Stone Brewing Coffee Milk Stout
This bottle of Stone Brewing Coffee Milk Stout surprised me. Not because I wasn’t expecting it to appear on my door step. Not because it’s not an IPA from the company. This brew surprised me because it only weighs in at 4.2% ABV — and it’s not a watered down imitation of a stout either. It’s a high quality, full flavored, sessionable brew.
Coffee Milk Stout is the brain child of brewery trainer Brian Gallagher after he had played around with one of his homebrew recipes. It employs milk sugar (lactose) and whole coffee beans (from Ryan Bros Coffee) within it’s dark depths. This is a malt-forward brew, but also presents a balancing bit of hop bitterness (40 IBUs) that rounds out a smooth drinking experience. It’s not a giant, barrel aged, robust monstrosity. Coffee Milk Stout is a beer that I can sit down with during a football game without hating myself on the commute to work the following Monday.
Appearance
The brew pours with a healthy cap of rocky brown foam that rests atop the opaque black liquid.
Aroma
Cocoa, smooth dark roast coffee, a touch of licorice in the background and a subtle, smokey char make for a great smelling beer.
Taste
Coffee Milk Stout is a great tasting little brew. The roast coffee beans shine through more here as the lactose takes a slight step to the background with chocolate and grain notes. Hints of licorice, an earthy quality and a semi-sweetness persist throughout as the flavors fade slowly through the lightly drying finish. The beer isn’t as full as many stouts, but it certainly isn’t watery like many of the recent “session” ales I’ve had lately.
Overall
A sessionable stout? Yes, please! Great flavor (an earthy roast, soft sweetness and clean character) and its overall, easy drinking nature make Stone’s Coffee Milk Stout a treat of a beer. I don’t foresee a six pack of this beer lasting long around me.
Rating: 4/5
This is a review of a promotional sample.
