Mother's Milk Aged In Bourbon Barrels
Keegan Ales

 

 

 

On draft at the brewery, in a shaker pint

Black in color, cream colored head. Nice bourbon aroma. Taste is slightly boozy to balance the sweetness of the milk stout. Medium bodied.

 

 

pours black with a thick kahki head. decent retention and leaves some lacing.

smell is pretty faint for me... a touch of wood and bourbon, maybe a light vanilla. gets stronger as it approaches room temp.

taste is smooth milky sweetness with a touch of chocolate, nicely complimented by the barrel. great thick and creamy feel on it, goes well with the lactose.

overall pretty impressed with this one, really milky and smooth, goes down very easy ... a subtle touch of bourbon really adds some character to this beer.

 

 

 

 

Pours pitch black color with some sediment floating in it that leads up to a foamy 2-3 finger tan head that had lots of popping bubbles and faded very slowly, leaving a little spotty lacing. Every pour had the great big foamy head that stuck around, which was nice to see for a milk stout.

Smells of bourbon up front with nice oaky notes and molasses that give off charred wood and smoked grains; the next wave of the aroma is cocoa powder, light vanilla, booze and earthy, leafy notes like dry floral hops or weed before it shifts back to oak, smoke and bourbon. Nose is nice and even has some soft chocolate milk hints that mix well with the bourbon barrel influence.

Taste is similar to the nose but more complex with additional dark chocolate and coffee notes to go along with the bourbon, oak, caramel, molasses, charred wood, burnt grains, cocoa powder, vanilla, peppermint, earthy dirt or peat moss, dry floral hops and more smoky bourbon that almost seems like it was poured over oatmeal. The milk stout keeps a nice presence (the lactose is there) and blends well with the bourbon, barrels and chemical reaction from all aspects of both the brewing and aging process. Super smooth with minimal heat from the booze, not sure how old this bottle is but after another year I bet it would age very well and flow down like chocolate milk. The bourbon is strong but not overpowering, working well with the blend.

Mouthfeel is creamy and very smooth, with a chewy, medium to heavy body and feel, little to no carbonation and a slightly bitter smoky/oaky aftertaste that has a sweetness and bourbon booziness which lingers.

Overall I thought this was really damn good and different. Wasn’t sure the bourbon barrel aging would work with a milk stout, yet the end result is a very smooth and mellow combination of 2 stout styles that produced a fine sipping brew. I’d like to pick up another bottle if I can find one and age it as I think it would get better. Only knock might be that this was expensive for a bomber, about $22; other than that, I highly recommend trying this beer.

Nice smooth milk stout. Hints of bourbon at the end. Would've liked more bourbon flavor out of it. Still very good though.

 

 

Less ABV than expected from a barrel aged stout. Great vanilla notes and an extremely smooth feel as to be expected from Mothers Milk.

Bourbon flavors overtake this stout. While delicious, it leaves only one note. Would be more interested in seeing a BA Joe Momma's Milk with coffee.