Episode Notes

Episode 62: Blaker Brewing’s Vanilla Bean Milk Stout

It’s the Two Minute Beer Review!

I’m Andrew Burkum and it’s that time of the week again where we pick a bottle from that massive craft brew aisle hoping to find a hidden treasure.

This week we’re going to take a look at Vanilla Bean Milk Stout by Blaker Brewing in Ceres, CA. Is this one a dairy full of goodness? Let’s find out!!

Vanilla Bean Milk Stout is reportedly just what it advertises—a Milk Stout base with Vanilla Beans added. It pours predictably black into the glass and smells of chocolate, vanilla and milk—again, just what you would expect based on the label.

But what about the taste? It’s not as sweet as I anticipated based on the title and the scent. It hits right up front with a good coffee bitterness that wraps around the tongue and then resolves into a kind of a tangy sensation with that nice aromatic vanilla pervasive in the aftertaste. The tiny bit of sweetness on the back end of the swallow is all milk sweetness and no sugar so it doesn’t throw the beer out of balance with that nice bitterness from the beginning of the sip. It’s a little thin on the palate for a milk stout, which is worth noting but it loses no points for all that.

Vanilla Bean Milk Stout is not an overly complex beer, but it performs perfectly in terms of being what it claims to be. It’s likeable and very easy to drink. And at a 5.5% Alcohol by Volume it’s not going to knock you out after a single serving, either. If the name sounds at all enticing, I can definitely recommend this beer to you! And you don’t just have to take my word for it—Vanilla Bean Milk Stout comes in with an average 3.91 out of 5 on Untappd. You can check out the link in the show notes for more reviews.

Well that’s all for this week, but I hope you’ll join me next week as I take a look at Orange County IPA from Left Coast Brewing in San Clemente California. Is this one worthy of the OC label? We’ll find out next week! Look for links to this week’s beer and brewery in the show notes.

Don’t forget to let me know what you’re drinking and what you’re thinking about the show. Tweet me @2minutebeer with the number two or drop me an email at [email protected]. And if you’re listening to the show on your favorite podcast app, be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss an episode and leave a review to help other people find the show. You can also support us with a small donation on our Patreon—there’s a link in the show notes.

That’s all for now, but I’ll see you next week as we continue on our quest to taste all the beer!

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Music: River Meditation by Jason Shaw used under Creative Commons License

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