Human beings are the only species that drinks the milk of another animal. PETA shitheads and vegans like to point this out as some sort of evidence that drinking milk is unnatural and wrong. As a counterpoint to that, I’d like to point out that we humans are the only species on the planet that use toilet paper. Not sure what any of that means, but all I know is I’m not giving up the Cottonelle anytime soon.

Obviously I’m mentioning milk in relation to Lake Louie’s Milk Stout, the star of tonight’s review. As I’ve mentioned before, milk stouts while most likely not containing actual milk do contain lactose, a sugar that yeast can’t eat. That is why milk stouts are also called sweat stouts—that residual sweetness comes through to the finished beer.

Lake Louie’s version pours a dark amber to deep brown, light enough in color to pass as a porter. The thick, fluffy head is …taupe. Yeah, definitely taupe. The nose is chocolate out front with a hint of sour milk on the end, rounded out by some hints of roastiness. The mouthfeel is super soft, ushering in a full but not huge body. Chocolate and milk-like sweetness dominate, with some roasted malts coming out stronger as I get deeper into the beer. The beginning of the end has a tangy, almost metallic note before giving way to a medium-to-long finish.

I can’t say I’ve run into too many milkers that I’d call spectacular—this is a style that doesn’t call for a lot of theatrics. Lake Louie’s offering doesn’t break out of any molds, but is a solid and enjoyable beer nonetheless. Try it with milk chocolate or, better yet, brownies. Yum.

Reviewed by Eddie Glick on April 16, 2008.

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