Berkshire Milk Stout

On tap at Flat Street in Brattleboro as "Flat Street Stout". Mild sweet aroma, chocolate malt and bit of coffee and smoke. Very little hops presence. Clear dark brown-black with medium tan lacing foaming head. Medium watery body, not quite watery but close, medium-light carbonation. Not creamy or under nitrogen. Starts with smoky tangy chocolate malt and a carbonic tang. Little hops in the finish though a clean smoky tang at the end. Very mild overall and a decent quaff, but not a real standout. The porter was a better darker beer than this.

Sampled, draught, with ClarkVV at Flat Street Brew Pub in Brattleboro VT. Thinnish opaque black with absolutely o head or lacing, slightly oily-looking....sweet chocolate-licorice aroma promises vague smokiness for a fleeting instant but mostly seems sugary and worty....the body is thin, like the pils undercarbonated (severely), really attenuated with hints of coffee and toffee and touches of dark chocolate but mostly dry husky-grassy blandness...a wreck, probably mostly due to poor condition/keeping at the pub, which seemed on the whole an indifferent.

On draught at Flat Street. Pours almost black with a tan head. Smells of chocolate and soy sauce with some weird musty elements. I have a feeling this keg may have been past its prime. Tastes of chocolate and coffee with some peppery splashes.

Draught pint at Redbones on 1/8/2006. Deep, dark chocolate colored body with a moderately dense, old chalk colored head. Head was poured small (more beer, less head!) but is well retained for a draught offering. Very thick lacing comes as no surprise as these fine folks at Berkshire neither filter nor pasteurize their beers. Aroma of old raisins, gently giving way to a perfectly balanced mix of lightly roasted barley (in a very light sense) and dark chocolate. Aroma strength is moderate and light cream notes on end give a touch of sweetness. No real notes of lactose. Flavor, to my surprise is only gentle in the lactose department. The beer is careful to bring forth notes of dark chocolate and luscious dark barley, simultaneously adding pillowy-soft texture, and gently coasts in to a light vanilla cream milk sweetness that is well-balanced by a light roasted bitterness, that adds more drying aspect than it does actual bitterness. Lack of acidity and fatiguing lactic notes are certainly appreciated on the palate, as the beer glides down effortlessly carried on by a chocolate silk stream with moderate carbonation, sparking enough interest to keep the flavors from becoming sluggish. No alcohol apparency, and only a very light yeast dryness. Please keep bringing these single batch draught only beers to Boston!