Back in the lazy, hazy days of kiddieville you weren’t anybody unless you had your birthday party at Farrells. For the young and sugar obsessed, the restaurant-cum-ice-cream-parlor, embedded in the Tacoma Mall, was a haven. Decked out like a turn-of-the-century soda fountain, Farrells was big on stripes — booths, walls and shirts — with suspenders and sleeve garters for the waitstaff. And it had a massive candy counter, displaying old-fashioned favorites like salt water taffy and rock candy, that had to be passed going in or out — a parent’s worst nightmare. To us, the big deal was the vanilla milkshakes. Massive parfait glasses filled to the brim and melting down the sides. Was it any good? We honestly can’t remember. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway — the opportunity to eat anything sweet, coupled with a brightly-colored gimmick that might feature more candy at the end of the rainbow, was sufficient. Farrells is long since gone, but as adults, we’re still addicted to vanilla milkshakes. Today is National Vanilla Milkshake Day. And while Peaks and Pints doesn’t have endless jars of candy, or ice cream for that matter, we do have craft beer infused with vanilla. Drop by our Proctor District lodge for Craft Beer Crosscut 6.20.17: A Flight of Vanilla Shake for five craft beer concoctions that are nothing short of orgasmic.
Avery Vanilla Bean Stout
10.8% ABV, 29 IBU
Now a year-round release, Avery Brewing‘s bourbon barrel-aged blend of an imperial stout and a regular American stout flexes its decadent vanilla addition from the get-go, offering a big nose of warm, sticky vanilla, toasted coconut and a flit of whiskey. Vanilla dominates the front of the sip but gives way to smooth milk chocolate, coconut, caramelized marshmallow and hints of roast coffee, followed by coffee, dark cherry and dark chocolate lingering at the end. The barrel takes a supporting role, allowing the oak to just dry out the full swallow, leaving pleasant warmth in the throat.
Ballast Point Victory At Sea
10% ABV
Victory at Sea’s story begins in 1992, when a homebrewer named Jack White, recognizing the dearth of good supply shops nearby with which to augment his hobby, opened Home Brew Mart near Mission Beach in San Diego. Another homebrewer, Yuseff Cherney, soon joined him, and together the two moved the brews they were making in their back yards to the back of the shop. In 1996, Ballast Point was born. Victory at Sea smells like breakfast — Aromas of cappuccino gelato and medium-roast coffee with milk meld with subtle background vanilla notes as well as bits of sourdough and brown sugar. In the flavor, Victory at Sea switches to dessert. Bitter medium-roast coffee flavors play at the sides of the tongue while chocolate, vanilla and caramel build at the front. Toast and molasses make appearances as well, and alcohol heat rolls down the throat, noticeable but not overpowering.
Off Color Dino S’mores
10.5% ABV, 40 IBU
John Laffler of Goose Island and Dave Bleitner of Two Brothers opened Off Color Brewing in March 2013. At the brewery’s launch party, a local pastry chef cooked up a batch of dinosaur-shaped s’mores for munching; these treats provided the inspiration for an imperial stout Off Color would later brew in collaboration with Danish brewer Amager Bryghus and Chicago bottle shop West Lakeview Liquors. The beer — flavored with marshmallow fluff, molasses, vanilla beans, graham flour and cocoa nibs — was named Dino S’mores and has been available since 2014. It’s sweet and sugary, with a bouquet of blackstrap molasses, graham cracker and marshmallow fluff atop a layer of alcohol, vanilla, marshmallow and milk chocolate.
Black Diamond Peak XV Imperial Porter
8% ABV, 42 IBU
Black Diamond Brewing’s imperial porter gives nod to Peak XV— the Earth’s highest mountain first measured in 1856, then renamed Mt. Everest nine years later. Subtle undertones of vanilla are brought forth using multiple sources of whole vanilla beans, followed by a stupendous nose of dark chocolate, provided by cacao nibs sourced near the Concord, California brewery. The flavor is massive chocolate, creamy vanilla, toasty and malty.
Hop Valley VIP Vanilla Infused Porter
5.9% ABV, 50 IBU
Those who have tasted vanilla porters spoiled by an overpowering vanilla flavor will especially appreciate Hop Valley’s VIP Vanilla Infused Porter. Vanilla beans are added to the conditioning tank in this robust porter. Its vanilla flavor balances with the rest of the beer without fading into the background, while the chocolate and coffee flavors act as complements.
