Snowplow Milk Stout
Widmer Brothers Brewing Company

apparently one of their older recipes recently returned. its a nice beer, definitely an older school vibe to this compared to the over lactosed milk stouts that seem popular now, this isnt one little bit too sweet, and there is great balance and drinkability to it as such. nice and dark, frothy and full bodied, big on the palate but lower on the alcohol, especially for a winter seasonal. heaps of chocolate and some brown sugar character in aroma and flavor, a suggestion of espresso but very light on the bitterness when i drink it, not that penetrating roasted intensity here, its more mellow than that. the lactose is mild, just softens the feel a little and lengthens the drink without making it desserty, and there is even an little bit of an english yeast character to it, which seems to make it quite a bit more complex than a lot of these are now. a more traditional take on the style, which i appreciate in this current beer climate. i dont want a whole six pack, but a couple are good. i have been impressed with widmer seasonals lately, clearly they still make some nice beers!

 

Pours a fair black color, the head is 1/2" thick, beige and retention is high. Aroma was lactose and lesser roast. Taste was more lactose, smooth and restrained. The carbonation is lower and appropriate for the style.

A little hint of vanilla extract comes into play in the mouthfeel. A tiny bit of nuttiness too. Whatever is in between complex and simple, that's where this beer lies. Everything was well proportioned here.

 

 

 

 

This beer is nearly black but with flaring gem-red highlights. It develops a light brown head to about half a finger, where it retains itself well and manages mostly spotty lacing in slightly more than moderate amounts.
Cocoa is there alongside roast and, while it takes a moment, the creamy lactic note makes its way out. There's a slight minerality of a sort, or a metallic note, that sneaks out as it warms.
Chocolate and roasted grains are first on the tongue with cream quick to follow. The mild steeliness is there but works alongside the overall flavor. There's a bit of nuttiness and it gets sweeter, creamier and more like chocolate milk into the finish.
The body is medium-full with just enough carbonation for the style making it pretty creamy and plenty smooth from the beginning to the end of the first to very last sip.

After moving a couple of years ago I thought I had drank all of my stash, but I was cleaning out the garage fridge and found two! These were picked up the last year of release and only in ltd bombers. I was so excited I called up my best bud and we hooked up later that day to drink them and go back down memory lane.

Appearance:

The beer pours almost black with a creamy dark brownish head. There still seems to be carbonation left.

Aroma:

Well happily these seem to have survived, though they were in a cold place. I get a lot of cream, chocolate, and hints of vanilla. The memory of drinking this many years ago almost daily is awakened from the smell of this beer.

Taste:

I'm hit with chocolate, cream, vanilla, and a bit of coffee notes. The sweetness isn't as strong as I remember but this beer has been sitting a while. The mouthfeel is creamy which is exactly as I remember. The flavors linger on the pallet and with every sip. I wait a bit as to savor it, because when this is gone unless a miracle happens I won't have this again.

Overall:

Snowplow to this day is my number one milk stout. A close second would be left hand's nitro stout. Widmere does have a milk stout but it is IMO not even close to snowplow. When it was announced that snowplow would be retired I was deeply saddened, like my dog died or something. For years I eagerly awaited for the stores to get it in and I would get cases of it and then one year it was gone. It was nice to drink this guy one last time and it was almost as good as I remember it to be. The sweetness lowered, the flavors weren't as diverse but overall it was one darn fine brew.

 

Pours a deep black color, good long lasting head on it. Aroma was imparting sweet moreso than roast, a tinge of vanilla to it.

Taste, easy drinking, mildly sweet lactose aspect of this stout. Didn't pick up the vanilla like I did in the nose, but it had a little more roast this time, although very hidden and subdued all along. Can't pick up any hop bitterness, which is usually one of the things Widmer has going in almost every beer they make. Slick, mild carbonation enhances drinkability (this is a Bud product now right?).

As the beer warms, the mouthfeel is more and more lactose, which is fine by me, I think creme brulee is awesome, so this is no problem. A good beer for into to milk stouts, but can also be appreciated by the biggest baddest double stout barrel aged in bourbon and nuclear moonshine kind of guy too.

I think Widmer should bring this and Broken Halo back. Cool designs, cool beers.

 

I'm pretty biased towards this beer as it has been my favorite and now like the unicorn will never be found again.

Aroma a nice sweet caramel tone with a hint of smoke in the background.

Pours a nice dark color and the head that is created resembles a beautiful milkshake. This beer taste so good it has such a depth of malt and the style of milk stout produces a richness that would make this beer an amazing desert. It has a slight smoke flavor in it but I believe it is not a smoked beer probably from the malt used.

Like I said before a beer that will be remembered.

 

 

 

 

Tasting notes dated 21/03/08

Fairly fresh sample: bottled Pours as black as a Divorce Lawyer's heart...light sticky mocha cap...low carbonation.

Aroma is lightly sweet with large cocoa tones a whisp of grass. Wonderfully silky smooth and rich mouth feel and texture (lactose) lightly sweet but not cloying, coffee-coca. light but sufficient hop bittering...long finish where the sweet lactose-cocoa give way to a gradual bittering from hops and black patent malt charred astringence...wonderfully approachable stout....very drinkable

A- Black with a 2 inch tan head nice lacing.

S- Light roasted malt, a mild coffee note,

T- malty with hints of coffee and cream. A hint of chocolate

M-very smooth,silky and full

D- I look forward to this brew every year since moving to the PNW, I think its a great session beer and have not been disappointed.

Serving type: bottle

This is a tasty milk stout.

Black, it has a small, dense light brown head that steadily dissipates to a foamy ring and wisps and leaves only a hint of lace.

The aroma is sweet, roasty, and caramelly with chocolate, toast, caramel, coffee.

The taste is sweet and silky, a bit oily. It is similar to the smell, with a thick, toasty-caramelized character with caramel, sweet dark chocolate, a little coffee. Compared to Mackeson's, it's a little more mellow, simple, and less pungent, but still very good and easy to drink.