Mike Loves Beer

Name – Steel Toe Stout
Country – United States
Type – Milk Stout

I really like Ska’s pretty much punk rock approach to brewing.  The names, the label art and the cans just scream DIY punk.  So while out in Colorado I knew I had to bring something of theirs home with me.  I opted for an nicely named milk stout called Steel Toe.

It poured into my pint glass pretty much black but if you looked closely you saw some ruby red highlights on the edge of the glass.  I don’t recall seeing that on many milk stouts.  It had a nice sized tan head left some lacing on the glass.

I got lactose off the nose immediately.  It was followed with some hints of chocolate but it wasn’t all that dominating.

The taste mixed those previous smells into taste with the lactose and chocolate collaborating with some nice roasted dark malts.  There is a bit of alcohol present in the taste as it warms up but nothing that takes away from the creation before.  The body on it was full and creamy as you would hope from the style.

Steel Toe ended up being a very good choice.  An excellent milk stout that stands up with the style.  I would love to try it on nitro sometime if they do that.  I just feel all milk stouts should be poured from a nitrogen tap as it just adds to the true character of the beer.  Here’s to hoping I can find that next time I’m out in Colorado.

But you should definitely pick this one up if you have the chance to.  These punk rock brewers are doing some awesome stuff and like punk rock musicians they probably don’t give a crap what mainstream thinks and will keep doing what they do best.

Grade – B+

Name – Bell’s Special Double Cream Stout
Country – United States
Type – Sweet Stout

Appearance – Pours a very opaque black color with a tan head that was gone before you knew it.

Smell – Sweet milk chocolate hits the nose at first with some hints of coffee, vanilla and heavy cream.

Taste – Roasted malts up front followed by sweet chocolate with a slight milky cream flavor.

This is listed as a winter beer in Bell’s rotation but my local beer store just got some more of this in so I figured why not pick it up.  Nice all around brew with a good aroma and solid taste.  Not as good as the Kalamazoo Stout I recently had from them but still pretty good.  Bell’s is starting to be a pretty reliable brewery to me.

Overall Grade – B+

Name - Samuel Adams Cream Stout
Country - United States
Type - American Milk Stout

Appearance- Very Dark, not transparent at all. Thick light brown head. Similar to Guinness in color without having to let it settle.

Smell - Very aromatic, a slight creamy sweet smell. Maybe some sort of coffee like smell.

Taste - A slight sweet creamy taste, along with a strong roasted coffee taste. Similar to every stout I have ever sampled, this too leaves me with that ungodly thick java after taste. Overall though, not bad. This is a great beer for the time of year, when there is a slight chill in the air.

I purchased a six pack from our local favorite store, and plan to enjoy some Samuel Adams Cream Stout while relaxing in the jacuzzi.

Overall Grade – C