12 ounce bottle into pint glass, best before 9/20/2012. Pours slightly hazy dark reddish brown color with a nice 2 finger dense light khaki head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Nice soapy lacing clings to the glass. Aromas of big vanilla bean, toffee, caramel, toasted malt, chocolate, cream, and light herbal. Very nice aromas with good strength and balance. Taste of vanilla, chocolate, caramel, toffee, roasted malt, cream, light smoke, light citrus, and earthy hops. Light bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of vanilla, toffee, caramel, chocolate, roasted malt, light smoke, and earthy spiciness. Nice balance of vanilla and roasted flavors with hop bitterness; no cloying flavors at all. Medium carbonation and body; with a fairly creamy and lightly crisp mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a slight warming after the finish. Overall this is a very nice vanilla porter. Nice amounts of vanilla flavor with good balance; very smooth to drink. Very enjoyable as expected.

Location: 12 oz bottle from Sparrow, 9/14/12

Aroma: The nose is rather sweet, lots of vanilla, chocolate, and some underlying roasted coffee
Appearance: It pours a medium-dark brown color with a beige head and medium-heavy lace
Flavor: The smoke and roast come out more to balance out the sweetness of the vanilla and chocolate
Palate: This one has a rather creamy feel, a light-medium body, and a soft carbonation
Overall Impression: This was not what I was expecting at all. A lot of the roast and smoke is gone compared to the other versions, and there is a ton of sweetness from the vanilla. It still works pretty well, but it's just completely different then I thought it would be.

Bottle. Pours clear deep reddish brown with a medium tan head that slowly dissipates with nice lacing. Aroma is vanilla, roasted malt, chocolate, molasses, toffee and a touch of smoke. Flavor is complex with all of the above thrown into a brew with medium sweetness and light coffee bitterness. Very nice beer, if a little light bodied.

It has been a long time since I had a Stone Smoked Porter (that wasn’t barrel aged) maybe 6 years. So this will be fun to revisit with these two different treatments. The 12oz bottle pours mahogany with deep ruby red edges and tan head of foam. The light aroma offers up earthy malts, a light amount of roasted malts and a tiny sense of smoke. Overall the taste begins with subtle and subdued notes of dark roasted malts, a thin layer of sweet vanilla and just a dab of smokiness. As this thing progresses toward midway and on to the finish I seems to swing from moderate sweet vanilla to almost firm levels of smoke and then back toward vanilla with a bit of a chocolate sensation. Into the after taste the smooth oak like smokiness lingers. All of these notes are fairly restrained and stay within what I take as the Porter style by not overwhelming with any one ingredient. Nice.

Smoke, vanilla, and oats on the nose. Clear brown, medium yellow head, nice lacing. Smoky unsweetened cola flavor. The impression of cardboard at midpalate. Tree bark, soil finish. Again, I like the regular smoked porter better.

Bottle: Deep brown with auburn hues. Aroma is rich in roast, lightly smokey, and faint vanilla. Heavy roast up front with light cocoa and smoke; the vanilla really comes through in the tail. Probably the most prevalent and true vanilla flavor I can remember in any brew at this point. Not overwhelming, but certainly a stand alone flavor. Nice.

From a 33cl bottle purchased at total wine in McLean Virginia. Cola colored with wispy head. Toasty nose. Strong vanilla flavor. Very subtle smoke. Mildly bitter aftertaste.

12 oz. bottle, pours a very dark brown / black with a reddish tinge and a small beige head. Aroma of vanilla beans upfront, dominating the nose - nothing much else is detectable. Flavour of vanilla beans, coca cola, and some slight cocoa powder buried further underneath. Relatively high carbonation for the style, making it less smooth than optimally desirable. The vanilla beans are a very nice addition to the standard base beer. Solid stuff.

12 ounce bottle thanks to Dallas. Pours a deep mahogany color with a medium grey head. The aroma is almost totally vanilla beans with some roast. The flavor is sweet light smoke, dry malts, roast, caramel, big vanilla. Quite easygoing and nice.