Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro

Left Hand's Milk Stout has now been available in Ireland for quite some time in it's original form, and it is a classic example of a milk stout. This however is a different animal, with Left Hand somehow managing to get nitrogen into the beer without using a widget. Nitrogen is used with some draught stouts to give a creamier mouthfeel, like draught Guinness for example. This blows Guinness out of the water however, with a creamy almost vanilla like sweetness, a full bodied mouthfeel and flavours of coffee and milk chocolate. The fun begins with the pour, with the bottle offering instructions to 'Pour Hard, Admire and Enjoy.'  The nitrogen in the bottle seemingly activated by a vigorous pour. Simply put, this is the perfect milk stout, and should appeal to both craft beer geeks and Guinness drinkers looking for more flavour.

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout 10%

Brooklyn 's Black Chocolate Stout was a definite eureka moment for me, as soon as I poured it I knew I was about to have my mind blown. While I have gone on to have bigger and better imperial stouts, there is few that can match this offering from Brooklyn, New York for value or availability. It weighs in at a hefty 10% ABV, so definitely not a session beer. It pours out inky black, with maybe a very slight hint of red towards the edge of the glass. On the nose, as expected, there's a big dark chocolate character, with warming alcohol. The taste again is all dark chocolate and bitter black coffee, which all comes from various varieties of malt, no chocolate or coffee is added to the brew. The alcohol is definitely present in the taste, but not in an obnoxious way.If you're looking to try your first imperial stout, i can't recommend this one highly enough.