Moo

Don't eat more chicken... Drink more beer!

Milk stout (also called sweet stout or cream stout) is a stout that has a larger amount of residual dextrins and unfermentable sugars called lactose which are derived from milk that’s added to the brew kettle. Because lactose is unfermentable by beer yeast, it adds body and sweetness that counters the roasted character of the finished beer.

Bernard Miles

Milk stouts have had an interesting history as far as beer styles go. The beer was originally brewed in Hythe, Kent, by Mackeson's Brewery in 1907. Mackeson’s claimed that their milk stout was nutritious, stating that "each pint contains the energizing carbohydrates of 10 ounces of pure dairy milk.” In Germany, milk stouts were given to nursing mothers as they were an excellent source of additional vitamins and nutrients. Other stouts, such as Guinness in Ireland, also made this claim. Years later, in the period just after WWII when rationing was in place, the British government required brewers to remove the word "milk" from labels and advertisements, as well as any imagery associated with milk. Once that blew over, Mackeson’s once again began selling their healthy beer with a long-lasting television ad campaign with actor Bernard Miles that contained the catch-phrase, “Mackeson - looks good, tastes good and, by golly, it does you good.”

Look at the size of the head on
that beer - its friggin huge!

Milk stouts have undergone a bit of a revival since the craft beer revolution began in the United States in the 80s and 90s. Most craft brewers in today’s arena with a decent sized catalog make a milk, sweet or cream stout. Some examples include the Left Hand Brewing Co’s Milk Stout, Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery’s Milk Stout, Bell’s Brewery’s Milk Stout and Lancaster Brewing Co’s Double Chocolate Milk Stout, to name only a few.

Pour hard, admire and enjoy

A particularly exciting trend with milk stouts in America today is the incorporation of nitrogen taps. Most beer is carbonated with either pure carbon dioxide or a mixture of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, a blend creatively named “beer gas.” Occasionally, some places will serve a stout on a special tap that uses about 75% nitrogen or more. Nitrogen gas is a considerably smaller molecule than carbon dioxide, which leaves a beer with a finer, creamier texture and correspondingly smoother taste. And since milk stouts already have a milky/creamy aura about them, the injection of nitrogen during the pour creates an experience that is as close to liquid heaven as I’ve found (and I have been looking). Let me say that again… liquid heaven. While traipsing about the Dominion/Fordham brewery in Dover, DE, I was privileged to be offered their milk stout served from a nitro tap... like drinking a cloud. Rumor has it (though I’ve never had this beer) that the Left Hand Brewing Co’s Milk Stout Nitro has been carbonated in bottles with a similar process to the nitro tap, simulating the experience in a bottled brew. It’s on my list to be sure.

Here’s to craft-brewed happiness… Cheers!