Tag Archives: imperial milk stout

Bas-Canada Marabout

Brewery: Brasserie du Bas-Canada
Country: Canada
ABV: 10.5%
Style: Stout – Milk / Sweet Imperial

Brewer Description: (from bottle in French) Noisette, noix de macadam, café, marshmallow, sirop d’érable, noix de coco & vanille de Madagascar.

(translated to English) Hazelnut, macadamia nuts, coffee, marshmallow, maple syrup, coconut & Madagascar vanilla.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.32

Intro: A 375ml bottle with no clear bottled on or best before date. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a thin dark brown head that dissipated fairly quickly to nothing, while leaving only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Sweet chocolate, coffee, vanilla, coconut flakes, with notes of nuttiness and maple syrup.
Taste: Sweet, dessert, chocolate, maple syrup, coffee, vanilla, nutty, with a touch of coconut.
Mouthfeel: Full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: An enjoyable sipper with good aroma and flavours. Maybe on the verge of being too sweet for me, but not yet over the top.

Brew York Empress Tonkoko BA Heaven Hill

Brewery: Brew York
Country: England
ABV: 10.6%
Style: Stout – Milk / Sweet Imperial
Other Notes: State of Mind Edition 2024. Heaven Hill BA, Tonka Bean, Vanilla, Coconut & Cacao Imperial Milk Stout

Brewer Description: (from can) Brewed and released just once a year, each Barrel Aged Empress Tonkoko release spends at least 12 months in a unique selection of barrels. Heaven Hill Bourbon was selected to add a caramel sweetness, subtle rye spice, and rich oak to add depth to an already deeply decadent beer.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.16

Intro: A 330ml can, 2024 State of Mind Edition (not sure what this means), with a best before date of 27th November 2026. Poured into whatever glass I could find at the hotel.
Appearance: Black in colour with a one finger beige head that had good retention, and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Dessert, coconut flakes, vanilla, caramel, tonka beans, nutty, toasted almonds, dark chocolate.
Taste: Light roast, chocolate, caramel, vanilla, coconut, bourbon, tonka, nutty, boozy, and a light spiciness on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: An enjoyable sipper with a very nice aroma.

Heroes BBAIMSwPBCN&V (5th Anniversary)

Brewery: Heroes Beer Co.
Country: Hong Kong
ABV: 10.5%
Style: Stout – Milk / Sweet Imperial
Other Notes: Bottle 138 of 999

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Milk Stout with Peanut Butter Cacao Nibs and Vanilla. We’re turning 5 years old, so we’ve decided to throw all of our favourite ingredients into this! BBAIMSwPBCN&V starts with dessert-like aromas of bourbon vanilla, peanut butter, and milk chocolate. Follows through with a layered malt profile of dark chocolate, espresso beans, toffee, raisin, and maraschino cherry. Drinks with a firm bitterness that’s well balanced by the complex malt sweetness and velvety body. Subtle American oak characters add complexity to the long finish of this liquid dessert and keep you going for just a little sip more.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.33
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A boxed, black waxed, 650ml bomber, bottle 138 of 999, packaged on 4th November 2022, and with a best before date of 3rd November 2024. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark brown to black in colour, with a one finger tanned head that had pretty good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Light roast, milk chocolate, bourbon, wafer, peanut butter, with notes of caramel, toffee, and dried dark fruits.
Taste: Sweet, bourbon, caramel, toffee, moderate bitterness, dark chocolate, light roast, black coffee, biscuit, vanilla, and subtle nutty peanut butter.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, full bodied, with soft carbonation.
Overall: An enjoyable sipper as the sweetness is balanced by some bitterness, and it’s up there with the 2nd Anniversary beer as one of my favourites in their Anniversary lineup.

To Øl Vanilje Mælk

Brewery: To Øl
Country: Denmark
ABV: 10.5%
Style: Stout – Milk Imperial
Other Notes: Brewed & bottled by To Øl at De Proef Brouwerij, Belgium

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Imperial Vanilla Milk Stout.

My rating: 1
My beeradvocate.com rating: 2.58
My ratebeer.com rating: 2.4

Intro: A 375ml bottle, with a best before date of 9th January 2028. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark dark brown to black in colour with a nice one finger brown head that had pretty good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Roasted malts, chocolate, burnt vanilla, burnt sugar, with maybe notes of dark fruit, but really I think these burnt notes are hiding a lot.
Taste: Light roast, cocoa, followed by a whole lot of nutmeg, and something I don’t know how to describe, although I’m tempted to say metallic ashy gasoline.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: I like To Øl, but this really didn’t work for me. A vanilla milk stout sounds amazing, but here, the vanilla in the aroma was burnt, and it wasn’t in the flavour, or otherwise morphed into something quite unpleasant with all that nutmeg or even the ‘metallic ashy gasoline’…

Heroes BR&MSBAIMSwMSCN&V (4th Anniversary)

Brewery: Heroes Beer Co.
Country: Hong Kong
ABV: 10.4%
Style: Stout – Milk / Sweet Imperial
Other Notes: Bottle 307 of 720

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Bourbon, Rye, and Maple Syrup Barrel Aged Imperial Milk Stout with Maple Syrup, Cacao Nibs and Vanilla. Imagine eating a chocolate pancake with maple syrup while drinking an Americano. Starts off with dessert-like aromas of maple syrup, vanilla, and dark chocolate notes. Follows through with a complex but smooth malt profile with dark chocolate, espresso beans, raisins, dark caramel and toasted bread. Bitterness is medium but enough to support the sweetness. Medium oak character from bourbon, rye whisky, and maple syrup barrels comes through to help add structure to palate.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A boxed, black waxed, 650ml bomber, bottle 307 of 720, packaged on 4th October 2021, and with a best before date of 4th October 2024. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark brown to black in colour with pretty much no head and no lacing.
Aroma: Maple syrup, dried dark fruit, raisins, prunes, vanilla, bourbon, light roast, chocolate, caramel.
Taste: Sweet, bourbon, dried dark fruit, raisins, prunes, maple syrup, caramel, vanilla, chocolate, light roast.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, velvety, full bodied with no carbonation.
Overall: Great aroma, but it was too sweet for me. I don’t get the bitterness that the description talks about, which would definitely help it along. It’s okay as a sipper, but usually when I think sipper, it’s due to the apparent alcohol or alcohol strength rather than because of it’s sweetness, and I easily preferred both the 2nd and 3rd anniversary beers.