*Presenting: Chocolate Milk*

Chocolate Milk by Tustin Brewing Company

What’s sweeter than a box of chocolates on Valentine's Day? A Sweet Stout made with real chocolate, of course! Our local Orange County Brew-Pub, Tustin Brewing Company has made something special for us. Behold this glass of creamy, chocolaty goodness (pictured above). You can almost hear her asking, “Will you be my Valentine?”

Chocolate Milk is Milk/Sweet Stout brewed with lactose sugar, cocoa nibs and vanilla beans. Milk/Sweet Stouts differ from Dry Stouts with their addition of lactose (milk) sugar. Lactose is disaccharide (a two-sugar-molecule carbohydrate) composed of a galactose sugar and a glucose sugar. The bond holding those two sugars together cannot be broken by typical beer yeast (unless additional external enzymes are added) and therefore is not fermented. In other words, the lactose sugar ends up in the finished beer contributing texture and sweetness.

Pours black in color with a rich, thick off-white head. Aromas of milk chocolate, whipped cream, vanilla and roasted cereal grains. The chocolate flavors from the cocoa nibs playfully dances with the milk sugar. Vanilla beans add an extra layer of lavishness to an already lush character, holding hands with the light roasted coffee notes. Fluffy texture with a silky mouthfeel. The finish is long and sweet, just as a kiss from your beloved should be. 

So, will you be her Valentine?

xoxo,

-Gilbert "Charlie" Perez, Certified Cicerone®

More Cowbell Milk Stout by Tustin Brewing Company – Quick Review

Tustin Brewing Company's More Cowbell is incredible. This milk stout* is layered with sweet, malty notes and has a fluffy mouthfeel. Its pitch-black body color lies beneath a soft, creamy, tan-colored head. It’s a velvety smooth, rich textured beer that leaves chocolate and milk-coffee notes on the tongue & nose. Sound intriguing? Well, it should because Head Brewer, Jerrod Larson, struck (black) gold with this brew.

Larson mentioned he will make different variations of More Cowbell, including one with coffee and experiments on cask. At the moment it is served in both CO2 and Nitro with notable differences between the two. The main distinction between them is the mouthfeel with the Nitro version having a more of a silky texture to it. The CO2 version is carbonated which contributes to a more malty character and complexity. Your choice is left entirely to personal preference, but you can't go wrong with either one (both are quite tasty).

This beer hits the style in every vital statistic. Color, aroma, taste, ABV, body, and so on are on-key for a milk stout. But, most do not need to know about all that technical stuff to enjoy this beer. Bottom line, More Cowbell is a damn good beer. Have a pint or two.


Cheers!

-Gilbert “Charlie” Perez, Certified Cicerone®

*Brief explanation of a milk stout from a stylistic standpoint: Stouts are brewed with lots of dark, roasted malts that give a chocolate and/or coffee (but not burnt or acrid) flavor to the finished beer. A milk stout is the same except with the typical addition of lactose sugar. Brewer’s yeast will not ferment Lactose sugar, thereby imparting extra sweetness and body (similar to whole milk) in the finished product.