Lancaster Brewing Company's Milk Stout

Milk stout is one of the weirdest beer categories out there, if you ask me. I can almost understand how smoked beers came about, in an accident while roasting the grain. I can see fruit beers, since people have been shoving fruit in things for centuries (no Richard Geere jokes please). And other styles like IPA or RIS, or old ales, were all borne of necessity or traditions--some intentionally, some not. But who in the hell puts milk in beer? and nowadays it's lactose, not straight up milk, but still. And because this is one that has been cellared (kitchen cabineted just doesn't sound right) for about a year that I'm cleaning out, it should be that much more interesting.

Pours inky and black. Not as slow as an RIS, but every bit as dark. Great dark tan head as well, that fades but not too quickly.

Smells grainier than it used to. Still has that residual sweetness from the lactose, but not as strong.

Tastes just like it smells. Still grainier than it used to be, although you can still taste the lactose. I actually like this one better now. It never was as sweet as a Young's Double Chocolate, thank God, but over time the sweetness has subsided a bit and the other stout flavors have stayed. Because the lactose adds to the body, it actually feels like a heavy stout, leaning closer to an RIS than some plain stouts. It doesn't have near the grain bill, but it is bigger than most stouts.

It's not intended to cellar, but it handles it very well.

Lancaster Brewing Company's Milk Stout

Well it appears that I need to change the name of this blog to Stout of the Day. I haven't intended for it to turn out this way, but the beers I read about and most want to spend the extra money on having shipped to me are the bigger stouts, which are generally my favorite. Lancaster Brewing Company's Milk Stout may cure me of that for a bit.

It pours an opaque black, a bit brownish as it pours, with a good medium tan head that looks like it wants to cascade, but never does. One of the few stouts where I could see carbonation rising, despite the apparent opacity.

No real roasted smell, more just a straight grain with a slight sugary sweetness from the lactose.

The lactose doesn't really add to the taste, just makes it a little smoother. The grain switches back to a roasted flavor again, as it should, but there's no real sweetness up front. There is a fairly mild and indistinct bitterness that may come from the roasted grain as much as any amount of hops. The carbonation is too heavy, which makes it feel a bit like a soft drink and fizzy at the end. Because of the mild flavors the last real impression you have of this beer is the fizzy feel, kind of like Pop-Rocks fading away.

All in all this one's just a safe, non-spectacular milk stout. Unimpressive, and finished off with too much carbonation. There are better milk stouts out there, and far better stouts of just about any other type.

Bell's Kalamazoo Stout

I love getting beers that I can't get here in Texas, because it's like Christmas all over again.

This one pours inky black with a great dark tan head that stays. It's not an impy stout, but it pours as dark as one and has virtually no highlights like one as well.

The head throws off a sweet chocolate smell--sweet from the lactose, and chocolate from the roasted malt. As the head thins the smell turns a bit more to the roasted grain, but the sweetness is still there.

I'm not a huge fan of sweet stouts that go over the top, or chocolate stouts like Young's. If I want something that sweet or chocolatey, I'll eat a cake or drink a milkshake. Traditionally the chocolate taste is supposed to come from the roasted malt anyway, so I view those as being on the far edge of the style. This one though, it's more traditional. Great bitter, roasted grain taste that finishes a little sweeter than most stouts. Seems a little bit fizzy, which is the only real fault. Still has a heavy body to it though, as it should.

This is my favorite milk/sweet stout now. It's very well balanced and has the sweetness without giving up the bitter, roasted grain taste. Wish the carbonation was a little lower, but that's it. As it warms it turns from fizzy to creamy, aided by the lactose, so let it open up a bit and it's even better.

With any luck it'll be available in Texas soon.