Consider the vanilla bean. The Aztecs did. In addition to inventing long words ending in “atl” and awesome mythology, they had the patience to figure out how to cultivate vanilla — a particularly difficult flavor to come by. The pods are the fruit of an orchid plant (Vanilla planifolia), and they must be cured and fermented over the course of about six months. If that weren’t involved enough, the high-maintenance orchid itself must be pollinated by hand. Vanilla beans, like coffee and chocolate, only proliferate naturally in tropical latitudes, and, like wine grapes, the various strains reflect the qualities of the soil in which they are grown. This makes Mexican vanilla different from Madagascar vanilla, Tahitian different from Ugandan. For many years now, vanilla has been the adjunct that takes a craft beer’s status from gold to platinum, instantly raising its secondary value to ridiculous levels. Enough with the enough talk, let’s drink five stouts with vanilla in their recipes. Enjoy Peaks and Pints Beer Flight: Vanilla Stouts.
Peaks and Pints Beer Flight: Vanilla Stouts
Grains of Wrath S’mortal Kombat
6% ABV
Grains — the solid backbone of all beers. Wrath — coming at your taste buds with a mission. Spawned from good old-fashioned working-human punk rock, Grains of Wrath is a beer medal generating machine. Their S’mortal Kombat milk stout is brewed graham cracker, lactose, chocolate and vanilla. Finish it!
Firestone Walker Parabolita
9.2% ABV
A delicious re-imagining of Firestone Walker Brewing’s iconic Parabola barrel-aged imperial stout, they aged a selection of Parabola for one year in premium bourbon barrels, then blended it with a complement of Velvet Merlin milk stout to create a silky mouthfeel and a more approachable alcohol by volume. Finally, they infused the beer with whole Madagascar vanilla beans, cocoa nibs and sea salt to achieve a full salted caramel-style drinking experience.
AleSmith Barrel-Aged Speedway Stout: Vanilla Shake
14.03% ABV
A collaboration with Mikkeller, this AleSmith Brewing barrel-aged blend of Speedway Stout and Beer Geek Vanilla Shake has been aged in premium bourbon barrels with the addition of San Diego roasted coffee and three varieties of vanilla beans. Each sip transports taste buds to a world of silky smoothness, where the bold flavors of coffee and vanilla dance harmoniously with the subtle hints of sweet bourbon.
Dogfish Head Affogato World Wide Stout
15% ABV
Brewed with a ridiculous amount of barley, Dogfish Head’s World Wide Stout is a dark, rich, and roasty imperial stout. This year’s iteration, Affogato World Wide Stout, takes this beloved beer to the next level, with added notes of espresso and sweet vanilla for a liquid version of the well-known Italian treat. This ageable ale is made with a blend of 7 different grains and then infused with loads of locally roasted coffee and sweet vanilla
The Bruery Black Tuesday
19.4% ABV
Born from arguably the most miserable day in the history of The Bruery, Black Tuesday quickly became legend and lore in the craft beer community. A 16-hour brew-day, overflowing mash, burns from scalding water, and frustration resulted in the base for this now legendary imperial stout. Founder Patrick Rue was so angry with the beer that he condemned it to bourbon barrels for a year. The Result? The most decadent of ales, developing deep, warming notes of vanilla, caramel, dark chocolate, bourbon, dark fruit and singed oak.
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