Southern Tier Brewing Company
2X Stout Double Milk Stout
Milk/Sweet Stout
New York
7.5%
12oz, 6-Pack
$9.99
Finger plus of uneven, frothy foam, lots of larger bubbles to mottle the surface but good head retention and covers the surface for some time, the lacing is thin on the whole but sticks well. Very dark brown colored liquid, not quite black, opaque nonetheless, no filminess, you don’t seem the bubbles until they break the yellow tinted surface. Forceful but not heavy nose driven by chocolate powder, mocha and just a strong general maltiness, blends in anise, vanilla and a little whiskey like booziness, vague plum fruit, the breadiness is akin to scones or raw oatmeal, not devoid of hops but no single descriptor jumps out at you about this part. Medium-bodied, neither too dry nor too sweet, just full of malty goodness, chocolate, caramel, cocoa, vanilla, licorice, brown sugar, needs to warm up to get any coffee grounds. It isn’t that milky though. The carbonation is tight so it isn’t too fluffy and it is about as crisp as you’d want without it getting too dry. Here the hops lend a mild bitter touch at the end with citrus and a hint of pine more than grassiness, maybe even peppery. The thing is, it’s subtle in all the good ways, making it an enjoyably sessionable beer rather than lunging for the “wow” factor.
5 out of 5