Friday, August 10, 2012

Food & Beer Friday :: Milky, creamy, & dreamy.

Since I'm "officially" kicking off my week(s) of birthday celebration today, I figured it was time to feature one of my favorite beers.  For as long as I can remember (since my delve into craft beers), stouts have always been my favorite.  They're a tough sell for those new to beer drinking with their dark color & rich flavors.  Left Hand Brewing nailed this one though.


Characterized as a "sweet stout," Left Hand Milk Stout is the perfect starter stout.  Milk stouts are brewed with lactose, and this one is hands down amazing (get it? Left Hand, hands down?  I'm so clever!)!  This beer is brewed with hops, malts, barley, oats, and chocolate.


It's a thick beer with a creamy caramel-colored head.  The flavor is very chocolatey and a bit nutty.  Honestly, it has a bit of a coffee flavor to it, even though I do not believe it is brewed with coffee.  Honestly, this beer is like a delicious comfort food.  While it is a thicker beer, it's so easy to drink!

When you walk into bars, you'll often find that the bar has a "nitro" tap.  It allows a legged beer to be pressurized with a partial nitrogen gas.  These taps give the beer a really creamy pour and quality (you will often find Guiness on that tap).  The Flying Saucer in Raleigh always has Milk Stout on a nitro tap, and I can never resist ordering it (not matter the time of year) when I go there.  Imagine my amazement when I learned Left Hand bottled Milk Stout Nitro. Die.  Nitro is the best way to drink this beer in my opinion. I'm salivating just thinking about it...

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In my opinion, the perfect food pairing for this milky, creamy beer is a big hamburger (black bean for me).    Think diner-style hamburger + chocolate milkshake pairing?  Yes.  Left Hand has a few different recipes of their own.  They recommend a Milk Stout barbecue sauce on short ribs.

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What I've really got my eye on are these Milk Stout cupcakes!  If I haven't convinced you with chocolate, creaminess, and cupcakes...it's a lost cause!  If you do try this beer, let me know!

CHEERS!



5 comments:

Chandra said...

Cheers to you girl! I'm still trying to acquire a taste for beer, but I must say the darker beers are the ones I can tolerate, LOL! Not a fan of the hoppy ones! Enjoy your weekend:)

Claire Kiefer said...

This sounds SO DANG GOOD and I'm going to keep an eye out for it (or something similar). Amazing. With either a black bean burger or that absurdly delish-looking cupcake. I know beer & cupcakes are not a typical "pairing" but hell if I'd turn it down . . .

Katie Price said...

Oh wow, I'm sold! I will keep my eye out for a Milk Stout :)

Sara Luna said...

Mmm I want to try now! It's not even noon and I could go for a delicious cold beer in a mug right now!

Terri said...

mmmmmmmm beer cupcakes. The LH is one of my favorite stouts. It's so creamy and fantastic

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