And now, another exciting episode of aging beers with The Bruguru! People often ask me, they ask “Hey Bruguru, why do you drink so many aged beers?”. The answer, I always say, is because I drink so much fresh beer. You see, I vist my local Taco Mac for fresh draft frequently, and also am fond of going to Stout’s Growlers and taking a home a crowler or too. I still buy bottled beer, though, and often find something that I’ve had for a while, like the bottle of Southern Tier 2X Stout I’m drinking tonight.
Southern Tier 2X Stout is an interesting brew indeed, and not one you would readily think of in terms of laying down for a few years. In this case, my neglect in drinking this beer sooner was a happy accident. The beer stood up well to the aging and rounded out nicely, preserving its subtle roasty notes and chocolate and perhaps becoming smoother.
From the website:
Milk stout, also called ‘cream’ or ‘sweet’ stout, is a stout containing lactose, a sugar derived from milk. Because lactose is unfermentable by beer yeast, it adds sweetness and body to the finished beer. Milk stouts have been claimed to be nutritious, and were marketed as such in the early 1900s with claims that would make the FDA wince. One ad read, “Ideal for nursing mothers, for the healthy, for the invalid, and for the worker.” Surely! Of course, we couldn’t stop at a traditional milk stout. Ours is a double, an addition to our 2X line, and at 7.5% abv is every bit as delicious as it sounds. To your health!
And there you have it, twice the milk stout here at 7.5% alcohol by volume. How old is my bottle is the question I’m sure you’re asking? My bottle has DOB 01/08/13 stamped on it, and I drank it on March 26th, 2017. That’s over 4 years of age on this beer, and it held up magnificently. I don’t recall what I paid for it, but it runs $10.99 a six-pack now.
Southern Tier 2X Stout pours to a jet-black color with a thick creamy tan head from a pour through my Fizzics system and a sweet chocolate and coffee nose. Taking a sip, the beer is incredibly smooth and very creamy with hints of caramel, dark and rich with milk chocolate, and a chocolaty, slightly grassy hoppy finish.
Just a wonderful beer, and next stop is adding some notes from a fresh bottle or perhaps even a draft mug from Taco Mac.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft