Wilkes-Barre

Milk Stouts have always fascinated me. Beer and milk are two things I don't generally think of as complimentary flavors, just like coffee and beer... Stouts, being so dark and malty make it all possible. The sweet from the lactose sugar helps mellow out the bitterness from such a high concentration of dark malt. Coffee is at the other end of the spectrum, and something I really don't care for. Somewhere in between lies the Lancaster Milk Stout. I know what you're thinking, it says Milk Stout right on the bottle, so it should be sweet, smooth and dark. It's most of those things but I think it has a couple important flaws.

Southampton's Altbier has an interesting flavor profile... This beer is almost all malt, there is just a little bit of hops on the tail end of each sip. When you take a drink you'll get a mouthful of creamy malt that has a roasted flavor at first but quickly turns bitter. I love malty beers but this Altbier just didn't sit right with me. Perhaps it has more to do with the Altbier style and less to do with Southampton... Altbier, in German, literally translates as "old beer" and it shouldn't take a medieval beer expert to tell you why. These old beers aren't terribly dynamic and leave quite a bit to be desired. Southampton's Altbier is something of a one trick pony, it has a lot of roasted malt but not much else. The aroma lures you in by promising sweet sugars and sour bananas but as soon as you take a drink you realize it was all a lie and you are stuck with a thoroughly malted palate. As boring as this beer was, it wasn't bad... It is faithful to the style and has a fairly unique flavor, which is just pure malt. If you can track down a single bottle or a pint of this beer on tap you should try it out, but I wouldn't suggest committing to any more than that.