Double Milk Stout
Left Hand Brewing Company

 

(review from November 2021) Solid, well balanced 2x milk stout that drinks like half its 10.5% with good palate heft, lighter sweetness than some and a nice chocolate/javaish/roasty/malty flavor with a waft of vanilla in the finish.

A: opaque; very dark brown in color; a 1 finger creamy tan head that receded to a wispy cap with a moderate tight collar; very nice lacing;

S: deeply roasted grain with hints of coffee and bittersweet chocolate;

T: deeply roasted grain for a moment, then coffee with cream and a bit of bittersweet chocolate; moderate bitterness at the end;

M: medium to full bodied; low top moderate carbonation; dry finish; hides the ABV well;

O: very nice; I do prefer the regular milk stout;

 

Picked up a single 12 oz can as part of a mixer sixer from the Energy Mart cooler on Long Shoals Road on 10-24-24 for $13.99. Best by 10-12-24; consumed 12-31-24. Cold stored since purchase.

Beer poured dark brown with a pretty good off-white head.

Nose is nice, has notes of heavily roasted malts and chocolate.

Taste follows the nose as the heavily roasted malt base combines fairly well with the chocolate and lactose. Roast is heavy and along with hopping leaves a style appropriate sweetness.

Mouthfeel is light to medium bodied and kind of smooth.

Overall, this recipe pretty much follows the original milk stout. Would prefer to try a fresher version sometime in the future.

Appearance: Deep black in color, with a small tan head, exhibiting poor retention. A few moments after the pour just a scattering of foam adorns the surface, with a small ring of foam about the glass wall. Thin. fine beaded lacing coats the glass wall in an unbroken sheet.

Aroma: Light caramel and vanilla vie against notes of dark bread, milk chocolate and brown sugar. Considering the high ABV of 10.5%, alcohol notes are curiously absent.

Taste: On tasting, there are notes of dark bread malts and sweet caramel. As the taste progresses, notes of bitter cocoa wood, vanilla and molasses present, with a surge of cold coffee and sweet cream. Somehow the considerable ABV of 10.5 percent is all but completely absent, offering only a moment of gracious warmth. Late in the taste, cold coffee flavors ascend, bringing the taste to a dry close, but with a flourish of sweet cream.

Mouth feel: Full and smooth with considerable body and just a hint of carbonation.

Drinkability/notes: A superb example of the style, a fine accompaniment to a rich chocolate dessert, or a dessert, standing alone.

Presentation: Packaged in a standard twelve-ounce aluminum can, served in a La Fin du Monde chalice/

 

Chocolatey. Very chocolatey. I prefer a dark chocolate, but this is more of a milky sweet milk chocolate flavor. The rest of the stout gets a little drowned out by it.

 

Pours dark. No foam. Sweet chocolate aroma. Rich milk chocolate body. Smooth. Light bitter finish. Very tasty.

The aroma is faint chocolate, and a bit of dark, espresso malt. The body is bright and sweet, including some of that decadent vanilla, brown sugar, chocolate, and just a bit of espresso. Personally I have a big sweet tooth, but this is pretty balanced in addition to being decadent, so I'm a big fan.

Opaque black color with some ruby highlights and a modest tan head with some bits of lacing. The Aroma is chocolate milk, maybe just a hint of coffee, but basically chocolate milk.
The taste is a bit more complex: milk chocolate, some dark chocolate notes, a bit of roasted malt, and that touch of coffee, fairly sweet overall, The finish dries out slightly with a touch of coffee bitterness.
The body is medium/full, moderate carbonation, silky smooth, very drinkable with a well hidden ABV.
Altogether, this is a very nice version of milk stout, not particularly complex but pleasant and enjoyable, nonetheless.

Deep, dark, opaque body; thin head that fades to a weak ring around the inside of the glass. Surprisingly faint aroma; barely perceptible notes of dark malts and perhaps chocolate. The taste bursts with rich elements of chocolate; brownies; vanilla; light coffee; fine bitterness from dark roasted grains and coffee. Heavy body; velvety and mildly sludgy.

The beer didn't promise anything great based on looks and aroma, but the taste definitely changed things.

Pouring temperature: 51 °F; canning info: BEST BY: 10/11/2024
Source: @micada (BA Barleywine / Stout BIF #1)

L: Pours a darker brown with a small tan head and some lacing on the glass.

S: Smells like very sweet chocolate milk, definitely get the lactose and chocolate, there isn't much past that, not an overly complex beer.

T: This is very similar to chocolate milk, that you accidentally put a bit too much hot cocoa mix in, its solid but a bit too sweet for my liking.

F: Smooth medium body, fairly easy drinking for a stout.

O: if you like very sweet chocolate milk this is the beer for you.

Draft at Handlebar. Hazy orange golden pour, small silky white head. Dry fruity aroma, stone fruit, citrus. Taste is peach, mango, orange, a real blend of fruit flavors. Dry.

Excellent price point no doubt. It’s really quite sweet with no bitterness to speak of. I would probably enjoy it more if the flavor was a little more complex a little less overwhelmingly sweet. But I’m glad I tried it and I might try it again.

Poured into a tulip.

I took a few sips of this before I peeked at the other reviews. I actually expected them to be more polarized than they are.

It's definitely not the prettiest brew, it skews awfully sweet for the style, and it isn't a model of complexity. And yet...it's still pretty good, especially at this price point.

The lactose and other residual sugars are pretty pronounced, and a bit more char would be nice, but ultimately, any "imperial milk stout" is going to be a sugar bomb. This one delivers a fairly decent variety of flavors, including milk chocolate, semi-sweet nibs, cream, vanilla, and a bit of bittering coffee, all while hiding a pretty hefty ABV remarkably well.

The most remarkable aspect of this one is how it delivers the diabetes and booze in a medium to medium-full-bodied package. It is not the sticky mess that it could have been. It's a nice creamy drinkable brew.

Would I have to have it again? Nope. But I would try it if I were you, because I could see someone deciding it's a favorite for their individual palate, and it's in a very good price point for the style.

 

12oz can poured into a goblet; dark, opaque pour with a minor half-finger of mocha-colored head. Intensely full of chocolate and roast on both the nose and palate, has some heft to it for sure. Roasty coffee, dark milk chocolate, light notes of coffee and vanilla cream, smooth milk sugars, medium to full bodied. Not overly sweet, fairly one-dimensional, but very enjoyable.