The Year in Beer

Name: Saranac Vanilla Stout

Brewer: Matt Brewing Company, Utica, N.Y.

By the numbers: About 170 calories per 12 oz.; 4.8 percent alcohol by volume

Notes: This is the first Saranac beer I’ve ever had, I think. It’s part of their 12 Beers of Winter collection and one of their current seasonals. The Matt family has been brewing beer in the Adirondack foothills since the 1880s and the brewery also turns out a line of hand-crafted sodas. This was an average stout. It poured a deep brown with a tan head that laced down the glass. It didn’t have a distinct aroma. The taste was malty toffee, with a slight hint of vanilla on the finish. I was really looking for more body and more vanilla in this beer, but I didn’t get it.

Try it with: The first snowfall of 2011 and the first full day of winter. This beer was dark and so was the day. It was cloudy here on the shortest day of the year and then we got a little snow. All around a pretty blah day.

    — Posted by Mike Freimann