Candy history has its quiet revolutions, and one of them arrived in 1923 when Frank C. Mars unveiled a candy bar that wasn’t really about chocolate at all. The Milky Way was built around a soda-fountain dream — malted milk nougat whipped light and fluffy, draped in caramel, and cloaked in chocolate like a sweet little tuxedo. Forrest Mars, Frank’s ambitious son, reportedly borrowed the name from the wildly popular malted milkshakes of the era, those frothy countertop elixirs that made America briefly believe the future would be powered by milk, sugar, and optimism. The bar was marketed as “a double malted milk in a candy bar,” which sounded both vaguely scientific and irresistibly indulgent. It worked. The first year brought $800,000 in sales — the 1920s equivalent of shouting “jackpot” across the candy aisle.
Part of the Milky Way’s genius was its clever architecture. Nougat made the bar lighter and cheaper than solid chocolate, caramel added that slow, sticky sweetness, and the chocolate coating sealed the whole thing like edible lacquer. Mars even sourced its chocolate from the Hershey Company in the early days, which is the kind of deliciously awkward business relationship that only happens when you’re inventing an entirely new category of candy. By the time the company moved operations to Chicago in 1929, the Milky Way had become the most popular candy bar in the United States — a sugary little empire built from malted milkshake nostalgia and clever confectionery engineering.
Which brings us to today’s experiment in liquid candy bar architecture. Peaks & Pints celebrates National Milky Way Day the only way a self-respecting beer bar can — by reverse-engineering the flavors into a flight. Malt sweetness stands in for nougat, caramelized malt echoes the sticky center, chocolate-rich beers mimic the outer shell, and a creamy stout nods to the soda-fountain milkshake that inspired the whole thing. Five small pours, one iconic candy bar translated into beer form — proof that sometimes the best way to honor dessert history is to drink it.
Peaks & Pints Milky Way Day Flight
Lagunitas Shugga’ Original Recipe
9.9% ABV | American Strong Ale | Petaluma, California
Brown sugar perfume drifts upward like caramel quietly bubbling in a confectioner’s copper pot. Rich malt sweetness spreads across the palate — a decadent little sugar storm brewed by Lagunitas Brewing that feels uncannily close to the gooey center of a certain famous candy bar. Notes of toffee, dark honey, and caramelized grain glide through a warming body, finishing lush and sticky-sweet in the best possible way, as if the Milky Way’s molten heart had decided to take up residence in a pint glass.
Fort George Brewery Salted Caramel Cavatica
8.8% ABV | Salted Caramel Stout | Astoria, Oregon
Chocolate begins pulling its velvet coat around the candy here, dark and quietly indulgent. Salted Caramel Cavatica leans into cocoa, roasted malt, and lush caramel, the stout’s backbone guided with steady confidence by Fort George Brewery. A flicker of Jacobsen sea salt sharpens the sweetness just enough to keep the whole thing balanced, finishing smooth and decadent with a whisper of briny sparkle.
Anderson Valley Salted Caramel Porter
9.5% ABV | Barrel-Aged Salted Caramel Porter | Boonville, California
Somewhere between dessert tray and fireside nightcap, this porter unfolds with patient indulgence. Dark chocolate malt, caramel sweetness, and a faint saline shimmer mingle while bourbon barrels lend vanilla and warm oak — a luxurious arrangement orchestrated by Anderson Valley. The result drifts across the palate with chocolate depth and toffee glow, as if the candy bar’s caramel center had wandered into a dimly lit barrel room.
Ladd & Lass Barrel-Aged Year Two
13% ABV | Barrel-Aged English Barleywine | Seattle, Washington
Caramel seems to stretch and shimmer through this glass like a sauce left simmering just a little longer than planned. Deep layers of toffee, dark honey, toasted bread, and vanilla-kissed oak unfold slowly, revealing the patient handiwork of Ladd & Lass Brewing somewhere along the journey. The malt richness lands warm and velvety, echoing the soft nougat heart of the Milky Way while the barrel adds a quiet fireside glow.
Irrelevant Beer Eidetic
13% ABV | Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout | Vancouver, Washington
Midnight chocolate settles into the glass with slow gravity and a faint bourbon glow. After more than two years resting in oak, the stout reveals waves of cocoa, roasted malt, dark sugar, and vanilla that drift luxuriously across the palate — a deep, contemplative creation from Irrelevant Beer. The finish lingers with dark chocolate and caramel warmth, like the last bite of a candy bar taken long after the room has gone quiet.
LINK: Peaks & Pints beer and cider cooler inventory
