Taproom Talk

Being of left-handed disposition, I was naturally drawn to a beer that celebrates the true uniqueness of being a southpaw. Accordingly, I had on occasion to imbibe the Left Hand Brewing Company’s Milk Stout, which I am happy to report, is an outstanding stout worthy of a right or left-handed beer snob.

The Milk Stout pours jet black with an elegant tan lacing that lasts the entire experience and imparts a wonderfully sweet malt nose with slight hints of chocolate. The taste is a pure sweetness only found in well brewed milk stouts; plus, there is a slight hint of chocolate, thus giving it a warm feeling and an ever so smooth finish. There is a subtle bitterness in the finish that is highly appealing to boot. Indeed, this is easily one of the best milk stouts I’ve ever had the pleasure of drinking.

Regardless of right or left predilection, the Left Hand Brewing Company’s Milk Stout is a fabulous beer– I’d love this beer even if I was right handed!

Tis Christmas Eve and I am beaming,
cherubs singing, bells a-ringing.
Nick at Finewine.com did me a solid
Found me this stout; apostolic.

See, the distributor here in Virginia
stopped carrying this beer. Why, I wonder?
It’s taste is robust, like nuts a-roasted
Smothered in chocolate tones; I boast it.

How he got it, although I wonder,
that it’s here, my pirate plunder
is all I care for, mind the effort,
A truckload or two is what I care for.

So here I sit after months of waiting
west to east this beer was coming.
My stout is here, Christmas is merry
Until I run out, that time I’m weary.

Here are pictures.  Check back for a podcast from the event.

Every once in awhile, a beer knocks your socks off with a bold taste. This evening I enjoyed a St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout by the McAuslan Brewing Company in Montréal, Quebec and I’m not sure if I can ever try another beer again. This has to be one of the best tasting beers I’ve ever had!

The beer poured with a jet black color and left a medium tan head that slowly disappeared to reveal a sweet malty smell. The taste is a complex mix of malts and hops that has bold hints of chocolate and espresso. In fact, the more I drank this fine stout, the more I concentrated on its wonderful espresso taste. The finish is smooth with hints of sweetness and I found myself enjoying the smell of this beer as much as I enjoyed tasting it.

One word can describe St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout: amazing. Simply amazing. I’ve enjoyed many fine Oatmeal Stouts, including the venerable Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout; however, St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout is by far the best of the best.

Recently, I found myself having a spiritual experience sitting in a downtown Pittsburgh church. This wasn’t any normal church, however. It was once a church, but now a brewery.

Pittsburgh’s Church Brewery is a holy pilgrimage everyone should experience when visiting this fine city. Not only is the brewery’s ambiance devotedly unique, but they’ve managed to produce a few laudable beers as well.

The Blast Furnace Stout was a divine showing that evening with its malty essence and true oatmeal stout taste that had wonderfully subtle hints of oats and the prized roasted-ness of espresso. The dark Pious Monk Dunkel was also a reverent tasting with its smooth hoppy taste that had an impressively smooth finish.

But, by far, the most blessed showing of the evening was their Non Denominator doppel bock. Weighing in with a priestly alcohol content of 8.1% and 25 IBUs, this is an exceptional beer. Looking something like a stout in color, this beer poured with an impressive head and had a subtle malt taste to it that elegantly combined a warming spiciness. I also picked up hints of nuts in the taste, much like that of brown ales. The beer had an inviting finish that I could feel down to my stomach and which left me looking forward to the next sip.

There is no need to be religious to enjoy the saintly beers and hallowed ambiance of Pittsburgh’s Church Brewery; however, you may find yourself with religion once you leave and contemplate the visit’s tastings.

I have another combination of which I’m a big fan (Mom you should be proud, I almost ended that sentence in a prepositional phrase). Rogue Chocolate Stout is a wonderfully black stout with a big brown head and a phenomenal cocoa aroma. I love bittersweet chocolate and this is the closest thing I’ve found to a bite of 70% cocoa chocolate and a sip of espresso (pretty much my breakfast every morning).

The taste is a waxy chocolate, similar to the way a chocolate scratch ‘n sniff sticker smells. My neighbor Emelia nailed it. Tootsie roll, but that’s just a note of the aftertaste. This beer would be just as good room temperature, a bold statement if I do say so myself. This gloriously, “Hedonistic” Stout, as Rogue describes it, has a malty, chocolatey goodness that pleases me to no end.

The only way I could further this experience was to go searching through my humidors for a PG No. 5, a short Dominican cigar with a bouquet of rich, pleasant flavors.

Rogue, you crazy brewers, you’ve topped yourselves. Bravo. Count Chocula would be proud.

The Old Dominion is known for many things, from historical landmarks and beautiful beaches to fine wine and heritage; however, one thing Virginia should be known for is its excellent beer. If you’ve ever had the opportunity to taste the Old Dominion Brewery’s Oak Barrel Stout on tap, you’d proudly proclaim this beer as the nectar of the gods.

Simply put: this is a phenomenally good beer. Conditioned in real oak barrels, which previously were used in aging Virginia Gentleman Bourbon, this jet-black sweet stout pours with a huge tan head and gives off a wonderfully malty smell with hints of oak and vanilla. If this stout’s essence doesn’t give you goose bumps, the lightly burnt malty taste that also boasts hints of sweet vanilla and a woody oak will blow you away. You can also pick up delicate traces of bourbon and espresso as you sip upon this smoothly dry nectar.

If you are not a resident of Virginia when you have the opportunity to imbibe this worthy stout on tap, you’ll probably consider making the Old Dominion your permanent residence and the Old Dominion Brewery your permanent watering hole.

Special note: amazingly enough, the brewers at Old Dominion figured out a way to bottle the Oak Barrel Stout; therefore, if you can’t make it to the brew pub, you still have an opportunity to find this wonderful beer at your local beer super store.

Being a connoisseur of fine Irish stouts with incredibly thick creamy heads, I approached The Lancaster Brewing Company’s Milk Stout with apprehension. There is only one beer capable of utilizing the word “milk” in its outward or privately held description and it certainly doesn’t come from the Pennsylvanian hinterland.

This sweet smelling stout has a deep, dark brown to black color with a small tan head that clung to the sides of my glass. This was the first and final indication that the milk appellation was in no way attempting to usurp the nitrogen infused national beverage of “pobal na hÉireann.”

Lancaster’s taste has a smoothly sweet dryness to it, with slight hints of vanilla, followed by traces of caramel and it tingled in the back of my throat as I drank it. All in all, this is an enjoyable experience punctuated by this stout’s sweetness due to the addition of lactose (hence the milk designation). This is definitely a unique tasting stout worthy of a try.

And there is no need to fear that a beer is, in any way, attempting to seat itself next to Mother’s Milk.

There are some beers that were brewed to be sipped and Brooklyn Brewery’s Black Chocolate Stout is certainly among them. Drinking this imperial stout commands your full attention as you notice a significant chocolate taste blended with bold hints of espresso. Its light head disappears into the darkness as you pick up the distinct aroma of malty alcohol. As you sip it, you can feel its warming taste all the way down to your stomach and this beer’s superb aftertaste leaves you looking forward to another sip.

I’ve aged a case of this fine beer over the past year and have enjoyed pairing it with chocolaty desserts (especially ones that contain Oreos). Brooklyn Brewery’s winter ’04 – ’05 Black Chocolate Stout is certainly a treat.