[A Beer a Day] Milk Stout Nitro | Left Hand Brewing | Longmont, CO

Already my favorite beer of 2012

There is a special place in the hearts of La Familia Puga for Left Hand's Milk Stout.  After all, it was the first communal beer between Melissa and I after 9 (actually, it was 10) loooong months carrying (actually, it was just Mel) our diminutive (actually, he was huge) offspring.  Adjuncts aside, Milk Stout Nitro is a definitively first-rate beer.

Nitro will be a limited release of Left Hand's perennial Milk Stout (sans nitrogen), which is a spectacularly packaged beer on its own; however, the technology that the brewery perfected was to be able to drink a bottled beer that feels like it came from the tap.

I often talk about the flavor profiles of the brews on here, but the star of this particular incarnation of this beer is its mouthfeel.  In other words, Nitro tastes better because it feels better.

When pubs pull a stout on draught, it is delivered from the keg to the glass with the ample use of nitrogen rather than the copious use of carbon dioxide.  Therefore, stouts feel and taste creamier in a pub because they contain less carbonation and are allowed to "cook", as stout heads form from the bottom up and take a minute to settle into a perfect foam hat.

Whereas Guiness invented the portable nitro stout with the use of their in-vessel nitrogen-releasing widget, Left Hand has perfected the idea by improving the properties of the glass itself, sans widget.  The result: a perfect draught pint, in the room of your choice.

Another awesome  feature of this beer is the suggestion from the brewers on how to pour it.  No longer should one doubt the prospect of pouring the perfect pint: 1) Keep the glass upright, pour hard, and 2) Admire.

I've followed their directions at least a dozen and a half times thus far.

In an earlier entry, I discussed the characteristics of milk sugar that make up the lactose in a Milk Stout.  Because of this ingredient, and the distinctive maltiness of a stout, Left Hand Milk Stout tastes a lot like a root beer float or maybe even moreso, an iced cappuccino -- milky, coffee-flavored, infused with chocolate and roasted nuts.  Think about the times you would enjoy such a thing.  Not necessarily a winter beer, right?  Though it pairs perfectly with an Autumn baby, this beer can also be enjoyed in the morning. 

ABV: 6.0%
Acquired: Spec's
★★★★★★★★★★