To Øl: By Udder Means (Denmark: Sweet Stout: 7% ABV)
Visual: Black. Large inch of creamy chocolate ice cream head.
Nose: Rich milky chocolate. Dry roasted peanuts. Cloying cream cheese and sourdough. Lactose. Cashews. Grapes.
Body: Rough feel. Charring. Lactose. Slightly sour blueberries. Milky chocolate. Feels smoother over time. Gin and juniper. White juicy grapes.
Finish: Bitterness. Rough hop feel. Charring. Blueberry pie. Bitter chocolate. Cashew and hazelnuts. Choc orange. Gin touch. Elderberry. Touch of green leaves.
Conclusion: I may have started this one when it was just a touch over chilled methinks. Initially it felt a bit over harsh, charred and bitter edge filled. I wasn’t getting much complexity mid body and the harsh texture seemed to work against the beer’s stated intent.
Let me say up front, the beer that I finally experienced is not that beer I got at the start. No, no, when you get it just right, just slightly chilled, well then you get something a bit different.
So, where to start?
Well the main body is milky chocolate, initially a tad trough but smoothes over time to a very nice texture. The flavor has traditional stout roasted nuts and sour dough as well. Nothing too abnormal.
Then you get the good stuff. Behind a solid milk stout you get juniper, gin, and juicy grapes. It is like a (very subtle) beer cocktail in itself. Nowhere do you get a spirit feel, but there are a lot of flavours that I would associate with those delicious crafted cocktail concoctions. By which I mean the well made cocktails, not the get pissed for a fiver variety.
It really is a milk stout cocktail, lots of lactose, some coffee and all marked by berries and greenery. Thankfully it is also quite lovely, and I don’t know how they do it. A fruity full milk stout. Never thought I would see the day.
I very much approve. To the cocktail beer of joy!
Background: According to rate beer’s translation of the commercial description this beer is the result of wanting a thick textured stout with a low abv. Erm, guys, 7% is not low abv. Seriously. Anyway, this was picked up from Brewdog’s guest beer section. Again. I mainly bought it because the name made me laugh.
