Review: Galactic Milk Stout, by Big Drop
By Naomi Parkin-Tyrie
The upshot:
An alcohol-free English milk stout
Intense chocolate and coffee flavours
Rich but not too sweet
Big Drop Brewing Co. is an English brewery that produces only alcohol-free beer (beer that’s 0.5% ABV or less). Launching Big Drop in 2016, the founders were spurred on by the lack of tasty alcohol-free options for beer drinkers.
They started by producing just one beer. Now, five years on, they have a whole host of different beer styles – and a host of awards for them.
Today, I’m tasting the current incarnation of Big Drop’s very first beer: their Galactic Milk Stout.
Beer style
First, let’s talk about what a milk stout actually is.
So, a stout is a type of ale – that is, beer fermented at a warmer temperature. It’s usually a deep brown or black colour, and it has an intense “roasted” flavour. The taste is often compared to coffee or dark chocolate.
Both the colour and the taste are owing to the use of specialised malt (processed grain) that has gone through an extra roasting step. Brewers also rely on this roasted malt to provide the bitter edge in a stout, as the hop kick is typically understated.
Stouts can also come in different varieties, including Irish dry stouts (made popular worldwide by a certain large Irish brewery), oatmeal stouts, and milk stouts.
A milk stout is a stout that’s been brewed with lactose (milk sugar). Because lactose can’t be converted into alcohol by yeast, it sticks around until the end of the brewing process. And that results in a stout with a little extra sweetness and substance.
Tasting the beer
The label on the bottle claims that Galactic tastes like “honeycomb covered in chocolate”. Sounds tempting. But will the beer live up to this decadent description? Let’s pour and find out.
Appearance
The beer is a deep, deep brown and totally opaque. To begin with, there’s a very slight head of brownish foam at the top, but this quickly disappears.
Smell and taste
To be honest, I’m not especially worried about the lack of foam – I’m distracted by the tantalising chocolate smell that hit me even as I opened the bottle.
And now, swirling the glass, the smell is even more intense. It reminds me of a mocha (rich coffee and cocoa) but with a slightly metallic edge.
When I take a sip, the sweet chocolate flavours are the most powerful to begin with. Then the roasted coffee taste takes over. It makes for a beautifully balanced mouthful.
Mouthfeel and aftertaste
The mouthfeel begins with a subtle tingle from the carbonation. Next there’s a creamy or almost “frothy” sensation (perhaps I still have mochas on my mind).
At the end, my mouth is left feeling a bit sticky and coated. But the bitter, roasted flavours do linger for a little while, too, which is a pleasant contrast.
The verdict
Delicious. If you’re a fan of rich, complex beers that make you feel like you’re drinking a liquid chocolate brownie (with a hint of espresso), Galactic would absolutely work for you.
Score: 9.5/10