Left Hand Brewing Milk Stout Nitro. 6% abv. 25 IBU. Pitch black with two finger of dense mocha head, like melted ice cream. Outstanding retention and superb lacing that barely moves down the glass. Nose of vanilla, black coffee, roasted malt.

Front taste is roasted malt, milk chocolate, toffee, sweet cream. Aftertaste is bittersweet dark chocolate, ground coffee, mild herbal hops in the back. Full body. Mouthfeel is cool, thick, rich, creamy, smooth.

This is an outstanding milk stout, one of the best examples I've had in years. In terms of body, taste, and overall impression, it ranks up there with the legendary Mackeson Triple XXX Stout, one of my all-time favorite beers. The nitro treatment fits this big sweet stout, its tall flavors balanced together perfectly.

I've been homebrewing for 20 years, and when I seek a good milk stout, Left Hand comes up a lot as a modern benchmark for the category. I can now see why. Strongly recommended.

From the brewery:

"Super smooth with soft roastiness and mocha flavors. Taking America Back. Dark & delicious, America’s great milk stout will change your perception about what a stout can be. Pouring hard out of the bottle [can], Milk Stout Nitro cascades beautifully, building a tight, thick head like hard whipped cream. Milk Stout Nitro is also good to go from the can with widget inside technology, or like a pro in a glass. The aroma is of brown sugar and vanilla cream, with hints of roasted coffee. The pillowy head coats your upper lip and its creaminess entices your palate. Initial roasty, mocha flavors rise up, with slight hop & roast bitterness in the finish. The rest is pure bliss of milk chocolate fullness."

[source: lefthandbrewing.com]

Riley's Brewing 'Cowlifornia' Milk Stout. 5.5% abv. 40 IBU. Dense black color. Half-finger of creamy mocha head. Good retention and lace. Nose of roasty dark malt, ground coffee, cocoa powder. Woody, herbal notes emerge as the temp rises.

Front taste of black coffee, milk chocolate, toffee ribbon underneath. Aftertaste of light ground coffee, mild spice, dark chocolate, warm brown sugar, mild plum, with a sweet finish. Thin-medium body. Mouthfeel is cool, creamy, rich, sticky on the back end.

This is a wonderful milk stout. Sweet, rich, round, malty, roasty. The dominant tastes here are coffee and chocolate, and they alternate from dark to mild throughout the session. The lingering sustain of the aftertaste is coffee and milk with distant notes of cocoa and dark fruit. A lovely beer with just enough body, just enough complexity, to place it above most others in category.

In a world of bourbon barrel aged imperial this and that, triple IPAs, and quads, it's rare that I see a simple milk stout, rarer still to see one done well. Like brown ales and pales, I find most milk stouts are pedestrian at best. This one brings to mind the classic but sadly discontinued Mackeson XXX Milk Stout, one of my favorites from the old world. Riley's is slightly thinner in body but still worthy of comparison, which in itself is high praise. Well recommended.

From the brewery:

"A sweet and creamy mouthfeel from milk sugar and flaked oats is harmoniously balanced with a rich, roasty finish from darkly roasted malts. Expect notes of semisweet chocolate and coffee with some light caramel character from this decadent and luscious sweet stout."

[source: bottle]

Lagunitas Brewing 'Brown Shugga' Ale. 9.9% abv. 51.1 IBU. Deep ruby color. Thick 2+ fingers of foamy tan head off the pour. Excellent retention and superb lacing. Nose of bright herbal hops, malt, spice. Front taste of ample bitter hops, roasted malt, brown sugar, flowers, cloves. Aftertaste of balanced bitter hops, sweet malt, warm sugar. Full body. Mouthfeel is warm-hot, creamy, carby.

This is one of my seasonal and all-time favorites, a big bold beer with a unique, complex taste. Sweet, bitter, fresh. Strongly recommended.

I once met Tony Magill, Founder of Lagunitas, at Lucky Baldwin's Pub in Pasadena. He was playing blues guitar, on a pub tour to promote the then-new Brown Shugga'. He took a break and joined me and my friend. He asked us what beers we ordered. I told him that I came for the Brown Shugga', which fast became one of my favorites at the time. It was only then that he introduced himself. I was stunned. I was talking with one of my craft beer idols - a legend - and I didn't even realize!

Tony then told us in detail how Lagunitas started, and the legendary story of how Brown Shugga came to be, starting with the big mistake, followed by visiting every all-night supermarket in the area and leaving with shopping carts full of brown sugar at 3AM. He bought us a few rounds of beer, "Whatever you want, whether or not they're mine!"

Tony Magill was very cool that night, played great music, told wonderful stories, and offered great beer. I think of that unforgettable evening whenever I drink this wonderful beer.

From the brewery:

"We believe this special ale is something unique. Feeding brown cane sugar to otherwise cultured brewery yeast is akin to feeding raw shark to your gerbil. It is unlikely to ever occur in nature without human intervention. And it looks weird besides. But is has happened and now it’s too late. Originally a failed attempt at our 1997 batch of Olde GnarlyWine Ale, resulting in an all-new beer style we like to call… irresponsible. Rich, roasty, and mysteriously drinkable. It leaves a lot of stories in its wake."

Old pic of me enjoying a Brown Shugga