I tried the Stone Smoked Porter with Vanilla Bean thanks to the CT Beer Pope (@WillowbrookBeer) the other day. The beer poured a extremely dark, dark brown; almost black color in body and had a thin, tan layer of foam, pretty much rimming around the outskirts of the glass. The nose exhibited a good balance of slight vanilla and a slight, smoke.
   On the palate, a quick burst of vanilla and creme brulee jumped out on the top of the tongue, that quickly subdued with another quick burst of hops on the side of the tongue. The hops also lingered on the back end of the tongue. There was also almost a bit of roast/smoke flavor that sits even a little longer on the back-end than the hops. At 5.9% the alcohol is boosted a little bit, but it does not come out "hot" at all. The vanilla is not over-done; it is not too sweet, not too strong, and the smoke is lightly balanced in the beer. It doesn't edge towards the fire-pit/barbeque over-done smoke taste. The beer is very nicely balanced with the vanilla, smoke and hops, and I would absolutely purchase this bottle again, and highly recommend trying to get a taste of this.