Beer Tasting, Volume XI

Apologies for the hiatus, people. Spent too much time palling around with the hard-A lately, and, let's be honest- that's not good for anyone. Back to the beer...

Beer: Breckenridge Brewery's Oatmeal Stout and Breckenridge Brewery's Remarkable Vanilla Porter

Style: Oatmeal Stout and Porter

Consumption Method: Two 12 oz. bottles, split, and combined in a pint glass.

Alkyhol Content: 4.95% and 4.7%

Label: I wouldn't call any of Breckenridge designs "badass" but I like their branding and logo work. Their label designs really do have a "Denver" feel to them. I may be brainwashed, but I don't care.

Why Did I Buy This Beer and What the Hell Did I Do to It? Okay, so I've had each of these beers before. On their own they are both fantastic representatives of their respective styles. I prefer an oatmeal stout to be served on nitrogen, but the Breckenridge model is so creamy and low carbonated that if I were more intoxicated I may not notice. It's also not a very sweet stout, which I like, but find hard to drink more than a couple of. The Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout is one of the more bitter stouts I've had- a pronounced hop flavor (rare in a stout, in my opinion) and bitter black coffee aftertaste lend to this. I love the Vanilla Porter by itself- the real Madagascar vanilla beans impart an aroma and richness so intoxicating that I almost don't need to drink this beer to get drunk. I also love real vanilla flavoring because it's incredibly rich without being cloying. However, vanilla is such a dominant flavor and aroma that, to me, gets very tiring and very overwhelming very quickly. So much so that I couldn't distinguish anything about the porter part of the Vanilla Porter (I was actually okay with that- I'm not a big porter fan). In any case, I thought I could make each of these beers better simply by mating them. Now what happened when these beers made sweet vanilla-y love in my pint glass? Read on...

Is This Beer Any Good? My resulting beer cocktail was fucking awesome. Let me just take an opportunity and pat myself on the back for this one. The boisterous vanilla was cut nicely by the bitter hops and coffee producing something akin to an alcoholic vanilla latte. These beers are infinitely more drinkable together than they are apart. Sure, I lose some of the characteristics of the individual styles, but I think that porters and stouts are so similar (with their dark roasted malts, chocolatey notes, and smokiness) that I was able to get away with this one.I think I will start drinking this mixture in the morning.

This Beer Would Pair Well With: Breakfast, bitter chocolate, cherries, and girls.

More on Sierra Nevada: http://www.breckenridgebrewery.com

Conclusion: I'm honestly ready to put this beer alongside your Black and Tan, Black and Blue, Snakebite, and whatever the hell else all the cool kids drink. I just wish the stout was on nitro because it would stay separated from the porter. They are ALMOST the same color, so I'd love to see if it made a difference. Anyway, best beer cocktail I've ever made.