We despise winter. It’s awful. The bitter cold, the wind, the short days – AWFUL. The only little glimmer of light at the end of a rather gloomy tunnel is that winter lends itself to dark beer. Rich, creamy, chocolatey, dark beer. Every cloud has a silver lining as they say.

So we at SMACK! thought it appropriate to release a seasonal beer to help us through this. On the taps from this weekend we will be serving a Vanilla-and-Bourbon-infused Milk Stout. This is a sweet stout which is perfect to warm you up and make you forget about the chills.

Why is it called a Milk Stout? Well quite simply the unique ingredient in a Milk Stout is lactose sugar which is added to the brew. Lactose sugar (which is derived from milk) is added to the stout brew, and voilà – a Milk Stout is born.

The adjuncts that we have added to this brew are Vanilla pods which have been soaked in Bourbon for two weeks, before they are added in secondary fermentation. The flavours complement the sweetness of the stout very well, and provide added complexity to the aroma and flavours already present.

So all you lactose tolerant people get down to the brewery and have a pint with us!