Hands Up

Day #712 Milk Stout / Left Hand Brewing Company, Longmont, CO
Previously from this brewery: 400 Pound Monkey, another 400 Pound Monkey, a Milk Stout, and a Sawtooth Ale

So, today wasn't what I would call outstanding.  The nice people at General Motors made it a bit easier, if you call them paying for half of a new transmission easier.  Or, they could just build transmissions that don't break.  Maybe today will get better.  Or... you know, not.

The beer du jour is a glass of Milk Stout from Left Hand Brewing; another beer that had first been in the fridge and then trapped in my notes for quite some time.  This one has a dark black color with a wispy tan head, and gives you aromas of lightly toasted malts.  When you take a sip there are notes of chocolate, toasted malt, oak, and a welcome sweetness.  Again, I don't often seek out stouts, but when I do, this one is a definite go to option.

With the appropriate glassware, even!

As always, Left Hand, I apologize for stealing this pint glass.  However, I did purchase a different pint glass, so therefore my guilt is relatively small.  Relatively.

Thing to Think About Today:
Left Hand Brewery, meet Jenny Lewis for some Handle With Care.  Night.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utJOx5lRDn4

"Been beat up and battered 'round / Been sent up, and I've been shot down"

Day 448: Dark Horse Too Cream Stout

I don't have much to write. I've been running errands all day and friends are on the way over. And readership tends to be down on the weekends, so there.

Today's beer is fresh from the taps at Teresa's Next Door. It's the Dark Horse Too Cream stout.

It poured black as night with a deep, dark cocoa color head. The head was the darkest cocoa color that I think I've ever encountered on this beer adventure. The aroma was light roasted malt. The flavor is nutty. Lots of roast coffee. Bitter chocolate. It has a light creaminess but overall drank with a thin mouthfeel.

Beer stats
Style: Milk stout
ABV: 7.5%
IBUs: Unknown
Rating: Excellent

Previously reviewed from Dark Horse
Another very coffee-centric beer called Perkulator Doppelbock and a reminder that I need to do more music related posts
Gary's review of Double Crooked Tree, a double IPA

Beer 364: Elysian and I Like Big Beers

I like big beers and I cannot lie
You other brothers can't deny
That when a beer gets tapped with a double digit...

Oh never mind. I am no Sir Mix-A-Lot. But I do like big beers and I'll be hanging at TJ's in Paoli (Pennsylvania) all day tomorrow helping them celebrate their 9th anniversary. I wonder if they found any chocolate Faygo yet...

Today's beer is a perfectly appropriate beer to write about this early in the morning. It's the Split Shot espresso milk stout from Elysian Brewing Company in Seattle (5.6% ABV).


It has a minimal head with just a light tan ring around the glass. There is a strong, rich coffee and chocolate milk blend for the aroma. The color is deep dark brown.

The taste is predominantly rich, roasted coffee. There is also some vanilla and cola in there. It winds up with a hop bitterness that blossoms into a full finish. The mouthfeel isn't as creamy as I'd expect. It feels like it lands somewhere between a stout and milk stout. That being said, the flavor is excellent. Cheers!

Beer 360: Counting Down and Getting Nostalgic with Young's Double Chocolate Stout

I'm shocked that I'm up to #360 today. I've said this before, but this year has flown by in a blur of beer bottles, cans and drafts. I realize I'm the one writing the posts and trust me I have double-checked my counting on more than one occasion. But, wow, where does time go? How is it #360 already? Final tallies are being compiled so I have tons of proof to mark the past year. But still. Seriously.

Tonight's beer made me nostalgic for my childhood. Yes, my childhood. Bear with me...this all makes sense in my head. I'm drinking a Luxury Double Chocolate Stout from Wells & Young. It is a milk stout brewed in England with a 5.2% ABV.


This one is right up there with Left Hand's milk stout. The Young's pours black as night with a full, cocoa color head. It smells of chocolate and lightly roasted malts. The flavor and carbonation combine to remind me of a fizzy chocolate soda. There are also notes of lightly roasted coffee in there along with a nice general nuttiness. It's sweet but not sugary and very easy to drink.

And you wonder how this relates to my childhood? My grandmother always had Faygo soda in the fridge. If you're familiar with this brand, you'll know they made the most ridiculous flavors of soda. My go to Faygo? The chocolate, of course.

Cheers!

Beer 135: Butternuts Beer and Ale and WTF

Day 1 of the biggest week ever is done.  All I could think of one the way home is a cold refreshing beer.  Long story short, I find myself walking around the house demanding to know why the fuck would you print farmhouse ale on a can of stout?  Why?  Why would you do that to me? Why Butternuts, why?

So now you know I’m having a stout tonight.  It is the Butternuts Beer and Ale stout to be exact.  Seriously.  It says farmhouse ale on the front of the can.  And no, the fun cow on the label wasn’t a tip off.  And Gary assures me all the damn cans read farmhouse ale.  I’m shaking my fist at you, Butternuts.

The Moo Thunder stout poured a deep, dark and rich shade of brown with a cocoa color head.  It smells great.  Strong roasted aromas of coffee.  It drinks thin but with lots of character.  Flavors of cola and coffee dominating up front and finishing with burnt coffee.  The burnt taste is a bit much every once in awhile and it can morph into bitter pretty quickly -- not what I expect from a milk stout.  Beer Advocate rates it as exceptional.  I’d give it a surprisingly good.  If it were a bit creamier and a little sweeter, I could definitely get onboard with exceptional.  Cheers!

Beer 35: Left Hand Milk Stout

I'm not feeling verbose today as my sinuses are attempting to kill me.  I've spent the entire day either sound asleep in my bed or catatonic on the couch.  I did rally and take down the tree and put away all the Christmas ornaments.  Mostly because if my decorations are still up, I can't talk smack about the neighbor who keeps her tree up and LIT all year long.  If I had a better camera, I'd provide photographic evidence.  But I don't.  Sorry.

***

The milk stout series continues with an entry from Left Hand Brewing Company.  I had the pleasure to visit Left Hand last summer and managed to sample a majority of their offerings.  This milk stout is hands down (ha!) my all time favorite milk stout.  I poured this one into a Long Trail Brewing pint glass since the Left  Hand glasses didn't come back out of the dishwasher from last night.  Oops.

Left Hand milk stout presents like the others I tried this week -- the darkest brown almost black liquid, thin tan head.  It smells roasted and chocolatey.  Its flavor is roasted malt, lactose sweetness with just the right bite at the finish.  The carbonation is very light and makes for a thin, not syrupy beverage.

This beer definitely goes in my top 25.

Left Hand beer is so good, it makes you do this:

Beer 34: Haand Nissefar or The One Where My Head Explodes

I'm looking at 2012 as the year that I try new things and really force myself out of my comfort zone.  I promised myself I would say yes more and take more chances.  With that in mind, I bought tickets to a dance party / photography exhibit opening which is happening this weekend.  I like photography but I don't dance.  Ok, I dance after enough drinks to make me forget I have no rhythm.  I cannot imagine what that looks like other than AWESOME.  My dance party / exhibit opening has a surprise guest DJ and because I live in a very fun world in my head, that guest DJ is ?uestlove from The Roots.  I'll let you know on Sunday how that all plays out.

I've also been harboring a desire to start a little event planning business on the side.  Well, today I had a truly unbelievable opportunity drop into my lap.  On one hand it could kick my event planning gig into high gear; on the other, it is going to involve a hell of a lot of work and a giant leap of faith in myself.  So do I have what it takes to say yes to a new adventure?  I like to think yes.  Yes, I do.

***

Lancaster Brewing Co.'s Milk Stout

Tonight's beer is from Lancaster Brewing and it is their foray into the world of milk stouts.  Like the other stouts I've sampled this week, it pours dark as night.  It has a light tan head that quickly disappears.  The smell is sweet caramel and roasted.  The flavor is strong on chocolate, coffee and milk flavors.  The roasted flavor is  upfront and is balanced by the sweet coffee and milk flavors.  It is incredibly tasty.

When visiting the Lancaster Brewing Company establishment this past June, I ordered their beer sampler.  Above and beyond the insane number of samples provided, there was an opportunity to mix the milk stout with their strawberry wheat beer to create what I can only describe as a super beer.  It was true awesomeness in my teeny tiny sample glass.  God bless you, Lancaster Brewing Company.  God bless.

OK.  So this is the second time in 30-odd days that I've managed to forget that I've already drank a brewery.  &^$*@(&!!!  I even wrote about the goddamned sampler in my other post. So much for the beer doesn't kill brain cells theory.

New brewery.  Tonight's real beer is from Norway.  It's Haand Bryggeriet's Nissefar.  Bryggeriet = Brewery.  Nissefar = Father Christmas.  This beer is for happy gnomes.  Whatever.  I've had a bunch of beer tonight.

Anyway this isn't a stout so my milk stout series has gone completely awry.  This one is an "old ale" but presents like a stout (at least to me).  It is almost opaque in my glass and dark, dark brown.  I get lots of roasted malts and a hint of coffee...maybe some caramel.  It is surprisingly smooth and light given it's appearance.  It finishes dry and almost reminds me of rye bread.

Cheers, folks!  It's the weekend and I'm going to watch a scary movie and try to figure out when exactly my memory gave out.

Beer 33: Duck-Rabbit Milk Stout

This sums up my day today. 

I got shit done.  I kicked ass and took names.  I'm rolling in catnip.

***

I shall reward myself with Installment #2 of the Milk Stout series.  Tonight we feast on Duck-Rabbit Milk Stout.  It hails from Farmville, North Carolina and boasts that it is proudly hand-made in small batches.

It poured dark as night and the light tan head quickly dissipated.  First sniff made me stop and ask Gary, "Does this beer smell like meat?"  I'm a wishy-washy quasi-vegetarian currently on a poultry bender, so sometimes I have a challenging time identifying meat smells.  The meat smell passed and a good swirl released caramel, milk sugar and a hint of smokiness.

It drinks with a sweet smokiness and has more carbonation that I'm accustomed to in a milk stout.  It finishes with a little bit of bitterness.  Overall a solid example of milk stout.