From Andina Brewing Company in Vancouver comes their “Mapalé Milk Stout”. The beer pours a deep brown colour with a brown head. The aroma consists of chocolate, lactose, toffee and caramel. The flavour is of chocolate, caramel, toffee, nutty, lactose, earth and some low bitterness. The alcohol content comes in at 5.6% with an IBU of 29. You have to love a well made Milk Stout and I would have to say this one fits the bill.
From Surrey’s Russell Brewing comes their “Root Beer Milk Stout”. The beer pours an opaque black colour with a brown head. The aroma consists of sarsaparilla, chocolate, sweetness and basically all of what root beer is. The flavour is of chocolate, sarsaparilla, toffee, lactose, earth, anise and bitterness. The alcohol content comes in at 6.5% with an IBU of 30. Being a milk stout I am surprised to say that this is not overly sweet as I find most root beers that way. I did not expect to enjoy this as much as I did as I am not really a root beer fan.
Commercial Description: Celebrate the winter months with this Russell Root Beer Stout. This dark elixir will provide you with the best, feet-up-by-the-fire-job-well-done feeling a brewer could dream up. It combines the outstanding flavours of chocolate and roasted malts with the traditional flavours of sassafras. The addition of lactose provides the sweet and creamy mouthfeel that the traditional milk stout is known for…but with a twist.
Andina Brewing Company in East Vancouver is well under way in their construction now and I was able to get a growler fill of their test batch of “Mapalé Milk Stout”. Mapalé is a dance from the Northern Coast of Columbia. The beer pours a deep brown colour with some red notes when held up to light with a brown head. The aroma consists of milk chocolate, roasty malt and a creamy lactose finish. The flavour is of roasted malts, chocolate, earth, mild bitterness and a lactose sweetness in the finish. The alcohol content comes in at 4.6%. While the colour is off for a stout the aroma and flavour are spot on. This was the first test batch of a stout they made and its tasting really good already. Batch 2 is fermenting now.
From Twin Sails Brewing in Port Moody comes their “Con Leche Horchata Style Milk Stout”. The beer pours an opaque black colour with a brown head. The aroma consists of vanilla, cold brew coffee, chocolate, creamy milk and cinnamon. The flavour is of tons of coffee, vanilla, roasted malts, chocolate, cream and cinnamon. The alcohol content comes in at 7.5% with an IBU of 18. Once again this beer is a massive step away from the German style of beers they usually make but change is always a good thing and this stuff is very different! Since when was mixing coffee and chocolate a bad thing especially when it has all the caffeine? Make sure to pick up a 4 pack tall cans or two.
Commercial Description: A Horchata style Milk Stout brewed with a variety of roasted malts and coffee from Bows & Arrows coffee roasters. It pours very dark black with a thick creamy mocha head. The oats and lactose provide a silky rich mouthfeel, which is balanced with strong aromatics of coffee. The beer is conditioned on cinnamon and vanilla beans, which provide a unique spice character that pairs perfectly with the strong coffee and chocolate flavours of the stout.
From Aldergove’s Dead Frog Brewery comes their new “Udder Domination Imperial Milk Stout”. The beer pours a black opaque colour with a light brown head. The aroma consists of roasted malts, chocolate, some espresso, milk and sweetness. The flavour is of chocolate, mild roasted malts, some earth, espresso, milk and some sweetness. The alcohol content comes in at 7.9% with an IBU of 30. While this is not an overly complex Imperial Stout it is still quite tasty and worth checking out if you find it in your local liquor store.
Commercial Description: Roasted, creamy, bovine. The Udder Domination is an imperial milk stout with flavours of creamy dark chocolate and roasted malts. It’s shipping now in BC and will be showing up on shelves soon in Alberta and the Yukon. The Udder Domination is a perfectly balanced milk stout that combines flavours of dark chocolate, cappuccino, and roasted nuts with a slightly sweet, creamy finish. We only made one batch so get it while you can!
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