Would you like some milk in your stout? I would. As long as it goes in before the beer is finished, not after I pop open the bottle. I’m talking about milk stout, also known as cream stout or sweet stout. There really is milk in the stuff, or at least lactose- milk sugar.

Milk stout is actually an old English style which was touted ages ago for its health benefits. Supposedly, milk was good for you (though today some debate that), so naturally beer with milk in it had to be good for you too, right?

Yet, from such questionable beginnings a rather idiosyncratic and interesting beer style was born. Sadly, few examples of the style are produced today. One of them is Left Hand Brewing Milk Stout. .

Left Hand calls the beer Udderly delightful. Ouch. They make it with roasted barley, Munich, Crystal, chocolate, and two-row pale malts. Flaked oats are also used, and of course milk sugar is added. East Kent Goldings and Magnums are used for hopping. Alcohol is moderate at 5.2% by volume.

Left Hand Milk Stout pours to a deep brown to light black color which reminds me of cola more than anything else. A light tan colored creamy head forms, and a lightly roasty nose is what you’ll get if you sniff.

The body is surprisingly thin, and the beer does not have as much mouthfeel as I would expect it from a stout or even a porter. There is some roastiness here, though, and good chocolaty flavors. A touch of licorice. A little espresso.

The milk sugars add sweetness, too, and a subtle creaminess. You can taste it. One would think they would ferment out, but you can tell the difference.

The finish has a more intense roasty character along with an intensified sweetness and then finally some roasted barley bitterness and grassy hop character. I like this beer well enough, but I think the thin body really detracts from what could otherwise be a very interesting beer

I certainly give them credit for producing a style most other brewers ignore. But at best I think the beer is only average, not exceptional. And that’s a shame, really. Because with a bit more effort, I think this beer could really be the cream of the crop.

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