“Milk is for babies! When you grow up you have to drink beer.” So declares Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1977 film, “Pumping Iron,” (Seriously, it’s a classic. If you haven’t seen it, add it to your Netflix.) But the decision of whether to drink milk or beer now seems as anachronistic as Lou Ferrigno. The craft beer boom has injected new life into the milk stout, an English classic that withered with the advent of World War II and the milk rationing that followed. Milk stouts, trendy as they may be, are here to stay. Also called “sweet stouts,” milk stouts are marked by the addition of lactose, a sugar naturally found in dairy, which lends a soft, creamy sweetness. In honor of National Stout Month, Peaks and pints presents a to-go flight of milk stouts that we call Peaks and Pints Pilot Program: Milk Stout Beer Flight.
Peaks and Pints Pilot Program: Milk Stout Beer Flight
Lucky Envelope Pecan Pie Cream Stout
6% ABV
Lucky Envelope Brewing was inspired by one of the earth’s most perfectly decadent pies to create a milk stout with the taste of Southern hospitality. The Seattle brewery’s Pecan Pie Cream Stout is brewed with freshly roasted pecans, vanilla beans, and brown sugar. It’s a delicious dessert beer with a nutty nose.
Mother Earth Milk Truck
5.8% ABV
Opaque in appearance, but with a marshmallow softness, Mother Earth Brewing uses specially chosen roasted malts to impart a non-astringent, darkness that laces the glass and our mouths from first sip. Accentuated using vanilla, lactose, and a heavy dose of oats, this big-bodied milk stout further impresses by finishing with a rich coffee aroma.
Left Hand French Toast
6% ABV
Without going into the chemical physics of solubility and gas diffusion, let’s just say that nitrogen has a silky effect on beer. Nitrogenized brews, as opposed to carbonated ones, have a softer mouthfeel, taste less acidic and boast a creamier, more stable head. Left Hand Brewing’s Milk Stout was no bore before, and on nitro, it’s even better. Cocoa and burnt flavors from its dark roasted grains come forward first, followed by a wave of sweet cream thanks to the use of lactose sugar. Magnum hops help give the 6 percent-alcohol brew a bitter finish that entices the next sip. Throughout, the beer’s ultra-smooth texture inches it closer to chocolate milk than you thought a beer could get. Their French Toast version of Milk Stout adds notes of maple syrup, vanilla, and rich caramel malt.
Belching Beaver Viva La Beaver!
7.5% ABV, 28 IBU
Kick your peanut butter fix up a notch with Belching Beaver Brewing’s Viva La Beaver, which was formerly named Mexican Chocolate Peanut Butter Stout, and prior, Viva La Beaver and Living La Beaver Loca. Whatever the name, this Mexican imperial milk stout has notes of creamy peanut butter, cinnamon, roasted coffee, thick chocolate, cookie dough, fudge, brownie batter, cappuccino, toffee, and dark roasted malts upfront, we get a little vanilla on the mid-palate. This decadent milk stout is the definition of dessert beer.
Worthy Lights Out Milk Stout
7.7% ABV
Worthy Brewing‘s Lights Out Milk Stout showcases Worthy Garden Club’s Hopservatory, which lets everyone experience the humbling beauty and diversity of space, while inspiring to take care of our planet. This hybridized American imperial stout accentuates the subtle nuances of non-traditional ingredients, such as Bob’s Red Mill Oats and milk sugar, which lend a smooth body with some residual sweetness. The whole Madagascar vanilla beans show mostly in the aroma.
YaYa Barrel Aged FireSide
8.5% ABV
Christmas Day 2016, Spokane brothers Jason and Chris Gass traded stories about their sister, Lara, including her community contributions and her sudden passing two months shy of graduating from law school. Her tragic car accident in March 2014 left a huge hole in their hearts. On that fateful Christmas Day, the brothers decided to help fill that hole with craft beer. Their initial plan was to open in Portland, Maine, but their hometown of Spokane felt better — more opportunities and certainly cheaper. Named after their sister’s nickname, they opened the Spokane Valley YaYa Brewing in October 2019. Aged for a year in Triticale whiskey barrels provided by Dry Fly Distilling, YaYa’s Barrel Aged FireSide heavy milk stout exudes notes of ripe plum, oak, and chocolate.
Aslan Satan’s Airport
9.5% ABV
Aslan Brewing’s Satan’s Airport is a rich and intense imperial milk stout brewed with 60 pounds of coffee from Bellingham Coffee Roasters. Pouring jet black, this beer looks and smells like a rich, roasty Americano with hints of cocoa. Smooth and bold coffee flavors are balanced by a subtle bitterness and a lingering milk chocolate sweetness.
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