bit sweet and sticky, some nice malty flavour with vanilla and chocolate. Pretty nice vanilla porter.
Good but not memorable. Vanilla and roasted malts on the nose. Stronger than some. Dark brown color with a foamy head. Smooth palate and somewhat creamy and lighter than expected. Decent blend of flavors with vanilla and chocolate standing out. Roasted malts blend with some bitterness for a dry finish. Coffee detected as well.
Brown pour, thin head.
Aroma is light vanilla. Some roasted malt.
Light body, Flavour is dark fruit, light roasted malt. Some chocolate and vanilla in the finish.
Nice malty chocolate aroma with a hint of alcohol. Not an obvious vanilla flavor but its there with chocolate and malty toasty notes as well. Smooth. Good but not amazing.
12oz bottle pours a dark brown with a dark amber hue and a small off-white head, appears thin. Mild vanilla aroma, slight caramel and chocolate. Thin palate more like a darker slick brown ale. Taste of vanilla, chocolate and a slight roast into a mild bitterness. A little too light for as a porter.
Real solid porter. The vanilla taste adds a nice layer of richness to this brew’s smooth, slightly chocolatey profile. There are also strong coffee and roasted malt flavors and a moderate feel. Dark Side is one of my favorite ales from Empyrean. It’s a truly well-rounded porter.
From bottle. Pours a rich black hue with a decent off-white head with minimal lacing. Aroma of roasted malt, chocolate, sweet milk. Taste of chocolate, vanilla, coffee, roasted malt, with sweetness and somewhat bitter finish. Medium body that is slightly carbonated. Overall pretty good porter with some subtle vanilla undertones.
Draft.
A- Molasses, toasted, vanilla.
A- Black color, dark liquid, minimal head.
T- Coffee tones, slightly malty, hints of vanilla.
P- Full body, average texture, soft carbonation, smooth finish.
O- A great porter with nice vanilla tones. Easy to drink for a porter.
Pours reddish dark brown black. Not much of a head. Aroma is vanilla and some toasted malt and and dark fruity notes. Flavor is much the same. Easy to drink but I'm taking away in palate because the body seems very thin for the style otherwise a nicely done beer.
Bottle. Pours a near clear dark brown with a brown head that dissipates to the edges. Aroma has notes of vanilla and dark grains with a bit of sweet chocolate and a hint of roasted malts. Flavor is similar with dark grains and vanilla up front. The vanilla lasts throughout and is joined by some light roasted malts.
Tasty creamy vanilla porter that is smooth in your mouth as it goes down. Definitely recommend it!
Appearance: Pitch black color with a big tan head that leaves a fine lacing.
Aroma: Roasted malt and chocolate.
Palate: Medium + body. Slightly sweet and a moderate bitterness. Average to soft carbonation. Dry texture.
Taste: Dark malt, roasted malt and some chocoalte. A fine smooth vanilla tail.
Overall impression: Nice and tasty porter.
Personal stats: Bottle from a trade with RobertDale
US state #25
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. Its state capital is Lincoln. Its largest city is Omaha, which is on the Missouri River. The state is crossed by many historic trails, but it was the California Gold Rush that first brought large numbers of non-indigenous settlers to the area. Nebraska became a state in 1867. Population is 1.9 mill (2012). A bit less than half of Norway.
Nice. Mild. This is a very good and under rated beer. Had in Chicago at a pizza place. Nice beer.
Great local porter, not quite as good as Breckenridge VP but still a very good local brew.