BREWER: Cassels, Canterbury Region, New Zealand

STYLE: Milk Stout

ABV: 5.2%

VESSEL: 440ml tin

TWITTER: @Cassels_Brewery

INSTAGRAM: casselsbrewingco

DATE OF POST: 10th December 2022

SAMMY SAY’S…

Come on! What better beer than a milk stout to get stuck into this time of year. Think coffee, burnt notes and the backdrop of milky smoothness giving the whack of a full-bodied, lip-smacking mouthfeel!

Let us hope Cassels can deliver all of the above and, who knows, maybe more…

This Milk Stout definitely has most of the above. It’s milky, almost straight away. And that’s not unpleasant. And then there’s pops and burst of coffee and dried dark fruits. Sounds good, doesn’t it?

Well, yes and no.

While all of this makes it well balanced to a degree, it’s a little lacking in the punchy deep mouthfeel I was so hoping for. It needs to pull some more body to carry through all those subtle and exciting notes. And if MS did deliver this, it would be a hard nailed cracker of a stout.

But, it’s just a little underwhelming. Just a little.

Would I happily sup one again? Why yes I would.

Is it top of class? Not even close.

Sammy’s Rating: 71%

JYMI SAY’S…

I bleedin’ love an Agi show.

For those of you that haven’t got the first clue what I’m going on about, an Agi Show is an Agricultural Show. A very British (I assume, excuse my ignorance) thing where folk flock to a huge field to admire the finest cows, pigs, sheep, tractors and local cider. There are also things like dogs agility shows, shire horse & cart comps as well as the quirky compare for the day… FIRE FIRE, THE FAYRE’S ON FIRE!!! I just love the simplicity of them. No glitz or glamour, just uncomplicated British rural life in the summertime.

Now why do I mention this. Well our beer this week has a milk cow, with a blindfold on, on the the front of the tin. All makes perfect sense seeing as it’s housing a milk stout. The blindfold is sporting the words, BEST IN SHOW (an award given to the cow of the day at an Agi Show). Now, this could possibly be the name of the beer here, but I’m not totally sure it is if we’re following the normal Cassel’s non naming script. Either way, I was confused. I mean, it could be alluding to the fact this Stout is a multiple award winner? But what came first, the award or the name? Let’s leave it there, though the tin does look pretty cool.

Moving to the beer itself, I very much enjoyed it, though cannot help but think it could have been even better!

NZMS / Best in show starts off with a pleasant soft and creamy chocolate nose. In the mouth there is an expected lovely smooth mouthfeel but that is accompanied but a slight carbonation which wasn’t particularly welcome. Taste wise there is a defo a slightly sweet coffee and cream thing going on which is delightful and balanced out but malty bitterness. However, personally I think they have slightly over cooked the bitterness here. Yes you need the bitterness to balance this boy out but it’s just a bit too much for me. Slightly less and I think this brew would be nothing short of spectacular but as it is, it’s just pretty good.