Saugatuck "Neapolitan" Milk Stout

I don't like beers that make you guess. Fortunately, this beer doesn't make you guess. Instead, it's very clearly going to be a dessert beer. So, I can go into this knowing that it's gonna be a heavy beer that's kind of sweet and I probably don't want to drink too many of them in a row. That's just fine, as I'm not in this to get drunk; I'm just here to taste good beer.

The beer color is just like most stouts - impossible to see past the black but for the edges. The edges tell the story of a very dark auburn. There isn't much head, and it boils right down to an absolute nothing fairly quickly. The aroma is sweet with strawberry and vanilla on top of roasted grains. It smells really good, and Ima get me some.

First sip is a bit more coffee than I expected, and the vanilla is definitely there, but I don't taste the strawberries or even much of the chocolate. It's sweet enough to be a dessert, but it just doesn't seem to reflect the label. Of course, that may very well be because I'm sipping, and that's not how we do things here.

Tip-in is milky smooth with strawberries highlighting the tingle of carbonation on the tongue. The middle comes with chocolate smoothness and light grains tumbling around under it; the vanilla is like a dancing sprite around the mouth. The finish is a little bitter with a slight coffee and a bit of earth to round it out.

Bottom Line: A very nice dessert beer that can definitely work.

3.75/5