The first milk stout ever had was a left-hand brewing milk stout, and I really didn't know what to make of it. I knew I really really liked it, but I was more familiar with Irish stouts and the occasional imperial stout at that point. The depiction on this can of peanut butter cups would lead me to believe that I'm going to be getting a chocolate malt with the smoothness and creaminess of the milk stout and a little bit of added peanuts, and that sounds like a very good dessert beer.
The exceedingly dark brown beer generates more head than I would expect from your average milk stout, but the off-white head settles to a shallow dusting of tiny bubbles across the top of the beer. There's no lacing left behind as it retreats, but the sweet malt and rich peanut butter are detectable from a relatively significant distance away. The presentation is very inviting.First sip is thick and rich with the predictable milk stout sweetness adding to the creamy peanut butter, but there is a curious dryness toward the end that turns the peanut butter into dry, unsalted peanuts. It's not bad, but it's not what I expect from a dessert beer. I expected dessert beer to be sweet and flavorful rather than dry. It's possible this is all just coming from the sip not being the proper presentation for a full-throated beer.
Tip-in is rich and thick with chocolate malt and a dusting of peanut shells. The middle spreads carbonation across the top of the mouth while the creamy peanut butter and milk chocolate smoothly dance across a sweetness that layers the mouth. The finish is dry, but it isn't the jarring dryness that I observed in the sip. Instead, it's a maturing of the peanut butter and chocolate with a heightened grain before leaving peanuts for the trail off.
Bottom Line: The right hand at the right time.
4.25/5