It is Friday night and we have a pack from Left Hand Brewing to taste!
This week, we commemorate Thanksgiving with a 12-pack called “The Milk Box”, which is an all-stout collection — and, as an added bonus, we have Danielle’s mom, Iona, to taste this pack with us!
So, pour yourself your favorite alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverage, sit down, kick back, and chill with us while we delve into the first night tasting “The Milk Box”!
Our first beer is…
BEER: Mint Chocolate Milk Stout
ABV: 5.1%
MATT: 3.75/5
DANIELLE: 3.75/5
IONA: 4/5
LOOK: Dark…this is gonna be a theme.
SCENT: Coffee, chocolate, mint
MOUTHFEEL/TASTE: Thin mouthfeel with a lot of chocolate and mint on the back end. There’s also a vanilla and milk cream flavor in there.
FINAL REFLECTIONS: A solid beer — albeit, unexpected flavor. We expected more body as this is more thin like an ale. Nice vanilla cream and mint flavor though. Chocolate is powerful as well. A good start to the pack. Would go great with a vanilla ice cream or brownie or chocolate cake.
BEER: Mole Milk Stout
ABV: 6%
MATT: 4/5
DANIELLE: 4/5
IONA: 3.5/5
LOOK: Dark…again
SCENT: Coffee and chocolate
MOUTHFEEL/TASTE: Slightly thicker mouthfeel with chocolate and vanilla cream — and then you get the bite of chili pepper the more you drink.
FINAL REFLECTIONS: A good beer made great with that chili pepper bite at the end. You don’t really feel the burn until you have had a few sips. That’s what pushed this beer past a “3” for me. Iona thought the beer was heavier than the first one and it didn’t sit well as the first one. Danielle and I thought it was well-balanced. Interesting flavor.
BEER: S’mores Stout
ABV: 6%
MATT: 3.5/5
DANIELLE: 3.25/5
IONA: 3.25/5
LOOK: Dark…again
SCENT: It smells like a liquid S’More.
MOUTHFEEL/TASTE: It tastes like a liquid S’More.
FINAL REFLECTIONS: There’s a lot of graham cracker and chocolate. You can get very little marshmallow. Once you get past the S’More gimmick…ok. There’s not a lot to be impressed about. It’s a S’More beer. The last beer was more complex. Iona wanted more marshmallow. I’m just not a huge fan of flavored beers, period.
BEER: Double Milk Stout
ABV: 10%
MATT: 3.75/5
DANIELLE: 4/5
IONA: 4/5
LOOK: Dark…again
SCENT: Cola and chocolate
MOUTHFEEL/TASTE: Chocolate and a lot of alcohol. Some vanilla.
FINAL REFLECTIONS: The chocolate and alcohol are on display here. This tastes like an Irish Coffee if it was chilled. There’s some vanilla cream but it’s not very prominent. Still, this beer is dangerous — and you want it sold next to the bottled Starbucks frappes you see in the grocery stores.
FINAL THOUGHTS: A fun pack that would go well with any dessert course. The beers range from gimmicky to superb. Overall, a fun tasting from Left Hand Brewing!
HEAR OUR FINAL THOUGHTS HERE:
NEXT WEEK: We take on Stone Brewing’s “12 Days of IPA”! Join us!