Lancaster Milk Stout

Brewed by Lancaster Brewing Co.
Style: Sweet Stout
Lancaster, Pennsylvania USA

Sweet and sour like the China Castle at 4am. The land of southeastern Pennsylvania gives up her secrets, birthed in the black, coats my tounge as night is coming on, wooden wheels scrape the asphalt as a black hat disappears over the hill.....

A great sweet stout. Chocolate, vanilla and coffee highlights. Dark as the night sky in winter. A hearty drink.

12.23.04 12 oz bottle. Why I’ve never taken notes on this one I’ll never know. I’ve now got only six bottles left of the 36 I originally bought. The pour is very dark mahoganey brown, not black, ruby highlights and a foamy but fading tan head. The aromas are indeed lactic and a touch sour on top of sharp coffe notes and anticipated sweetness, like prunes soaked in old coffee. The flavor is coffee and more sourness; the beer doesn’t pretend to be anything but a sharp, bitter, roasty and burnt stout. Unctuous, motor oil and tar are the bill. I love this beer more every lap. Finish is long and oily, like dragging your tongue along a newly paved road.

This appeared with a standard black body and a small light brown head that didn’t leave much lace about the glass. Aroma was off a roasted malt and cream, with an off sour scent to it as well. The taste had that same old sourness to it as well which I didn’t remember from the first time I sampled this. Other flavors were roasted malt, coffee and a bit of sweet caramel. Mouthfeel was standard with about a medium body and good carbonation. What ever was going on which the sour characteristics hurts the drinkability a lot. I had 2 separate bottles and both tasted the same. I will pick up another bottle in the future and see if that has changed.

Secret Santa beer #5, sent by Jason (Dorwart). Deep brown body with red highlights; thin tan head that dissipates to a ring of carbonation. Roasted malt aroma with hints of milk chocolate. Flavor is dominated by woody roast with bittersweet chocolate providing light sweetness. Fairly thin-bodied and not all that complex. I was hoping for more lactose character and a touch more sweetness to emphasize the "milk" part of the beer’s name. Decent nonetheless.

Translucent dark brown body and light tan head. Sweet chocolatey nose and flavor. Very light roast. Flavor also has elements of nuts, raisins, and espresso. This is a nice sweet stout that would make an excellent dessert beer.

Deep brown color with thich brown head, nose of chocolate and milk. Thick, heavy body with alot of roasted flavor and the obvious presence of milk sugars. A little bit of a bite on the front end, but it smoothes out to have no aftertaste. I have always been a big fan of this particular beer, but I think I would have to say Left Hand is just a bit better.

Black, with a slight red tint. Chocolate milk aroma. Nicely sweet, chocolatey flavor, very rich palate. Subtle hints of smoke and coffee, as well. Appeallingly viscous to the finish. Thanks, Secret Santa!