This, I believe, is a first for BC craft beer. Notice I said 'craft'. Liquor Plus worked in collaboration with Salt Spring Island Brewing to create one unique beer. Essentially Salt Spring Island brewed a one-off batch of beer and Liquor Plus bought it all. I can think of a few people who would shudder at this idea. But bravo to Rod Phillips of Liquor Plus, for taking a risk to further craft beer in BC. Collaborations like this are not new in Canada. The EPIC Sherbrooke Liquor store in Alberta has worked with a few breweries to create their own beers, the most noteworthy is Paddock Wood.

Creme Brulee Vanilla Stout = 8/10

An inky black pour with a tan head is a sign of a stout that means business. The first point of order is the real caramelized vanilla aroma. It reminds me of Madagascar vanilla in full fat ice cream. A lighter than expected body, for an 8%ABV brew, touches almost every stout flavour. There are berries, milk (lactose), caramel, faint coffee, vanilla creamsicles and cola. The slight tongue slickness is easily overlooked because the long finish is all sweet, milk chocolate and vanilla. It is a sweeter stout, but not excessively so. People will like this beer, especially fans of the Lighthouse and Phillips chocolate porters. The Creme Brulee flavours are not robust enough to warrant cellaring. This beer is only available at Liquor Plus starting this upcoming Monday, March 25th. How did I get my hands on a few bottles? I would like to think my l33t blogging status places me into the in crowd. Most likely, Rod let me buy a bottle early so I would not harass him all weekend.


Taste +3 (Bonus points for organic malts)
Aftertaste +2
Alcohol Content +1 8%ABV
Value +1
Appearance +1 (Good description of flavour and elegant label)

I like a good milk stout. They were brewed to be healthy for you. This was back in the day when English brewers were doing their darnedest to give beer the appearance of a healthy beverage. Milk was good for you, so but milk in beer and it would also be good for you. Sounds right to me. The modern day milk/sweet stout doesn't contain milk. However, it does contain lactose. This lactose is undigestable by beer yeast and remains to provide a thick and sweet flavour. The classic example is Mackeson Stout which clocks in at a whopping 3.0% ABV. Left Hand Brewing makes a great milk stout. So how does the Leviathan Milk Stout by Phillips stack up?


Leviathan Milk Stout = 6/10

There were lots of roasted grains on the nose with only the slightest of milk chocolate. A light to medium mouthfeel is unaffected by low carbonation and only a slight creaminess coated the tongue. Sadly lactose sweetness is present but rather lacking. What you do taste is cola, nutty pecans, mild caramel and roasted nuts. The aftertaste is pleasant with dry cocoa and milk chocolate. I think it is a tad high in the ABV and roasted tastes but low in the lactose flavours to be called a milk stout. It's a darn tasty beverage none the less. And hey, some money is going to save the whales.

Taste +3
Aftertaste +1
Alcohol Content 0 5.5% (a tad high)
Value +1 almost a zero
Appearance +1 it's for charity and nice label art

A milk stout tastes just like it sounds. It has an added sweetness due to the addition of lactose sugars. They are usually low in alcohol and the sweetness tempers the roasted flavours.

Farsons Lacto = 3/10
Ratebeer 2.83 35th percentile
Beer Advocate C

This is not a brew for the average beer drinker; it is quite sweet. The faint nose of roasted chocolate and condensed milk does not give away the first sip. It is velvety and creamy on the tongue yet lacks a roasty and hop presence. Milk chocolate dominates the taste and lacks the bitterness associated with stouts. The wet and creamy chocolate at the back of the throat fades of quickly and clean. It was OK, but I have had better milk/sweet stouts.

Taste +3
Aftertaste 0
Alcohol Content -1 3.4%
Value +1
Appearance 0

Hitachino Nest Lacto Sweet Stout
Stockyard Oatmeal Stout

Hitachino Nest Lacto Sweet Stout

Ratebeer 2.81 28th percentile
Beer Advocate C+

This style is unique from other stouts by the low hops and addition of lactose sugar into the mix. In the case of Hitachino, it is 10% of the grain bill. This imparts a creamy, milky sweetness with a bit of acidity. I also have the classic example of this style in my cellar, Farsons Lacto. Still looking for anyone to share a good beer with... I picked this beer up at West Vancouver Liquor Store. They have quite the selection of beers.

Taste +4

I liked this beer; it is in stark contrast to the rest of the beer rating world. The nose carried a faint roast and milk chocolate. The taste was silky smooth with sweet milk chocolate and roasted malts. It was a very thin beer and slightly bready. It lacked any noticeable hop bitterness; most likely masked by the lactose acidity and astringency.

Aftertaste +1

A long lasting sweet coating on the tongue was similar to a Malteser.

Alcohol Content -1 4%

This was far from a session beer; too sweet.

Value +1

I liked it and would recommend it to anyone who likes the sweet stouts.

Ingame Enhancement +1

I bought this brew on a panic beer run before the 2010 men's gold medal olympic hockey game. There was a lot of ingame enhancement here; I think I wet my pants during the overtime.

Overall 6/10

A good sweet stout. It was a little thin, but had enough roasted malts, sweet chocolate and lactose astringency to make it interesting.

Dorothy Goodbody Wholesome Stout
Old #38 Stout
Youngs Double Chocolate Stout