magichat: Heavyfest II photos from last weekend are now up! Check 'em out: http://t.co/yXvv4J5K #btv #vt @BigHeavyWorld

'Tis the season, as they say. And there's nothing quite like a deep, dark porter to celebrate it with. We had a feeling some folks would want something festively fitting of this time of year, and that's why we brought back our vanilla porter, Ravell. Perfect for a little extra warmth while sitting in front of the fire or for a little backyard construction project involving snow (whenever we get some).
Ravell is brewed with fresh, whole vanilla beans, which are added to the beer in fermentation. The result is an exceptionally smooth beer, sweet from the vanilla and slightly bitter from all the roasted malts we used. It's such a taste excursion for your taste buds that we've dubbed it An Enormous Play in One Significant act. Check out our head brewer, Justin McCarthy, as he takes us through a Ravell sampling. Then head over HERE to watch brewer Shark talk about the vanilla infusion process. Ravell will be on tap at a few finer beer bars here and there, as well as in the Winterland Variety 12-Pak.