On Tap is a regular column featuring our recommendations on the most unique new draft beer offerings from local pubs.
Our Recommendation: Chocolate Milk Stout
Where: Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant of West Chester, 3 West Gay Street, West Chester, PA
Got milk?
I recently met a friend at Iron Hill West Chester and he was already pulled up to the bar and halfway through a Chocolate Milk Stout. “This is sooo good,” he claimed, lifting up his pint glass. I had seen this stout on the menu a few days earlier, and had heard a rave review from @ShayneTrimbell on Twitter, so I knew I couldn’t pass it up. All I can say is, Holy Cow!
The Chocolate Milk Stout is served using nitrogen, which makes this so creamy and smooth. It pours a very dark chocolate brown with a beautiful thick mocha head on it. We were seated at the corner of the bar, so we were fortunate to see brewers Mike Rutkowski and Andrew Harton finishing up their day’s work and they stopped by to chat.
Andrew explained that the nitrogen process was first created by Guinness to replicate cask-conditioned beer, and it has now been adopted by brewers who want to create a less carbonated beverage. This works very well for this Chocolate Milk Stout, giving it what brewers call a “creamy mouth feel.”
I worried this stout might be too much of a dessert beer, and not a good beer to start a night out with friends. I was wrong. While it is deliciously creamy, it’s not too filling or overpowering like many dessert beers can be. At 5% ABV, this is also a sessionable beer. Although I moved on to sample the Charlie Brown Ale next, I could have definitely gone for a second helping of the Chocolate Milk Stout.
Mike and Andrew expect the Chocolate Milk Stout to be available for a few more weeks, so don’t miss out.
