443. Three Floyds Moloko Milk Stout

We’re punching that Three Floyds ticket again, and I’m pretty sure you can’t blame us. And if you do, well then, you can suck it. That’s right, I’m 12 again, and I have no better come back. Our previous evenings of delight include Blackheart IPA 2010, Dark Lord 2010, Rabbid Rabbit, BrooDoo Harvest Ale, Brian Boru, Gumballhead Wheat, Robert the Bruce, Dreadnaught, Black Sun Stout and Blackheart IPA. Since the doubling up on Blackheart only counts for a ½, that means we’ve had 10 ½ from Three Floyds. Love the math. And just in case you were wondering, Malcolm McDowell is still creepy after all these years.

Moloko rolls out of the bottle an inky black with a rich brown head that dissipates to a ring rather rapidly, and from there to almost nothing; it also has some garnet highlights. The nose is chocolate mixed with creaminess; there is also a slight sourness, but you’ve gotta work a bit to find it (well, in the nose, not so much the flavors). Opening with creamy milk chocolate and cocoa sweetness, Moloko has a touch of the sourness from the nose in the middle along with an ever so slight trace of roasted and coffee flavors. There is a return of sweetness in the finish, along with a bit of alcohol warmth—Elli calls it slightly cloying, but I’m not sure I agree—and some nice lingering chocolate flavor. Most certainly, however, this is not as roasty as expected, especially after the “deep roasted” comment on the label: the middle is something of an empty vacuum currently, the place where the roasted and bigger flavors should be residing to round the overall beer. The body is medium to heavy, and the mouthfeel is smooth, creamy, and slightly slick on the tongue—the mouthfeel, along with the initial chocolate and cocoa flavors, are the strengths of this beer. There is also a touch of alcohol warmth in the mouthfeel. Nonetheless, this is a good beer—not great, but good. However, filling out the middle would make this a great beer—it has pretty much everything else it needs besides a richer, chewier, thicker middle.

From the bottle: “This Milk Stout is brewed with a portion of Golden Naked oats and lactose milk sugar to give it a rounded and full-bodied mouth feel. With a deep roasted and slightly sweet maltiness.”

From Rate Beer: “Baltic Milk Stout named after the famous milk drinks from A Clockwork Orange.”

Oh, and here’s what the Hopry has to say about Moloko.

ABV: 8.0%
IBU: 30

(12/22/2010)

51. The Duck-Rabbit Milk Stout

Our second beer from Duck-Rabbit; in our first post, we forgot to add the “The” to their name. Rather than retroactively fixing it, I’ll just point it out here and note that while I generally think that any gesture to include “The” in an institution’s or product’s name is nothing short of egregious hubris deserving only of mockery (i.e. see “The” Ohio State, which can shut “the” hell up), there’s always the exception that proves the rule. And I’m granting Duck-Rabbit the exception. So if any of you other beers out there start using “The,” be prepared for a verbal tongue lashing from yours truly. Punks jump up to get beat down.

Duck-Rabbit Milk Stout has a burnt chocolaty nose with a rich dark coffee color and an off-white head. It begins with a creamy sweet chocolate taste before moving into roasty bitterness with malty cereal notes, and closes with burnt roasted barley notes and lingering sweetness. The medium bodied-mouthfeel is soft, creamy, and a little syrupy or slick on the palate; the lower level of carbonation in the beer does allow these characteristics to feature themselves more prominently. However, Milk Stout is still a delicious and enjoyable beer; the sweetness provided by the lactose blends well in this beer. While the sweetness is a bit more prominent that in others we’ve had, the beer is still very drinkable, and light enough to enjoy all evening long.

From the Duck-Rabbit website: “The Duck-Rabbit Milk Stout is a traditional full-bodied stout brewed with lactose (milk sugar). The subtle sweetness imparted by the lactose balances the sharpness of the highly roasted grains which give this delicious beer its black color.”

(8/20/2009)

19. Left Hand Milk Stout

Left Hand Brewing is yet another magnificent brewery from Colorado—this one is found in Longmont, CO; we had this beer on tap at the Trolleystop.

Left Hand Milk Stout has a roasted malt nose—the roasted barley comes across in the slightly burnt smell that dances around the malty notes in the nose. The mouthfeel is thick and hearty, but also smooth, and there is a minimal tan head. The beer starts smooth and a bit creamy with a minimal sweet taste and some lactose sweetness, and builds into a nice malty, roasted middle with burnt barley flavors before closing with a light, soft sweetness that leads into a chewy roasty and burnt finish. A warm smooth toastiness emerges in the body as the beer warms; we expected a bit more lactose sweetness across the beer’s profile, but it never really materialized.

From the Left Hand website: “2006 and 2008 World Beer Cup Gold Medal Winner in the Sweet Stout Category. The September/October 2006 issue of Draft Magazine calls Milk Stout ‘...quite possibly the best stout in America.’ Time Magazine described Milk Stout as ‘malty, roasty goodness.’ Strong roasted malt and coffee flavors built the foundation of this classic cream stout. The addition of milk sugar mellows the intense roastiness and gives this beer the most incredible creamy mouthfeel.”

Malts: Pale 2-row, Crystal, Munich, Roast barley, Flaked Oats, Flaked barley, Chocolate
Hops: Magnum and U.S. Goldings

ABV: 5.9%
IBU: 25
OG: 16.5º P

(7/19/2009)