Left Hand Milk Stout - Left Hand Brewing Company

doughanson78

Washington

3.68/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a growler into a snifter.

A: Very black pour. A hint of light coming through giving some deep red highlights. One finger mocha colored head with great retention and awesome lacing.

S: Roasted and smoked malts. Chocolate. Cream, like coffee creamer. Not a huge aroma but not to light either.

T: Taste is a tad light. Sweet chocolate and cream upfront. A light roasty bitterness in the middle, with a light smokiness also. A coffee creamer flavor in the finish.

M: Full to medium bodied. Very creamy and smooth. Great mouth coating. A tad high on the carbonation.

O: This is a good beer. A bit subdued on aroma and flavor, but definitely easy drinking. Worth a shot.

Serving type: growler

09-10-2011 08:06:13 | More by doughanson78

argock

Virginia

3.98/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a topped off growler into a clear nonic pint. Purchased at Beer Run (Charlottesville, VA).

A: Stark black with 1-2 finger staunch medium-beige head with spotty lacing

S: Pretty tame in the aroma with some mild chocolate aromas and sweet dark maltiness without much else

T: Sweet and an above-average version of the style with rounded dark roasted maltiness and a whisp of herbal hops.

M: Caressing and coating with a nice medium body and low carbonation.

D: A fine brew from Left Hand -- maybe their best everyday type of brew -- smooth and consistent and a fine session brew no doubt.

Serving type: growler

03-13-2011 04:35:48 | More by argock

gwong

New York

3.98/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Pours jet black with a thin tan head that doesn't stay for very long. Very faint lacing on the glass.

S: Strong scent of roasted chocolate with roasted coffee right behind it.

T: The roasted coffee is more prevalent in the taste - it's like a sweetened espresso drink with a hint of chocolate flavor.

M: Creamy and smooth on the tongue with little carbonation.

D: Moderate ABV and good mouthfeel makes for a very drinkable beer.

Serving type: growler

03-22-2008 22:35:47 | More by gwong

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

4.1/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a clear very dark brown with a slim tan head. Nose is a nice cocoa powder. Flavor is nice and smooth. Good sweet tone. Nice milky edge. Mild cocoa properties. Noticeable roasted edge. Good, smooth feel. This is a very easy drinking stout. I might venture to say that it could be one to sway non-beer drinkers right on over to our side.

Serving type: growler

03-18-2008 19:28:47 | More by RblWthACoz

rowew

Colorado

4.47/5  rDev +12.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Presentation: Poured from a growler filled at the brewery. I've had this on tap and from the bottle many times as well though - and enjoyed it in all forms.

Appearance: Pours a dark brown/black color with just a hint of ruby around the edges. Thin head and just a bit of lacing.

Smell: Coffee and a bit of sweetness, some cocoa.

Taste: Medium body, smooth mouthfeel. Lots of cocoa flavors here as well, just a bit of roasted, and the right amount of sweetness.

Overall impression: This is definitely what a milk stout should be. One of my favorite offerings from left hand, and one of the best examples of the style.

Serving type: growler

11-28-2007 00:45:13 | More by rowew

HistoricalMan

Wisconsin

4.26/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Poured violently from a 12oz nitro bottle in to a nonic pint glass.

Appearance: A jet black body quickly erupts into a thick off-white creamy head. Plenty of lacing.

Smell: Coffee, dark cocoa, sugary lactose, plenty of roasted malts. Inviting and exciting.

Taste: Roasted malts, coffee, chocolate, lactose, with a hint of bitterness towards the finish. Not as impressive as the smell, but still delicious.

Mouth: Nitrogen lends a wonderful creamy mouthfeel that leaves a syrupy film after swallowing.

A perennial favorite with a wonderful chocolate, coffee, and lactose smell, a malty taste, and a creamy, if not slightly syrupy mouthfeel.

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2013 08:03:45 | More by HistoricalMan

BurgeoningBrewhead

Pennsylvania

3.99/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Like others, reviewing the nitro although it says it's an alias. Ironically I also have the regular version, so I'll edit this review with my review of that I guess.

Poured into pokal; jet black with almost no head, tiny bubbles form all over the glass. Smells like a stout: coffee and chocolate, a bit of sweetness behind it. Taste is incredibly smooth; it almost seems like it's not effervescent at all. Follows nose, coffee and chocolate, with a thick sweet character from the milk sugars. All in all it's definitely as thick as I'd want a milk stout to be, but I'd like it to be more creamy instead of syrupy. It claims to be "America's Stout..." I guess I'd prefer that over Guinness. Pick your battles, and all that.

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2013 04:11:58 | More by BurgeoningBrewhead

DMarlinJ

Michigan

3.19/5  rDev -19.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3.25

This was the nitro but they say it's an alias. I poured into a standard pint glass and it looked pretty good. Nice head that settled to a thin layer that lasted throughout. Not much smell to speak of, slight caramel. Taste is weak and watery, not much there. Very disappointing, maybe this is a dead bottle? It doesn't taste bad just not much going on. The mouth feel is thin and watery and not much carbonation, that is what make me think it is not fresh.

I won't try this one again unless someone gives me one and says I should give it a second chance. Still it was better then a can of Labatts or Bud.

It certainly doesn't line up with what others are saying in there reviews. I can't see how so many are rating it above a 3.5

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2013 00:53:58 | More by DMarlinJ

MattyG85

Minnesota

4.19/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12 oz. nitro bottle into a stout pub glass.

Appearance: Pours a very dark brownish black with a lot of carbonation. About two fingers of beige head that settle into a thinner creamy layer. Leaves a good amount of lacing.

Smell: A very creamy, roasty, and toasty aroma with good hints of sweet milk chocolate and coffee roast. Sweet dark roasted malts with hints of cocoa, milk chocolate, coffee, cream, lactose, cookie dough, toast, caramel, toffee, grain, oats, and yeast. Sweet hints of brown sugar and a slight hint of syrup. Some earthy hop hints in the background. A pretty rich and solid milk stout aroma.

Taste: Like the smell hints at, a rich and creamy milky taste with lots of roasty chocolate and coffee notes. Roasted malts with good notes of milk chocolate, cocoa, cream, coffee bean, lactose, vanilla, dough, toasted bread, oatmeal, grains, caramel, toffee, and yeast. Sweet notes of brown sugar and a little syrupy taste. Earthy hops come in towards the finish adding a little balancing bitterness. A very good roasty taste.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a carbonation on the higher end. Very creamy, velvety, and smooth. Somewhat syrupy. Finishes somewhat dry.

Overall: A very solid milk/sweet stout and probably the best use of nitro I've had so far. The nitro adds creamyness without taking away from the other flavors.

Serving type: nitro-bottle

05-16-2013 06:20:18 | More by MattyG85

blackie

Virginia

4.25/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

single from Wilbur's, Fort Collins

a: poured roughly into a short chalice, the agitation produces a dense looking toasted sugar colored head, about a finger’s width, over a black colored stout, the head falling back and retaining well

s: roasted malts bring notes of coffee bean and dark cocoa, toasted nuts, chocolate caramels, oats, earthy char, woody pine hop aromas, very aromatic for a nitro stout

m: carbonation expectedly low, full bodied, smooth and creamy thanks in part to the oat bill

t: smooth roasted barley carries flavors of dark coffee with wood char and cocoa pulling in midway to linger long, perfect level of sweetness upfront with a nice transition to the drier side, hop flavors mild with a somewhat bitter finish combining roast astringency and hop acid, some sugars remain after each sip

o: it’s not quite the super-creamy nitro that you’d have on a draft system, and there’s no widget, but it works really well, lots of delicious roast character with a great sugar balance and silky mouthfeel, rich for a stout of this abv

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2013 03:09:57 | More by blackie

CloudStrife

New York

4.1/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

12oz bottle of nitro and regular poured into a snifter. Best by 10/09/13.

A: Pour a similar dark blackish brown with a tad more head on the regular version. Too dark to see any carbonation. Good head retention and lacing. Head ont he nitro is a lot softer and more like a guiness.

S: More aroma comes from the nitro bottle. Roasted malt, chocolate and coffee dominate. Hints of lactose sweetness.

T: Since the ntiro has a colder serve by starting with that. Roasted malt, coffee, chocolate and milk stout sweetness. The coffee and chocolate are not as pronounced in the regular version. More of a dark fruit taste.

M: Smooth and creamy mouthfeel on the nitro, very easy drinking. Both are very drinkable but the nitro just edges out the regular on creaminess.

Overall certainly a tasty milk stout. Interesting to do the comparison between the two, would say nitro wins out.

Serving type: nitro-bottle

05-12-2013 22:28:16 | More by CloudStrife

Alextricity

Michigan

4.11/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Drink by August 2013 -- single nitro-bottle (all black with white text) bought for $2.19 (same price as non-nitro) and poured aggressively into a Sam Adams perfect pint.

Appearance: I poured it pretty much as aggressively as I could, and a slow head formed at about the size of about a finger. Not very big, but I love the nitro bubble look. The head is a tan color, and the lacing isn't too bad either. It's also a pretty dark black color, but it can be seen through, with traces of ruby red.

Smell: Wow. To me, it smells like a caramel and chocolate ice cream, which I wasn't expecting. Smells very sweet, and would make a damn good candle.

Taste/feel: To my surprise, the taste is pretty muted, to be honest. There's definitely a quality chocolate stout flavor to it, but it's not as robust as I thought it might be. The feel, unsurprisingly, is very nice. Absolutely silky smooth, and drinks like a craft Guinness.

In terms of flavor, this is a MILD let down. As for appearance, smell, and feel, it met or exceeded my expectations (especially the aroma). This is an extremely smooth, easy drinking stout that anybody should try out if they haven't already.

If somebody you know is a Guinness drinker, invite them to try this -- it's everything that Guinness is ... but quite a lot better.

Serving type: nitro-bottle

05-11-2013 20:07:25 | More by Alextricity

gcamparone

Rhode Island

4.25/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a snifter. Purchased at gasbarros in attleboro.

A- After an aggressive pour, pours a dark brown body with a slowly rising 1" off-white head that reduces slowly and leaves thick frothy lacing.

S- Fresh coffee beans, milk chocolate, toffee, cocoa powder.

T- Fresh coffee milk with chocolate and toffee. Like a chocolate mocha beer milkshake.

M- Creamy, smooth, easy drinking. Very nice drinkibility and velvet body.

This is an excellent interpretation of a stout and one of the best, if not the best milk stout I've ever tasted. Not overly rich for a stout but very nice in flavor and body.

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2013 02:26:07 | More by gcamparone

Beerlover

Minnesota

4.25/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

This is one of the more glorious looking stouts from a bottle i've ever seen! for the record the review i'm writing is for the "nitro" version of this beer, so i poured as hard as i could dumping all of the contents as fast as i could into my "fizzy yellow beer is for wussies" stone pint glass. the head on this beat is beautiful! this khaki creamy heard, i could eat this head with a spoon all day!
the smell is like a good stout slightly sweet, roasted malts, a little bit of bittersweet chocolate, and ever so slight smokey.
the mouthfeel on this is also excellantly silky smooth and next to no carbonation, the way a milk stout should feel on the palate...." sheeets of egyptian cotton!"
this is an extreamly sessionable easy to drink stout, love it, would strongly recommend to any dark beer/stout lover.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2013 03:58:55 | More by Beerlover

PaleZombie

Arizona

3.99/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12 oz nitro bottle into a pint glass.

A - Deep ruby color with about 2 fingers of tan head.

S - Deep roasted malts, coffee, milky.

T - Pretty pleasant malt flavor with some coffee and a sweet lactose note.

M - Very smooth and creamy, extremely drinkable. Good carbonation.

O - Nice version of a milk stout. Extremely drinkable and great stout characteristics. Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

05-03-2013 02:02:29 | More by PaleZombie

Roman5150

Michigan

4.25/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

bottle into tulip glass

appearance: black with very small one finger tan head

smell: milk, cream, marshmellow, roasted malt, coffee, chocolate

taste: very upfront milk taste, licorice, dark chocolate, prominent roasted malt backbone

mouthfeel: has the mouthfeel more so of milk than beer, kind of weird but refreshing and unique

overall: very smooth and rich in flavor: will buy again. I had the NItro version..

Serving type: bottle

05-03-2013 00:26:38 | More by Roman5150

CMoPink

Michigan

4.51/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Very delicious. Even better on nitro than the regular Left Hand Milk Stout. One of my favorite beers of all time, never have a problem tipping a few of these back. Also had the nitro in the bottle, not as good as on tap, but still has an amazing smooth and deep flavor to it.

Serving type: on-tap

04-30-2013 15:53:41 | More by CMoPink

LXIXME

New Mexico

4.2/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Medium to slightly larger sized light brown head settles into a pretty healthy lacing above this clear dark brown to almost black colored stout.

Black licorice, rich roasted grain malts, and light sweet chocolate hints in the aroma of this beer.

Rich creamy milk chocolate, dark heavily roasted malts, with just a touch of sweetness in the taste.

Dryish creamy aftertaste with a lot of the dark milk chocolate and heavy malts lingering on with this full bodied Left hand offering.

Pretty tasty and I forgot to buy ice cream, I this would taste pretty good with a half scoop of French Vanilla floating in it.

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2013 22:15:57 | More by LXIXME

tone77

Pennsylvania

3.74/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Poured from a brown 12 oz. bottle. Has a black color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of roasted malts, some coffee. Taste is big on roasted malts, coffee and chocolate are present, pretty good. Feels creamy in the mouth and overall this is a solid beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-27-2013 12:21:10 | More by tone77

brock146

Minnesota

4.19/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: Dark dark brown/black. Nitrogen creates the perfect looking stout with a white foamy head.

Aroma: Mocha aroma with extra sweetness

Taste: Roasted malts and sweet residual flavor. Coffee notes.

Mouthfeel: Silky smooth. Creamy and medium bodied.

Overall: This is an excellent beer. I've had the regular the non-nitro version several times but that one takes the cake in my opinion. Very fun to look at and drink!

Serving type: nitro-bottle

04-26-2013 20:00:43 | More by brock146

DavidS88

Massachusetts

3.91/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Had a bottle of this fantastic brew at Mad Café in Madrid, an American themed restaurant that actually carried several different types of craft beers (Samuel Adams, Anchor, Flying Dog, and Brooklyn in case anyone else is abroad and really misses good beer.) Anyway to the beer itself:

Left Hand Milk Stout pours a beautiful opaque black. There was about half a finger of a foamy tan-off white head that dissipated rather quickly but left a thin ring of lacing around the glass. Overall it wasn't all that carbonated and had a wonderful feel, nice and smooth and creamy. The only relatively bad thing for me about this beer was the aroma. It didn't really smell like anything other than sugar. Granted this is the first milk/sweet stout I've ever tried so maybe that is common in that type of stout. Having tried a few different types of American and Irish stouts, I was expecting more chocolate or coffee on the nose but couldn't smell anything other than generic sweet smells. The taste more than made up for the lack of a strong scent however with a nice creamy coffee taste and slight bitterness from the dark roasted coffee. Even my non craft drinking friends at dinner found this stout to be really tasty and creamy. I'm definitely keeping my eyes open for Left Hand's Milk Stout in the future. Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

04-26-2013 00:07:12 | More by DavidS88

wattoclone

Pennsylvania

4.9/5  rDev +23.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Thanks to the favorable reviews at BA, I was compelled to pick up a case of this sweet stout from my local distributor. To say that I was not disappointed is an understatement. It poured near black with a brown head that lasted for most of the session. Not easy to find, this is only my fourth version of this style with the most readily available being Young's Double Chocolate. So far I have been pleased to find that both of the U.S. craft versions I've tried, Widmer and Left Hand are superior in quality and drinkability. Extremely well balanced, this brew had a pleasant aroma of chocolate milk and roasted malt and a taste that can only be described as perfection. Sweet chocolate and malt predominate with a lingering cocoa aftertaste. The hops are hidden in the background which is what I look for in any stout since balance is the sign of expert brewing. A good stout should not insult with bitterness, but deliver an smooth intense flavorful experience.

Give me dark or give me death.

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2013 15:30:16 | More by wattoclone

nimrod979

Maryland

3.63/5  rDev -8.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

12 oz bottle into a GI pint glass.

Appearance: Not entirely black. Cola colored highlights can be seen in the light. Thin head light tan in color but makes up for it with undying retention and moderate lacing.

Aroma: Sweet milk chocholate. mlated barley, flaked oats.

Taste: Milk chocolatey sweetness. roasted malts, A little bit of astringent bitterness, perhaps from the hops..

Mouthfeel: Medium-full body. Smooth and creamy but the carbonation is almost dead at this point. I'd like a decent soft mouthfeel but it seems a bit flat.

Thanks to my brother for brigning this. Keep reading it's much better on draft.

Serving type: bottle

04-20-2013 17:42:48 | More by nimrod979

KYGunner

Kentucky

3.95/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Deeply black and opaque the head was thin and fleeting.

The scent is creamy milky and slightly chocolatey. There's a bit of dry coffee in the background but the overall scent is not pronounced enough.

The taste and feel meld nicely together as there is a smooth, creamy sweetness. Touches of burnt malts, coffee and milk chocolate can all be found in a dry overall atmosphere.

Serving type: bottle

04-18-2013 22:15:41 | More by KYGunner

JamesMN

Minnesota

3.45/5  rDev -13.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Bottled on 9/20/2012.

Appearance: Pours a thin black color that is honey brown when held up to the light. Fluffy one finger tan head that dissipates into a thin cap.

Aroma: Nice lightly roasted malt surrounded by sweet cream.

Taste: Starts with a nice balance between bitter and sweet, perhaps a touch of grassy hops in there but hard to notice. Hits a sweet note near the finish with a nice cream flavor. Finish transitions into moderately bitter charred dark malt and an interesting burnt matchstick flavor that is actually pleasing. Tastes lighter than 6% ABV. No off-flavors and a very clean palate overall.

Mouthfeel: Medium in body with lots of carbonation. This is the one area where the beer falls short. Having tried Left Hand Milk Stout on nitro-tap before it is hard to enjoy this version as much. Decent drinkability.

Final Thoughts: The stout style is a classic and the modern milk stout is a sweet twist on that style. While the nitro version is quite good, the carbonated Milk Stout is just average. Still I like seeing breweries making this style of beer. I was starting to think brewers forgot how to make a stout without the word 'Imperial' in the name. Would I drink it again? Yes, but only on nitro.

Serving type: bottle

04-18-2013 22:04:23 | More by JamesMN