Midnight Sun Earth

Brewed by Midnight Sun Brewing Company
Style: Stout
Anchorage, Alaska USA

Pours black into the glass with brown head. Aroma is hershey’s chocolate syrup. Unbelievable flavor of rich chocolate, Belgian yeast character, and great body from the lactose. Great beer for planet Earth!

Bomber, dated May 9, 2008 and consumed on October 29, 2008. The pour is completely black and opaque. There isn’t any light shining through this bad boy. A large, spongy, coffee colored head displays excellent retention, leaving craggy bands of sticky lace all the way down the glass. The aroma shows deeply roasted cocoa and mocha notes, with a heavy lactic creaminess, as well as hints of oak, vanilla, and toasted hazelnut. Awesome! The flavor does not disappoint. Semi-sweet, dark cocoa and scorched caramel are complimented perfectly with smooth, milky lactose, vanilla, and just a touch of earthen spice. The lactose lends a smooth, creamy consistency to the substantial palate, further enhancing its drinkablility. This is easily one of the best session stouts that I’ve ever encountered. I’d drink this every day if I could. Simply awesome!

Thanks to Reed for being nice enough to open a bottle of this for me in the tasting room before its release date. This is delicious, I am normally not a big fan of milk stouts, but this did not have that sacchrine sweetness in the finish. Pours a rich dark dark brown, with an ample brownish head, that is fizzy but has great head retention and hangs around throughout the entire glass. The nose is just like chocolate milk, with a little bit of roastiness and a slight bit of sweet smoke. The flavor on the palate, since this is brewed with cacao nibs and aged on the powder, is all rich chocolate goodness, but dry on the palate, and perfectly well balanced, and a bit of hop bitterness in the finish. This is delicious and am looking forward to its release on the 9th of May.

On tap at MSBC’s new location. Pours dark with tan/ brown head. Roasted malt nose with slight coffee aroma. Taste is anything but coffee. Taste of dark malt, chocolate and toffee. Light notes of oats and milk. A little "earthy" taste. Very creamy mouthfeel, very creamy. Slight bitter finish. A good stout and a nice way to represent Earth.

Draft at the brewery ... Nice attractive pour; pure black with a thick tan head. Big chocolate component here, but it’s almost licorice-y, medicinal ... Don’t take that wrongly, because this is good. (#3568, 6/25/2009)

pours a stark brow tonopaque black. Aroma is slightly sour and of bitter chocolate. IInitial flavor is bitter chocolate followed by a full bodied palate. Could be slightly more complex the flavor but is a great beer.I

Jet black color. Large rich beige head shows good retention as it dwindles into a thin but creamy cap. Enticing aromas of cocoa and espresso intermingle with prunes, plasticlike phenols, and chocolate fudge. Lightly smoky with a suggestion of tar, as well. Snug carbonation softy hugs the palate. Bottle conditioned. Snappy medley of airy phenols and burnt malt hulls give way to a creamy inundation of vanilla beans and nougat. Fairly dry, yet full, fluffy and dense at the core. Malts are well-extracted and remarkably deep and pillowy. Notes of leather echo the bright yet understated prune and raisiny esters which enhance the malty luster while bolstering quaffability tenfold. Melted toffee lurks in the background. Delayed twang of lactose adds chewiness to the body as it fuses with the fruity esters to create a chocolate taffy effect. Mild note of charcoal and ash contribute some welcomed coarseness to other otherwise predominantly soft and slick body. Teasing glimpse of black cherries dots the well-rounded finish, as tinges of black licorice, cocoa, earthy roast and vivid chocolate-mousse linger. Overt sweetness tends to plague milk stouts, but not this one. Quite a feat. The entire bomber went down rather quickly and effortlessly. Really well-balanced and exhibits excellent restraint on multiple levels.

Pours an oily opaque with a frothy, stringy-lacing, dark tan head. Aroma of sweet toasty dark caramel and a grainy dark chocolate and roasted malt with some sweet lactose notes. Body starts fairly full and dark malty sweet with an effervescent carbonation and good balance of rich roasty dark malts before a drier dark fruity finish with lingering bittersweet dark chocolate in the finish. A nice, smooth and drinkable brew.