The Bruery 8 Maids-A-Milking
Belgian Style Imperial Milk Stout
8 Maids-a-Milking is the 8th beer in our “12 Days of Christmas” series, and we’d be udderly crazy to release anything but a milk stout. So we made an imperial milk stout to stand up to whatever Old Man Winter throws our way from now through 2019 with the final release of our series. 8 Maids-a-Milking is brewed with lactose, which is commonly referred to as milk sugar. It’s the only type of sugar that is unfermentable by yeast, which adds more perceptible creaminess and sweetness to the finished beer. This mouthfeel and sweetness is complemented by robust layers of milk chocolate, subtle spice accents from our house Belgian yeast and roasty, cafe elements indicative of our take on the style. Celebrate the seasons with the best of both worlds: enjoy some now, and lay a few down for up to 4 years to be enjoyed upon the release of 12 Drummers Drumming.
8 Maids-a-Milking is the 8th beer in our “12 Days of Christmas” series, and we’d be udderly crazy to release anything but a milk stout. So we made an imperial milk stout to stand up to whatever Old Man Winter throws our way from now through 2019 with the final release of our series. 8 Maids-a-Milking is brewed with lactose, which is commonly referred to as milk sugar. It’s the only type of sugar that is unfermentable by yeast, which adds more perceptible creaminess and sweetness to the finished beer. This mouthfeel and sweetness is complemented by robust layers of milk chocolate, subtle spice accents from our house Belgian yeast and roasty, cafe elements indicative of our take on the style. Celebrate the seasons with the best of both worlds: enjoy some now, and lay a few down for up to 4 years to be enjoyed upon the release of 12 Drummers Drumming.
3.7
160 reviews
Placentia, United States
Community reviews
Pours black with a very lowtan head. Aromas of chocolate, caramel, cherries, vanilla, oak. Taste is roasted and fruity with strong chocolate and nutty notes as well as light sour tones. Mouthfeel is medium bodied and smooth yet dry at the same time with low carbonation.
Pours dark with low tanned head
Aromas of roasted malts, rye bread, hints of cherries, raspberries
Taste has notes of caramel, chocolate, hints of coffee, dark fruits, hints of sweet cherries
Poured from a 750 ml bottle.
Aroma is full of milk chocolate with lighter dark chocolate and roast notes. Some spicy Belgian phenolics with clove and anise. Some light dark fruit and raisin notes.
Press black with a medium sized, thick and creamy, light mocha head that recedes fairly quickly to the edges where it lingers.
Flavor is fairly sweet with lots of milk chocolate as well as lighter lactose and dark chocolate. Light roast notes. Medium light raisin, prune and plum. Quite a bit of Belgian phenolics with anise, clove and allspice. Some light alcohol spice.
Mouthfeel is medium full bodied and somewhat creamy with medium carbonation. Low astringency and medium low alcohol warmth.
Overall, an alright beer but I’m not a huge fan of the Belgian yeast. I’m glad the lactose isn’t super strong though as some milk stouts go over the top with the lactose.
24th November 2016
Grand tasting at Craft Islington with Hackobock. Thanks to Wingman for the Keg share. Bruery on tap? Whatever next?! Clear amber beer, tidy pale tan head. Smooth palate, softish and viscous, decent fine carbonation. Malt cream and mild chocolate. Tangy dark fruits. Smooth finish leaves a warming afterglow. Smooth and drinkable if relatively simple.
750 ml bottle from Root Cellar, purchased last December. Pours a deep brown with amber edges and a small tan head that settles into a ring and some film. Notes of cocoa, cream, cola, caramel, mild roasted malts, a hint of soy, and a bit of earth and muddled dark fruits, maybe with a dash of hard-to-discern spice. Medium-full bodied, with moderate carbonation and a sweet, smooth mouthfeel that’s already showing a hint of oxidation. They say this can age for four years, but I don’t recommend it. It already appears to be creeping over the hill.
Thick black pour with creamy tan head. Aroma of lactose, roasted malt, coffee, and chocolate. Sweet lactose and chocolate flavor with some roasted malt and coffee. Great lacing. Very nice.
November 2016 - Keg at CBC Islington. As ’The Bruery 8 Maids-A-Milking’. Who’d have thought this rarity would have shown up on keg here? Very dark oily black, slightest red hue, foamy brown head. Aroma is cola, molasses, old-school oily British sugar-bomb imperial stout, some Twiglets. Body is smooth with tingly carbonation. Taste is sweet, flat cola and molasses, dates. It’s OK – pretty sweet. (3.4)
Cafe Sara 261116.Black color with a tan head. Aroma is sourness, roasted malt, coffee, chocolate. lactose. Flavor is sourness, roasted malt, alcohol, lactose, raspberries, chocolate, coffee. Full body. Very nice beer.
Cask at CBC Islington. it pours a dark brown color with a small white head. Aroma is super sweet and chocolatey with notes of coconut and milk. Taste holds milk chocolate, lactose, vanilla. Medium bodied with good carbonation. Overall, sweet
On tap at Lunar Brewing Co., and snifter served showing a ruby highlighted, black/brown hue, with a finger’s width of brownish tan foam that reduced to a persistent ring, and dots & dashes of lacing. The nose was moderately roasted & toasted, with dark fruit esters as prune & dark cherry, light spice, and some vinous character. Medium+ bodied, with low carbonation, and some silkiness to the mouthfeel, the taste revealed caramel & toffee sweetness, the vinous-like nature as concord grape, warming alcohol, and a syrupy but rich sipping texture. Retirement, and one year of aging, made it even more of a treat.
On tap. Black, tanned head. Smell of Milk, toast, dark malts, caramel. Heavy sweet, toast, lactose, caramel, quite delicious.
Svart med fingerhøyt beige skum. Lukter solbær vingummi, kaffe, havre og mørk sjokolade. Fyldig. Søtlig start, solbær, svisker, salt lakris, mørk sjokolade, portvinfølelse, trevirke og vingummi. Middels lang.
Draught. Black pour with thin tan head. Malty aroma. Very full bodied with lots of malt and milk character, some chocolate and a tiny bit if licorice. Edge of the tongue Belgian yeast finish. Worth the price
Keg at the craft beer Co Islington. Many thanks to the Wingman for this one. An oily dark brown black coloured pour with a lasting mid tan head. Aroma is nutty brown choc, milky, lactose, jammy fruits, unrefined sugars, jammy, strawberry shortcake. Sugary. Palate is thick and sugary, milky, moderate carbonation. Sticky boozy. Good.
Keg at CBC Islington - London. Pours clear ruby-brown with a creamy, off-white head. The nose holds light toast, dough, a little toffee, berries. Medium sweet flavour with more ripe berries, alcohol, toffee, prunes. Full bodied, chewy, with fine carbonation. Sweet and sticky in the finish, a bit warming, more tangy berries, toffee, raisins. Not bad.
Superb impy stout, great chocolate and alcohol notes on the nose, it tasted as though it had been barrel aged, I was surprised to read that it wasn’t. A sweet and warming brew.
Rating #2294 - 2016.01.01 - First beer of 2016 - Bottle from CBI. Beautiful dark brown pour with a fairly foamy tan head with mild lacing. Aroma is chocolate, coffee, roasted malt. Taste is creamy and thick, almost sludgy on the mouth feel, but layered with hints of vanilla and chocolate. Medium alcohol warmth. Superb.
On tap at Taphouse, Copenhagen. Dark brown with a small head. Aroma of roasted malt, coffee, biscuits, light lactose and some dark fruit. Similar taste. The body was full and the finish was long with warming alcohol.
22oz bottle 10/10/16 (Binny’s)=46° in Snifter-Pours black with a big tan head. Aroma of Belgiamy yeast, chocolate, sweetness, and slight coffee. Taste of the same with more sweetness,, chocolate, and coffee on the back end. This full bodied brew is well balanced and a bit different but in a good way.
Thanks Kirk! Interesting stout. Pours a dark chestnut brown that settles to black. Big mocha head. Aromas of Belgian yeast, grape punch. Was this infected? Hmm.. sour tangy cherry flavours, Belgian yeast, chocolate, lactose, dark malts. I enjoyed this, certainly an interesting stout.. If this is how it’s supposed to taste.
Cola and chocolate aroma with moderate body and sweetness. I like the fact it doesn’t have a dry finish considering the alcohol level.
Bottle. Pours black. Aroma and taste are milk chocolate, coffee, and some dark malts.
Aged review. 2015 bottle.
This was poured into a snifter.
The appearance was a dark brown close to black color. Thin white to off white foamy head quickly dissipated.
The smell started off with sweet and spicy Belgian notes. Dark fruits with some milk chocolate. And then the dark chocolate.
The flavor brings together all of the previously mentioned aromas about to blend. Sweet Belgian chocolate leads dryly into the aftertaste and slides into the finish.
On the palate, this one sat about a light to medium on the body (guessing the age probably lowered the body). Carbonation felt really smoothed out.
Overall, Belgian imperial milk stout, well, I never heard of one until I had this. Great stuff, and would most likely have again fresher.
Draft @ Craft Beer Co. Covent Garden
Belgian Style Imperial Milk Stout
Czarne jak smoła, gęste z ogromną beżową, puszystą pianą. Piana ładnie oblepia scianki szkła pozostawiając liczne wstęgi.
W aromacie kawa z mlekiem, cukierki mleczne, czekolada deserowa, migdały.
Z dala dochodzi paloność i trochę karmelu. Bardzo dużo słodyczy, aż chce się od razu zanurzyć usta żeby wziąść pierwszy łyk.
W smaku gładziutkie, super kremowe, gęste i lepkie. Słodycz od laktozy wykleja usta i podniebienie.
Mamy mleczną czekoladę, cukierki mleczne, wanilię, karmel, toffi, kawę Latte. Na samym finiszu troszeczkę przypraw od belgijskich drożdży, żeby nadać odrobinę pikanterii. Perfekcyjny balans, super pijalność.
Alkohol doskonale zatuszowany. Płynny mleczny deser.
Keg at Craft Beer Co, Covent Garden, London. A dark brown/black coloured pour with a decent tan head on top. Roasty, malty, chocolate, coffee, caramel aroma. Tastes roasty, malty, chocolate, coffee, caramel, smooth, sweet and milky. Very nice easy drinking milk stout despite the strength.
De Couleur noir avec peu everfesssance et le col brun foncé . On n’a des note de chocolat au lait avec une pointe de torrification . C est très lèger je trouve pour une impériale stout . Bonnes mais sans plus
On tap the beer has a deep brown color with a small head. Aroma of booze, smoke and roasted malts. The taste has more roasted malts, yeast and some booze. Unique taste with a good finish.
Keg at the CP&K, 18/07/16.
Rich mahogany brown with a well appointed khaki cap.
Nose is coffee grinds, roast malt, chocolate biscuit, earthy, dark fruit whisper.
Taste comprises coffee cake, roast malt, charr, lactic tinge, chocolate, biscuit, dark fruit esters, light spice, black pepper.
Medium + body, fine carbonation, semi drying close with a light boost.
Decent enough impy, sweetness is balanced and restrained, a touch overly lactic perhaps for my liking.
On tap at Mikkeller & Friends, march 26th 2016. Black body with a light brown head. Aroma of burned toast, chocolate, dark fruit, spicy yeast. Taste is sweet and spicy with toffee and plum, mild roast, belgian yeast. Appealing warm boozy and sweet finish.
Bottle, shared at game night. Near black pour, medium brown head. Heaps of chocolate, some roast and molasses and nice lactic sweetness. Hints of spices. No hint of ABV. Delicious.