Everything is Cake
Lamplighter Brewing Company

The one I had was 6.6%, not the 8.3% this page is claiming

 

Moderate beige head which fades to film and rim bubbles. Little lace (a couple of spots). The liquid allows faint light to pass through the center of the glass.

Chocolate nibs with some malted milk. A bit chalky.

This is very much like a cold cocoa with marshmallows. Quite sweet but there's enough darker chocolate to provide balance. Not as rich as most milk stouts and the high level of carbonation adds to soda-like feel. All cocoa aftertaste that fades after about 5 seconds.

 

Canned 11/25/20
Pours a brownish foamy frothy 1 finger head with med retention, little lacing, jet black color

Nose brings lush chocolate, moist choc cake, creamy lactose, touch of fudge and some baking spice, sweet dark malts, touch of coffee

Taste more creamy lactose, burnt lactose sugar, some roasted almost burnt coffee, cocoa, bitter semi sweet chocolate and a little choc cake, little fudgey and burnt caramel, some bitterness from the roast and a little spicy hop, touch of warming alcohol flavor, drier finish quite spicy hop and roast lingering

Mouth is med to fuller bod but doesn't feel rich and creamy like I expected, med foamy carb, some warming almost tingly alcohol

Overall eh, bit too much roast and burnt flavors as well as the spicy hops and alcohol, not quite what I was expecting

This seems like a pretty fun one, and I was surprised to see it randomly sitting at a new beer store/pizza joint that was recommended to me by a buddy (thanks Jason!). I haven't had a beer by these guys in a couple months now and I'd actually been wondering what we going on with them; was unsure if COVID had claimed them as a victim or what happened, but it was great to notice a new one from them, and I really liked seeing that it wasn't just another IPA, too! This is a chocolate milk stout; a big one, actually, clocking in at a bit over 8% ABV and featuring lactose, cacao, and roasted dark malts. Exciting stuff.

The appearance is pretty good. A very dark, almost-pure-black beer builds up in my stemmed glass, topped off with a thin but decent ring of off-khaki foam that lingers for a minute or two at a half-finger before sinking down to a thin ring, leaving behind good lace and legs. Definitely looks the part, but it's somewhat less "imposing" than some other similar beers in this style. Can't complain, though, overall.

Smells nice, with silky chocolate backed up very apparently by a nice coffee-like roast note and a hint of light herbalness. Cocoa really comes across well in here, kinda dusty but also "ganache"-like with some bittersweet aspects that remind me of an 80% cacao bar by a pretty good chocolatier. There is definitely a lightly-creamy aspect here, as well, but it seems to be buried a bit by the strong chocolate and roasty aspects.

Tons of nice roasty malt upfront with a bit of warming alcohol in the mid-palate, carrying through to the finish. Chocolate and a hint of sweetness also picks up in the mid, bolstering notes of creamy espresso with a hint of earthiness and complex dark flavors ranging from molasses to burnt caramel. This is really tasty stuff, and it's just light enough in spite of the lactose addition to really drink like a world-class imperial stout. I don't think the flavors are out-of-this-world or anything, but I think the balance they've put into play here really helps this one remain enjoyable and complex while not being overly-heavy and thick. I've had many milk stouts in my time, and this is one of the more drinkable examples of the style, especially given the ABV.

 

I was looking for London Calling and came across this new Chocolate Milk Stout. The beer looks good, some lacing, nice head, thick pour, nice nose on this beer. There is definitely a sweet chocolate aroma that comes through. This is medium to full bodied, very chocolately, slightly burnt malt, a little sharp on the back end. This beer is less sweet than the nose would indicate. It's very good, very tasty, maybe less sweet than I was anticipating. This is fairly high ABV but there is no booziness in this beer. The aftertaste is modest, some of that sharpness carries over into the finish.