Belching Beaver Brewery Beavers Milk Stout Nitro Milk / Sweet Stout at 5.3% ABV (2017 Craft Beer Advent Calendar #6, 355 ml, packaged on 19-Aug-2017, acquired 20-Nov-2017, reviewed 6-Dec-2017)
Appearance: near opaque black with brown relief at the margins, one fat finger of creamy beige head, excellent retention and spotty lacing. (4/5) Aroma: milk chocolate, coffee, vanilla, nuts. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium creamy body, moderate carbonation, dry mildly bitter finish. (4/5)
The label says this is the mother for their Peanut Butter Stout, which I haven’t actually had – but I have had their Mexican Chocolate Peanut Butter Stout, and I enjoyed that quite a bit. I keep wanting to say I’m getting peanut butter here, but careful evaluation indicates not – I think it’s a combination of lactose sweetness and nutty roasted malt that’s doing that. I think I can see now, though, why I got such a heavy peanut butter presence in the Mexican Chocolate one: if this thing tends to taste peanut butter-y even with no PB added, it’s going to go over the top as soon as you start adulterating it. I could stand to see this have a thicker body, especially in nitro form, but it’s not thin even now. All in all, pleasant and well-balanced. (16/20)
8/10 #craftbeeradvent2017 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
