WILK Friday Beerbuzz – 25 June 2010 (Breckenridge Vanilla Porter)

I know I say this all too often, but this morning’s show was a lot of fun.  Way back on one of our first few shows Nancy asked if we’d be sampling a Porter, so we were overdue to finally try one…and today was the day.  I debated my choices between a traditional Porter style beer and a slightly less traditional Porter.  Because we’re still smack in the middle of summer (not the traditional time to serve a Porter), I chose the non-traditional style.

Today’s choice was Breckenridge Vanilla Porter.  Now all too often this beer gets confused with several of the Vanilla/Java porters on the market, which is a shame because this beer is not only distinctly different, but also very tasty.  It’s a very subtle difference between this beer and a regular Porter, but it does change the beer in a good way, without the overhead of the coffee flavors found in a Java version.

We also had a chance to talk a little beer history today and yes there is much debate with the origins of the Porter naming.  Some believe it is a mining traditional beer and some think it comes from train and river Porters in the UK.  I tend to believe both and really believe the tradition comes from the mixing of the three beers that used to go into creating a Porter.  Whatever the case this is a really wonderful style of beer and a beer that many non-beer lovers tend to like.  As some of my friends would say, Porters don’t have that “beer-y” flavor that some non-beer-lovers seem to dislike. In any case I think the Breckenridge Vanilla Porter is a fine example of a Porter and a wonderful beer.

So try it for yourself and let me know what you think, and stay tuned for more great beers coming soon. 
So what beer should we taste next Friday?  You beer-input is always appreciated so please comment or e-Mail us.  Thanks to John, Nancy, Joe & Bosco for yet another fun Friday. 

The Friday Beerbuzz…bringing good beers and good people together. 
As always you can check out the video on-line at the WILK Friday Beerbuzz page by clicking HERE