Carton Of Milk
Carton Brewing Company

Carton Of MilkCarton Of Milk
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From:
Carton Brewing Company
 
New Jersey, United States
Style:
Sweet / Milk Stout
Ranked #467
ABV:
4%
Score:
86
Ranked #18,676
Avg:
3.83 | pDev: 9.4%
Reviews:
50
Ratings:
332
Status:
Active
Rated:
Feb 24, 2024
Added:
Jan 22, 2012
Wants:
  12
Gots:
  57
The key to a sessionable beer is the way it evolves over time well spent. Here we took an extremely dark malt bill and dulled its edges with the addition of lactose and nitro conditioning, then we wafted black currant notes of Bullion hops through the middle. Nuanced to keep it an interesting part of a gathering while neither dominating nor being inconsequential to banter. Drink Carton Of Milk because it does a session good.

SRM: 42
IBU: 26
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Rifugium:
Photo of Rifugium
Reviewed by Rifugium from North Dakota

3.52/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
First had: on tap at Carton

A pretty standard stout here. Looked as you might expect: dark brown-black with a sturdy cap of tan head; moderate retention and lacing. Basic stouty aroma: dark malts, roasty, notes of coffee and cocoa. Taste was pretty average, dark roasty malts, again, notes of coffee and baker's chocolate, not much lactose sweetness, which is fine, but with a name like "Carton of Milk," I'd kind of expect the milk-stout aspect (aka lactose) to be used a little more liberally. Body was about medium, decent mouthfeel, not as smooth as I would like, but I'd bet a nitro tap would really help this beer. An ok stout overall.
Dec 02, 2013
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.88 by chrishiker1409 from New York

Feb 24, 2024
Photo of jonphisher
Reviewed by jonphisher from New Jersey

4.07/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
Finally properly reviewing this one…

Pours a darn dark brown, light only penetrates the edges. Beautiful light brown thick and creamy nitro head. Substantial lacing.

Earthy, char, mild tobacco smoke and dark chocolate.

Taste has all the same going on but the roasty char notes are more prominent. It combines with the earthy hop bitterness and lingers pleasantly in the aftertaste.

Light body, a coating of roast coats the tongue and this beer finishes with a really nice bitter bite.

I’ve always thought of this beer as boats darker alter ego. The same incredible balance and drinkability with roast replacing bitter citrus. A great beer.
Nov 24, 2021
Photo of JerzDevl2000
Reviewed by JerzDevl2000 from New Jersey

3.86/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Hadn't had a Carton beer in a while, as I thought that they "lost their way" according to my last review. I only said that because I wasn't seeing it traded at Other Half like I did when I first started going there, but part of it was that I wasn't finding as many of their beers on the shelf here as I did in years past, let alone ones that I hadn't tried before. Thankfully, I found a single can of this at the Bottle King in Livingston and though that I'd give it a go!

This was enjoyable, for sure, although it felt as much a Porter as it did a Sweet/Milk Stout. Naturally, the hue to this was nearly black with a bit of garnet seeping in around the edges. a massive, full head of khaki foam topped this off as it was quite a contrast to the liquid itself. That took a while to settle, even with the big bubbles that floated to the top, as the lacing left behind was mostly in the form of a thick ring near the middle of my pint glass. Not the strongest of aromas here but what was discernible was the dark and roasted malt, black currant, dark bread, charcoal, and a hint of lactose as the taste was quite dry, subtly sweet, and plenty dark as the slickness and lively carbonation were enough to ensure a pleasant experience!

An underlying sense of coffee bean, molasses, and sarsaparilla emerged as this warmed up with the near-unimaginable amount of alcohol never being a factor since I couldn't taste or feel it at any point during my time with this. Only a hint of cloying lactose in the aftertaste was a reminder that this had lactose in it, as this was one of the most complex session beers that I've had in quite some time - if not ever! Canned on 12/16 with "JOURNEY BEGAN" written above it and "START @46 F" written below it, this was enjoyable and a fun take on the style but hard to categorize without looking it up first. Give this a go as it could easily be Breakfast Stout or something to have dessert with, and hope that it comes with a widget the next time around. This deserves a proper pour for a most unusual, and surprisingly pleasing, take on the style.
Mar 31, 2021
 
Rated: 3.38 by CruzinCooler from New Jersey

Nov 07, 2020
 
Rated: 3.52 by JamesBondGA from Georgia

Apr 11, 2020
Photo of cbutova
Reviewed by cbutova from Massachusetts

3.91/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
A- Goblet takes up a tallboy which pours a black brew that has some deep brown around the very edges. The head has a thick and creamy texture from the nitro and a nutty tan hue. The one finger crown has good retention leaving a large ring at the edges, some small islands atop the beer and lacing impressive with wide thin sheets coating a lot of the glass.

S- For the most part malty. The aroma shows off roasted grain about as true as you could with charred barley notes coming on very strong suggesting bitter baking chocolate, espresso beans and char. That is joined by suggestions of medium sweetness and toasted nuttiness. Fairly straightforward but effective and clean with big strength.

T- Not too surprised as the taste finds less strength than the aroma and for the most part this is my biggest issue with nitro beers, they lose that oomph. Still plenty of nice malt flavors like strong bitter roast barley, chocolate malts, toasted nuts, medium sweetness and some caramel. Hints of dark fruits, coffee, fresh mashed barley, licorice and cocoa powder but compared to the aroma it feels a bit watered down/timid.

MF- The body just feels light and with the ABV that makes sense but with the nitro you might expect a creamier, silkier feeling. Light bitterness in the aftertaste.

Very inviting aroma leads to a flavor that still showcases nice roasted grains and a body that is probably the most underwhelming part of the brew as it comes off as a bit too light.
Apr 04, 2020
 
Rated: 3.62 by bankboy66 from New Jersey

Mar 28, 2020
 
Rated: 3.97 by PJCarnell from Massachusetts

Feb 03, 2020
 
Rated: 4.25 by BallsDeep from Florida

Jan 24, 2020
 
Rated: 4 by JakerLou from New Hampshire

Jan 24, 2020
Photo of JRed
Reviewed by JRed from New Jersey

3.68/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Muddy black in body with dark khaki head. Aroma of cocoa, earth, cinnamon. Tastes of cocoa, earth, milk, cinnamon sticks, coffee grounds. Medium bodied with medium carbonation.
Dec 28, 2019
Photo of HoppingMadMonk
Reviewed by HoppingMadMonk from New Jersey

4/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Medium light carbonation ,medium body with a creamy feel
Aroma is roasted malt, sweet milk, char, some dark chocolate
Taste is very similar to aroma. Roasted malt and sweet condensed milk. The lactose really shows up in this milk stout. Very low bitterness and heavy on the roasted malts
Dec 25, 2019
 
Rated: 3.42 by PaulSlazinger from Pennsylvania

Dec 07, 2019
 
Rated: 3.53 by ChipChaight from New York

Dec 01, 2019
 
Rated: 3.8 by kingjohnh from New Mexico

Aug 05, 2019
 
Rated: 4.02 by xungmound98 from New York

Jul 02, 2019
 
Rated: 3.69 by Eychung from New York

Apr 27, 2019
Photo of AyatollahGold
Reviewed by AyatollahGold from Indiana

4.06/5  rDev +6%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pouring from a 16 oz. can into a Guinness pub style glass. (because brewery’s instructions say flat bottomed glass) Bombing this beer into the glass (another brewery instruction) provides wonderful sights of a quick rush of black liquid that melds into a dark brown while bubbles of nitrogen quickly form a delightful, thick, peanut butter fudge looking crown. The beer itself is a very deep brown; it looks entirely black in the glass until holding it to light reveals highlights of ruby and mahogany shades. It maintains a pinky width of crown throughout the entirety and leaves slight lacing.

The nose offers dark, roasty and sweet malts. Slightly burnt, bitter bakers chocolate takes the show away with the prominence but allows notes of dried, dark fruit to tangle through as well. It definitely doesn’t smell like anything was sacrificed to make this sessionable, which I love.

The taste brings in fresh, dry and not yet roasted coffee beans that show themselves sitting on top of that bitter baker chocolate presence. The dark, dried fruits like currants and burnt blackberries come in about halfway through and carry you the rest of the way through the tunnel, while the bitterness is leading the way with a flashlight.

The mouthfeel is somewhat on the thinner side (which I always seem to think about nitrogen beers) but offers a nice creaminess. While the bitterness isn’t overpowering, it is the one aspect that stays in this beer from beginning to end.

Overall, this is a pretty good treat. I love the fact they made a stout that is this sessionable (4%) without having the feeling that anything was sacrificed.
Apr 14, 2019
Carton Of Milk from Carton Brewing Company
Beer rating: 86 out of 100 with 332 ratings