Three Brothers Brandy Snap

Brandy Snap is a fabulously festive milk stout from Teesside brewers Three Brothers and it's brewed with Challenger hops, eight malts and lactose.

It's a deep mahogany brown colour with a small, loose, tan head that doesn't hang around for long, leaving a flat looking beer that resembles a glass of coke.

It smells very boozy with a big hit of brandy and the delicious sweet undertone of malt.  It's surprisingly lightly flavoured with the lovely taste of sweet malt and a hint of brandy.  It has a medium body and carbonation is very soft so it has a silky smooth mouthfeel.

It's a lovely wintery festive ale that tastes exactly like it says on the can.  I think Three Brothers have got this one spot on as there's just the right amount of brandy flavour to balance perfectly with the malt and hops without overpowering the deliciously smooth stout.

This is definitely one to look out for if it's brewed again and Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by Three Brothers Brewing Company, Stockton-on-Tees 

6.2% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.25/5

Find out more at Three Brothers Brewing Company

Wiper and True Milk Shake

 

Milk Shake from Bristol brewers Wiper and True is a dark, creamy stout brewed with lactose.

It's a very dark, black velvet stout with a small, tight, beige head that retains a thin layer.  It smells delicious: lashings of malt and loads of chocolate produce a sweet and roasted mouthwatering aroma.

The flavour is awesome.  A combination of sweet chocolate, malt and vanilla tantalises the taste buds and leaves a fabulous roasted malt taste on the tongue.  It's full bodied and lightly carbonated to give a velvety-smooth, silky mouthfeel.

It really is a delicious milk stout.  It may appear be a no-frills chocolate and vanilla stout but it's so very moreish and easy to drink that Ale Be Seeing You again.

Brewed by Wiper and True Brewery, Bristol
5.6% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.25/5

Find out more at Wiper and True Brewery

Black Sheep Milk Stout

Black Sheep is one of my favourite breweries so I had high hopes for their award winning Milk Stout and I was not disappointed. 

Brewed with lactose, it's a velvety black stout with a tan head that is thick, tight, creamy and robust, as we have come to expect from Black Sheep.  The head lasts a lot longer than the beer did, that's for sure!

The aroma is quite light with notes of malt, chocolate and hops that you would expect in a stout.  The flavour is delicious; it's so chocolatey and malty that it's almost the same sort of flavour as a chocolate Horlicks.  It's so smooth, creamy and full-bodied that it's silky smooth in the mouth.  It's perfectly carbonated - it's not too fizzy so it retains a lovely smooth mouthfeel.

It's a very well-balanced stout with an initial hit of sweet malt and vanilla contrasting with a slightly bitter chocolate and coffee finish.  It feels like a hug in a glass - it's so delicious and easy to drink that Ale definitely Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by Black Sheep Brewery, Masham, North Yorkshire
4.4% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.25/5

Find out more at Black Sheep Brewery

Cassels New Zealand Milk Stout

I picked up this little beauty for 99p in Home Bargains and what a bargain it is!  I was gutted (but completely unsurprised) that they'd sold out when I went back for more.

Popping the lid off this 328ml bottle produces the most mouthwatering aroma of malt, chocolate, coffee and a hint of dried fruit.  It's a beautiful black velvet colour but it has a very rapidly disappearing beige head that rather disappointingly doesn't even leave a single bubble behind.  Appearances can be deceptive though, so on to the taste...

This is delicious!  Complex flavours of chocolate, malt, roasted coffee and liquorice results in a different taste in every sip.  The balance is tipped towards sweet and there's a lovely sweetness that lingers on the tongue - it's right up my street with me being sweet-toothed.  It has a medium body and carbonation is quite low but firm and I could feel little sugary bubbles bursting on my tongue.

I can see why this was voted number 1 in its category in the 2020 World Beer Awards and I'll be keeping my eyes peeled to see if Home Bargains get this in again.  Make sure you grab one if you can!  Ale Be Seeing You again (hopefully).

Brewed by Cassels Brewery, New Zealand
5.2% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4/5

Find out more at Cassels Brewery

Three Brothers Gingerbread

Now that December is upon us, I'm reviewing all of the Christmas beers I have in my review queue and I'll be posting every other day up to and including Christmas Day.  So keep popping by to check out some great (and not so great) festive brews. 

For me, the smell of Christmas is sweet mince pies and gingerbread so first up is a Gingerbread milk stout from North East brewers, Three Brothers Brewing Co that I bought from the North Tyneside Christmas market in 2018.

It pours a lovely black colour with a ruby tinge and a small, loose beige head that disappears quickly to a thin foam layer.  I have to say that the aroma is AMAZING with mouthwatering notes of treacle, malt, dark chocolate and a definite whiff of ginger spice (the actual ground spice not the Spice Girl, thankfully).

The ginger in the flavour is quite subtle with malt and chocolate flavours being more dominant.  It does have a hint of ginger but before I'd fully experienced it I was hit with a slightly bitter, chocolate aftertaste.  It's quite lightly carbonated and a little on the thin side for a stout, but this gives it a lovely smooth mouthfeel.

Overall, it's a lovely malty stout with a hint of warming ginger spice but I would have preferred a bit more ginger.

Brewed by Three Brothers Brewing Company, Teesside

4.5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4/5

Find out more at Three Brothers Brewing Company