Left Hand Milk Stout

Left Hand Brewing Company
Longmont, Colorado

APPEARANCE: 2/3
Thin, creamy, persistent head that rings the glass nicely. Dark, dark brown–not black, not quite opaque.

AROMA: 3.75/4
Coffee, caramel, vanilla, dark chocolate notes. Roasty aroma, really enticing.

TASTE: 8.25/10
Hop/Malt Balance: 3/4: Malty, smooth. No flavoring hop, but bittering hop at finish.
Aftertaste: 2.75/3: Fades to a chocolatey, coffee roast finish. Subtle, lasting bitterness.
Mouth-Feel: 2.5/3: Very sweet. Dark chocolate, nuttiness–hints of roasted almond. A bit watery.

OVERALL: 2.5/3: A solid stout–strong roasty notes, could be darker. Sweet milk chocolate.

TOTAL: 16.5/20–Pour Me Another

NOTES:
Matt: Admittedly, I'm a sucker for sweets. Don't misunderstand, this isn't cloying–it's subtly sweet, an improvement over boring old stouts.
Ben: Very good, I enjoy it–prefer it to Guinness and other "standard" stouts. Very sweet, like an iced mocha beer.

Left Hand Fade to Black, Vol. 1–Foreign Export Stout

*Note: Fade to Black is a series; each year the bottle is the same, but the contents change. Each year's beer is noted in relatively small type on the neck label.

Left Hand Brewing Company
Longmont, Colorado

APPEARANCE: 3/3
Beautiful black color. Nice, creamy (if thin), lasting head.

AROMA: 3.75/4
Coffee, chocolate, roasted barley. No appreciable hop aroma.

TASTE: 8.75/10
Hop/Malt Balance: 3.5/4: Malty, fades to bitter.
Aftertaste: 2.75/3: Lasting bitterness–coffee, chocolate, strong roasted flavor.
Mouth-Feel: 2.5/3: Some sweet notes–caramel–fading to bitter. Would be nice with more of a warming feel.

OVERALL: 3/3: A really solid stout–an impressive showing.

TOTAL: 18.5/20–Keep 'Em Comin'

NOTES:
Matt: I would have liked a creamier head, but that's a minor consideration. Nicely bitter, rare in a stout. An unexpected surprise.
Ben: A great stout, good for any occasion. Good paired with a steak.

Horny Goat Stacked Milk Stout

Horny Goat Brewing Company
Stevens Point, Wisconsin

APPEARANCE: 1/3
Brown/copper color–decidedly NOT black.

AROMA: 1/4
No aroma, very little head.

TASTE: 3.5/10
Hop/Malt Balance: 1.5/4: Roasted flavor, malty with no hop. Weak, very little sweetness.
Aftertaste: 1/3: Corny aftertaste–lager yeast.
Mouth-Feel: 1/3: Thin, watery.

OVERALL: 1/3: Not good beer, and definitely not a stout (much less a MILK stout).

TOTAL: 6.5/20–Tab Me Out

NOTES:
Matt & Ben: Not remotely true to style–needs more roasted malt, more lactose. It's too light in color. It's watery. This beer purports to be a milk stout–it isn't! It's a fraud, one of the worst beers we've tried, and we advise against drinking it.