Beer: By Udder Means
Brewery: To Øl (Sjælland, Denmark)
Style: Stout – Milk/Sweet
7% ABV / 61 IBU

Eventually, we will run out of bizarre ways to age beers in barrels. Until then, there’s potentially a lot of ground to cover with stouts, which already stand up incredibly well to conditioning and cellaring. Especially in the realm of anything beyond bourbon barrel again, which ramps up the intensity of the stout and adds a warming effect but is totally played out at this point. Some of the best stouts out there are now aged in wine barrels, including To Øl’s tasty By Udder Means.

But a milk stout aged in muscatel barrels? Not as weird as you would think—wine barrels tend to impart a more subtle flavor and the tannins, which are naturally found in grape skins, add a hint of bitterness. For a style like the milk stout, which accentuates the sweetness/creaminess, it’s a way of providing counter balance. By Udder Means tingles the tip of your tongue and offers a robust chocolate flavor, along with a modest head and a perfectly onyx color.

As with Mikkeller, the brewery that inspired them, the masterminds behind To Øl place a premium on the science of brewing. By Udder Means is all about the mouthfeel, which is as about as milk-y as a milk stout can be. According to the Danish brewery, the yeast strain used in this milk stout is incapable of fermenting lactose, so 100% of the lactose used in the brewing process remains in By Udder Means. What results is a stout that straddles the line between malt and bitterness, while remaining true to its style, delivering the flavor of a Hershey’s or Nestle milk chocolate bar. Simple yet incredibly satisfying.

For more info on To Øl, please head here.