Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro - Longmont, CO

[PappyVanWise]

Okay, for anyone who has been following, this is how the Virtual Beer Tastings (VBTs) will get going. I'll post a topic starting thread, and provide a little background. Then instead of everyone trying the beer at the same time, we'll leave the thread open, and people can post their thoughts as they have them. Eventually it sounds like there will be a tasting subforum.

Left Hand Brewing Company's Milk Stout "Nitro," Longmont, Colorado

And here's a little background on the Nitro technology thanks to Boston.com's Steve Greenlee and his 99 Bottles Blog:

"When a beer -- typically a stout -- is dispensed with a lot of nitrogen, it pours creamy and contains less carbonation. Most draught beer is dispensed with either pure carbon dioxide or a blend that contains a little nitrogen. Some bars put a stout or two "on nitro," using a mix that is roughly 75 percent nitrogen. Some canned beers -- Guinness, for instance -- are packaged with nitrogen, and a ball-like widget floating in the can helps create creamy head. Left Hand's Milk Stout Nitro accomplishes the same thing in a bottle, without a widget. The brewery says the bottle is specially designed to help create a creamy head, so long as the beer is "poured hard" into a glass."

So definitely do not drink it out of the bottle, this beer is meant to be poured into a glass.

I've seen the beer in Arlington at Arrowine, Whole Foods, and Westover, so it should be easy to find.

Cheers,

Eric

[DonRocks]

I just bought this beer at McLean Total Wine for $10.99 (they also have the Lagunitas Sucks for $8.99).

It's imperative that readers realize that this is *not* the "regular" Left Hand Milk Stout which has a purple label (shown here); the Nitro is a different bottling with a black label (shown here).

"Pouring hard." - Don't be afraid to pour this hard because if you don't, you won't get the creamy head you seek (I'm having it out of a Riedel Ouverture Beer Glass which may or may not be the best choice - we can perhaps start a separate thread on the best types of beer glasses, but this is more of a wine-oriented vessel which maximizes aromatics (perhaps at the expense of lacing, I'm not sure)).

This beer is full of finesse - I wish I'd bought the regular Milk Stout to cross-taste with it, but this'll have to do.

[Nick Freshman]

I had it on tap at Evening Star last week, and I thought it was delicious. Creamy smooth with a nice toasted coffee & chocolate flavor. They have a great draft selection in the back bar--the other one I had was Ballast Point Sculpin IPA. Another good one.

[thetrain]

According to their menu online, Eat-bar has Nitro on tap too. Very familiar with the regular Milk Stout, had it as recently as last week at Mister Days of all places ($3.50 until 9pm on Wednesdays!), so I'm looking forward to tasting the differences between the two.

[cjsadler]

Left Hand doesn't distribute in DC proper, right? Or at least I've never seen any of their beers in DC stores.

[JDawgBBall9]

Left Hand doesn't distribute in DC proper, right? Or at least I've never seen any of their beers in DC stores.

I checked their site and it doesn't look like they have a distributor in Maryland and just one in Virginia. Can't tell about DC. So not sure how that'll work.

[TedE]

Left Hand doesn't distribute in DC proper, right? Or at least I've never seen any of their beers in DC stores.

They don't distribute in DC, which will limit participation for those of us who probably won't make a special trip out of the city to pick up a candidate beer

[DanielK]

Yes, no offense Eric, as we do appreciate you jumpstarting this, but Don stated that the criteria needed to be a beer that was generally available in the entire Metro area, and I'm afraid this one doesn't come close to meeting that standard.

[PappyVanWise]

Ha, that was actually my own criteria, and I seemed to have failed miserably. I'll do a little more research on distribution next time. Maryland I get, but I figured anything in NoVa would be in DC. My apologies to the gang and hopefully swing #2 will result in something for everyone.

[TedE]

Ha, that was actually my own criteria, and I seemed to have failed miserably. I'll do a little more research on distribution next time. Maryland I get, but I figured anything in NoVa would be in DC. My apologies to the gang and hopefully swing #2 will result in something for everyone.

In general I think this is true, but there are a few oddballs like Left Hand out there. We shouldn't limit this to beers that are ubiquitous (that would result in some pretty boring choices), but they should be available at most "better" beer shops in the area.

[cjsadler]

Ha, that was actually my own criteria, and I seemed to have failed miserably. I'll do a little more research on distribution next time. Maryland I get, but I figured anything in NoVa would be in DC. My apologies to the gang and hopefully swing #2 will result in something for everyone.

Go with your other choice of Lagunitas Sucks? That would be an interesting one. It's out right now in DC, MD, and VA. I think (?) it meets Ted's criteria of being available at most "better" beer shops (might wanna call first, though-- this stuff is popular).

[DonRocks]

Go with your other choice of Lagunitas Sucks? That would be an interesting one. It's out right now in DC, MD, and VA. I think (?) it meets Ted's criteria of being available at most "better" beer shops (might wanna call first, though-- this stuff is popular).

I say, go with both - both beers are fantastic, and completely opposite in style (someone start another thread for the Lagunitas (which reminds me of Johnny Unitas every time I see it)). I agree with TedE that although tri-state distribution is optimal, we shouldn't rule out something special like the Nitro - let's roll with them.

Seek-a-Brew (thanks Jason Mader).

[PappyVanWise]

Some background on Longmont, Colorado's own Left Hand Brewing (hat tip wikipedia)

Left Hand began in December 1990 with a homebrewing kit founder Dick Doore received from his brother. According to Dick, "it was all downhill from there." By 1993, Dick had teamed up with college buddy Eric Wallace and they resolved to start a brewery. In September 1993, they incorporated as Indian Peaks Brewing Company, and purchased a former meat-packing plant next to the St. Vrain River outside downtown Longmont, Colorado. A few weeks after beginning production, it was discovered that the name Indian Peaks was already in use by another Brewery, so the name was changed to Left Hand, in honor of Chief Niwot (the Arapahoe word for "left hand") whose tribe wintered in the local area.

[PappyVanWise]

This is a very good beer.

Once "poured hard" from the Nitro bottle into a pint glass, the head rises from the bottom and sits on top. I poured two bottles, and for the second I turned the bottle directly upside down over the glass and got a much better foam. At first it looked like a soda, but the bubbles dissipated into the common foamy head you'd expect. While the foam is settling, you're basically smelling a mocha latte in your glass, which for some people could be a turnoff.

Interestingly enough, the chocolate flavor is really what came forward for me on my first sip. The coffee and chocolate evened out over the course of the pint. It hit all the notes I look for in a stout. Specifically, it was creamy without being too heavy. Most stouts, I don't usually want a second glass, but that definitely wasn't the case here.

[DonRocks]

This is a very good beer.

Once "poured hard" from the Nitro bottle into a pint glass, the head rises from the bottom and sits on top. I poured two bottles, and for the second I turned the bottle directly upside down over the glass and got a much better foam. At first it looked like a soda, but the bubbles dissipated into the common foamy head you'd expect. While the foam is settling, you're basically smelling a mocha latte in your glass, which for some people could be a turnoff.

Interestingly enough, the chocolate flavor is really what came forward for me on my first sip. The coffee and chocolate evened out over the course of the pint. It hit all the notes I look for in a stout. Specifically, it was creamy without being too heavy. Most stouts, I don't usually want a second glass, but that definitely wasn't the case here.

If you swirl the glass, and watch it slowly drip down into a spider web, it's the very definition of the term "lacing."

This, and the Lagunitas Sucks, are polar opposite beers, and this might be a "polar"izing statement, but if forced to choose a favorite, I think the Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro is the superior of the two simply because you can't find a flaw in it.

[thetrain]

I had a pint of this on tap. I thought the flavor profile was very similar to the regular left handed milk stout, but the flavor was more intense. Lots of coffee notes and a nutty finish. I've always thought milk stout was a more flavorful version of Guinness, and that its also a light, less sweet stout.

[JBag57]

As luck would have it, I picked up a 6-pack from McLean Total Beverage Saturday night, and had a couple tonight. I had no idea that this VBT thing was going on, I usually just look at the restaurant threads.

I am never afraid of pouring to get a good head on the beer, but the fact that it was "nitro" caused me to pour the first too carefully, and no head was realized. (when a beer is on nitro at a bar, or, for something like Young's Double Chocolate Stout, canned with a nitro "gadget", the poured beer looks like 75-90% head, and then the nitrogen comes out of solution with the beer to form a normal head--I though I might end up with nothing but head). On beer #2, I "poured hard", which I see Don recommended above, and the result was a 1/4 inch head--still need to improve on the pour, but adequate.

I got more chocolate than coffee in the taste, but not quite as sweet as the non-nitro version. Probably not surprisingly, the nitro version had a little more body, that I can only describe as a (non-sweet) creaminess. Both have a lot going for them, and would recommend them, or other milk stouts (Duck Rabbit, for one) as a "gateway" beer to the "dark side", instead of the dry stouts like Guinness (and the much better, but less well known, domestic dry stouts). I intend to try this next to the aforementioned Young's to try to gauge how pronounced the chocolate is.

[mdt]

Tried the nitro side by side with the regular one. The nitro had much more on the nose (cocoa, coffee, & toastiness) than the regular. While the flavors are similar between the two the nitro is much smoother and creamier. The regular has that CO2 bite/fizziness that certainly let's you know it is a different beer. That said I would gladly drink either.

[DonRocks]

I am never afraid of pouring to get a good head on the beer, but the fact that it was "nitro" caused me to pour the first too carefully, and no head was realized. (when a beer is on nitro at a bar, or, for something like Young's Double Chocolate Stout, canned with a nitro "gadget", the poured beer looks like 75-90% head, and then the nitrogen comes out of solution with the beer to form a normal head--I though I might end up with nothing but head). On beer #2, I "poured hard", which I see Don recommended above, and the result was a 1/4 inch head--still need to improve on the pour, but adequate.

I'm having a Maui Brewing Company Coconut Porter, and this beer only tolerates "pouring soft," as my first "hard pour" created about 1 cm of beer and 10 cm of foam, along with half a can (yes, can) of beer left - I had to stop so it didn't overflow.

The soft pour was perfect.

[jrichstar]

Not a big fan of stouts but really thought this was excellent. Like milk stouts better in general and this one fit the bill---smooth and less of a roasty edge. The taste was an excellent balance between coffee and chocolate with the chocolate slightly dominating. Very pleasant taste that lingered long. A smooth cafe latte describes it well, with just a hint of chocolate.

[jrichstar]

I find this article exceedingly interesting regarding the nitrogen process (and the lawsuit part ain't bad either).  Two new beers coming that will also use the process.

http://blogs.westword.com/cafesociety/2013/10/left_hand_brewing_bottles_two.php

This beer is really good....cant remember if I poured it straight down, but will for sure next time.

Added plus: the beer won a Gold medal at the recent Great American Beer Fest in the Sweet Stout category.