Harmon Brewing Co.
Tacoma, WA
Available: WA, now on draft; in bottles later this year
The Harmon Brewing Co. opened in 1997 in a disused 1927 furniture manufacturing company. Each keg of this porter is aged for ten days with two whole vanilla beans.
Alcohol (wt.): 4.2
Alcohol (vol.): 5.3
Color: 21
Bitterness: 40
Gravity: 1056
No wonder vanilla is regarded as an aphrodisiac: the name is derived from Latin “vagina” which the pod of the vanilla orchid is said to resemble. Vanilla porter is sensual and satisfying, dark and luxurious with a perfume that makes your nose twitch. On the palate, there is a kiss of cocoa and mocha followed by an earthy dry effervescence and long balanced finish. Sensational and seductive with lightly smoked trawl-caught wild salmon dressed with vanilla bean-infused oil and banana fritters, followed by crème brulèe.
Simply vanilla and cocoa, blended complexly into the aroma. Deep, dark porter. White creamy head, under which lies a full-bodied porter, sweetly balanced with honey/vanilla notes and chocolate undertones from roasted malts. Simply delicious by itself and if you were to drop a scoop of real coffee or vanilla ice cream into my glass—give me a spoon and some extra time to savor the flavor!
A deep brown color with a barley-white head, it has a tempting aroma of cappuccino coffee, vanilla and dark grain. Smooth in the mouth with coffee and chocolate notes, rich, dark grain and a developing gentle hop bitterness. The finish lingers, with an underlying sweetness at first that gives way to hop bitterness, but with a continuing smooth richness from the dark malts.
Founder of Merchant du Vin and the Pike Brewing Co., Charles Finkel is a pioneer in the marketing of craft beers in America.
Author of the New Complete Joy of Homebrewing, founder of the Great American Beer Festival and a Beer Examiner at www.examiner.com, Papazian is a leading voice in beer and brewing.
Roger Protz is the author of Complete Guide to World Beer and 300 Beers to Try Before You Die. He is a respected beer authority and editor of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide.
