Day 6 of the 2nd Annual Advent-ure Calendar
Day 6: Flying Dog Brewery Nice Holiday Milk Stout
We always enjoy trying a new Flying Dog beer. Their beers are usually delicious, unique and the labels are always fun. It looks like they have three winter/holiday beers out. When we were shopping for the beers for this, we saw their Egg Nog Ale which honestly sounded a bit scary but we were still a bit curious about it. Flying Dog’s website doesn’t really have a lengthy description but the bottle states this hilarious little quip from one of our Christmas movie staples: “And when Santa squeezes his fat white ass down that chimney tonight, he’s gonna find the jolliest bunch of assholes this side of the nuthouse.”
REFLECTIONS
Beard & Broad
Beard: I love milk stouts. The slightly sweet, chocolatey, milky awesomeness is perfect for cold weather. For those that aren’t familiar, milk stouts are named as such because they contain lactose, the sugar found in milk. Lactose isn’t fermentable by most beer yeasts, so when used it adds a slightly sweet and creamy mouthfeel to the beer. This is a great example of this style and I plan on drinking it much more this holiday season.
Broad: I was excited to try this, I’m a big fan of Flying Dog. But I usually like their lighter, fruitier beers. However, I am also a fan of Milk Stouts. This beer is delicious, light and malty. I get hits of chocolate, caramel, and roastiness. I don’t know if I would qualify this as a holiday beer, because I don’t get a lot of spices from this. I could drink this anytime I wanted a milk stout or something more malty.
Adam & Alex
Adam: Man I love this beer. It’s exploding with vanilla, Carmel and a little chocolate malty joyful . It’s like a left hand milk stout for the holidays. I could easily drink this all night long.
Alex: I am not always a fan of stouts and I actually really like this one. It’s not overly sweet, and I can taste the chocolate malty goodness. Also, as you can see from the photo above, it is also beer pup expert approved.
Scott & CT
Scott: The Flying Dog Nice Milk Stout is definitely up my alley. Has a smoky taste, hints of caramel and easy to drink. It makes for a good winter beer, but I don’t get much in terms of Christmas or holidays from this one…but who cares!? It’s beer, it’s good, drink it.
CT: I was a little hesitant with this one. I would never reach for a milk stout personally. I’m glad this exercise has forced me to try new brews. This one was very much like the name…nice. I enjoyed the hints of vanilla, caramel and brown sugar. Not an overly sweet roast with a nutty finish. I don’t quite get the holiday classification but all in all, a nice experience. To revisit the blind date metaphor, we would probably date a few months and then break up amicably. I would of course tell my friends it was him, not me.
Lou & Jen
Lou: The description on the bottle and goth art labeling sets the tone for this quirky stout. It smelled of coffee with a twinge of vanilla. I love the deep brown almost black color. As expected it had deep coffee flavors with a little sweetness. It was more carbonated than I like, I was anticipating a more smooth finish. The aftertaste lingered a bit too. I would consider it a middle of the road Stout for my amateur beer palate.
Jen: The Holiday Milk Stout looks and smells like a bold cup of black coffee, mixed with cinnamon, honey and a rich malt flavor. I’m not sure why it’s called a Milk Stout, except that the texture lands thick and frothy on the pallet. I’m always happy to read an ALC/VOL of 7% or higher, and this 7.2% brute finishes dark and smooth just the way I like Santa’s Ass cruising down my chimney on Christmas Eve (please see the label of this beer to appreciate my sentiments). This is a heavier beer, so I might limit it to two per occasion, but it will definitely warm your chestnuts.
