Midnight Kissed My Cow

Midnight Kissed My Cow is a double chocolate milk stout from Kanata, Ontario. It's brewed and filled into 473mL cow-emblazoned cans by Big Rig Brewery. Checking in at 5.6%, this little ale features lactose and cocoa in its ingredients list, making this a flavoured stout. The beer poured dark and opaque, with a smooth blanket of eggshell head.

Unsurprisingly, MKMC's nose was sweet and chocolatey, if a bit mild. It had a thin but smooth mouthfeel reminiscent of chocolate milk. This vibe was reinforced by a definite mocha taste. The beer finished quite sweetly, with only a sprinkling of cocoa bitterness. 

As double chocolate stouts go, Midnight Kissed My Cow wasn't particularly rich or thick. The richness I missed, but the thickness was an omission that didn't rankle all that much. All told, an adequate chocolate ale.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Dan Stouts

In San Diego's Little Italy neighbourhood, I stumbled upon a satellite location of that city's Bolt Brewing Co. Obviously I stopped in. First order of business was an amazingly-named double chocolate stout--Dan Stouts. There was a nitro version and the original. Based on my server's suggestion, I I had a pint of the original l on tap. At 7.6% and 30 IBUs, this sweet stout was almost certainly the wrong choice for an unseasonably warm (for Southern California!) day, but I had to try a brew named in honour of the hirsute quaterback-turned-broadcaster

Dan Stouts was a jet black brew. It turned up with little head, but a jumbo chocolate aroma. It's taste was sweet, chocotastic, and full of roasted malts. The back end packed a pretty hefty hop wallop, too.

As expected, this beer, while well-made and tasty, was the wrong choice for a sweaty, sunny afternoon spent near the Mexican border. I should have ordered a taster size instead of a pint. However, I'm glad I tried it. It was a fine example of a double chocolate stout with a bit of bitterness behind it, and the name was dope. I'd have liked a slightly bolder front end, though. 

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.