The fine folks at Left Hand Brewing have been winning awards for the Milk Stout as far back as 2006. This sweet, creamy version of a stout derives its unique flavor from lactose (hence “milk” stout), which goes unfermented by beer yeast, leaving behind sugar, sweetness and body in the finished product.

Randy Mosher, in his book Tasting Beer, describes this style:

Stout derived to a rather feeble, soft, sweet, and roasty style in its birthplace. By the beginning of the twentieth century, it was positioned as a drink for invalids and was often sweetened with the addition of the unfermentable milk sugar lactose.

Left Hand’s Milk Stout, like most American adaptations of English styles, is anything but feeble. It sits at the top of the alcohol range for the style at 6% and is heavier on the roast. And while it’s quite sessionable, the new nitro version provides some extra creaminess in the head and a quickly-dissipating carbonation that slows it down nicely on the palate.

And the pour. Oh my, the pour.

Thanks to Paul from Chitownontap.com for the generous donation.