Beer Review Challenge: 3 Floyd's Moloko Milk Stout

Welcome once again to another round of the beer review challenge. This was a beer suggested by Coren (I know, you are shocked), but this is one of her personal favorite breweries, 3 Floyds. While I'm not one of their biggest fans, I do appreciate what they have done for the craft community. I also enjoy their ability to take beer and make it a bit more approachable by the common beer drinker.

Now, without further ado, the review...

Color: Very dark black colors, with no mixing of hues. This was definitely something that saw a healthy addition of black patent malt to arrive at such a color without tainting the flavor with excess malty or roasty notes.

Head: The head appears to be very light and then vanishes nearly immediately. This shouldn't be too surprising on account of it being a milk stout, but I would always like to see a beer this dark have some more head with it, or at least some retention of the little head it did have.

Aroma: The nose picks up very distinct coffee and roasty notes without any effort, which is not unpleasant for a milk stout, but unexpected. While it isn't unwelcome, to advertise this as a milk stout, I was expecting something more sweet on the nose than coffee-like. It may detour some drinkers at first whiff.

Taste: The initial taste is very velvety and smooth, with the aroma of the coffee matched in the taste with a slight bite of bitterness but not overwhelming. I am also surprised with the balance of the flavor within the confines of a single beer. The aftertaste does leave a lingering tartness from the coffee, but it isn't unbearable.

Body: The body of this beer is very much a stout, from the bounce in its viscosity to its smooth characteristics on the palette.

Overall: This is a beer that is very complicated from beginning to end, which I can certainly appreciate. I do enjoy the flavor of this beer and the balance it offers me, with one major exception. The use of the term milk stout made me think this would going to be a dark beer with a smooth body, but nothing was hinted at with the coffee, which caught me off guard to a point. I would probably get more into this beer the more I tried it, but on the first try, this was a bit more than I wanted in a milk stout. Maybe round 2 would be a different story...

Score: 6.5/10

As always, drink well and be merry. Slainte!