Brewery: Eagle Rock Brewery / AleSmith Brewing Company Collaboration
Beer: Dairy Tank
Style: Milk / Sweet Stout
ABV: 10%
Character: AleSmith sold their old brewing system to Eagle Rock, which happened to be converted dairy tanks. In honor of this brewing system, the two breweries collaborated on this Milk Stout, and brewed on this very system.
Ratings: BA: n/a | RB: 89
Metal Connection: MARDUK – Panzer Division Marduk

BeerMetalDude Rating: 5/5

Milk Stouts are one of my favorite types of beer. My very first encounter with one was when I first tasted Left Hand Brewing Company Milk Stout. On my Untappd profile, it has been in my top beer list since I have been a member of that website. So, when I heard I was getting a bottle of this collaboration Milk Stout, I was very excited. I once again have to thank my good Cali friend, Jorge Espinoza from Brewerianimelogs for this sweet hook up!

The story behind this collaboration is a very a good one. In 2008, AleSmith Brewing Company was expanding production and sod off their old brewing system to Eagle Rock Brewery.

I have never had a beer from Eagle Rock Brewery before, but after doing some research, I see that this brewery gets the typical 50/50 votes from folks on discussion boards that I was reading through. I am very intrigued by this brewery’s offerings that I see on their website. Some of their beers sound amazing. Of course, one can not judge a brewery solely on their website, so hopefully one day I will be able to get some of their year round and seasonal beers so I can give them a proper judgement, but based on Dairy Tank, let’s score one for these guys!

AleSmith Brewing Company is a different story. Among the Craft Beer community, these guys have established themselves as a front runner, with some great beers to back that up. I, myself have had the pleasure of already tasking some of their offerings, and have always been impressed. Only one other beer from them have made it up on BeerMetalDude.com so far. Read my review on their Evil Dead Red Ale here.

The beer was poured from a 22 oz bottle into an Adelbert’s snifter glass. The beer appeared to be a very dark brown, damn near black color topped with a tan colored head, which retained very well throughout the session. Excellent sticky lacing covered the sides of the glass as this beer went down. Excellent appearance overall.

The aroma of Dairy Tank was everything I expected in this Milk Stout. It had a sweet, creamy milk scent, that was blended well with hints of chocolate, vanilla, caramel, and some hazelnut. One thing that I love in Milk Stouts is the added aromas and flavors of things that aren’t actually involved in this beer, such as a bit of coffee, chilies, and coconut. These aromas are faint and usually at the end of the whiff that linger a bit in the nose along with an alcohol burn. Very inviting.

The taste was phenomenal, and exceeded my expectations. The beer was so creamy and silky that the flavors of sweet milk, sugar, and chocolate reminded me of ice cream or a whipped mousse. For this style, this beer has a good complexity to it, as other flavors peak their way through on this one, like hazelnut, caramel, vanilla, coffee, roasted malts, earthy notes, and finishes with a chili pepper, coconut taste. In the finish there is also a hot alcohol booze over layering it all. This 10% is not hidden at all on this guy!

The body is a bit thick, but it suites this beer perfectly. Any thinner, than this beer just wouldn’t have packed the punch that it did on my palate! As stated above, the mouthfeel was very smooth and silky. Left my mouth feeling like I just drank a cup of sweet chocolate milk (with alcohol in it!)

Overall, I will have to say that I wish this beer was easily more available and that it wasn’t a one-off brew. This beer had also come with a close expiration date of 7/16/14, so I had to drink it pretty quick after receiving the bottle. I really hope that this beer will make another appearance one day, and I would love a shipment of it.

Metal Connection: OK, so I know the word “tank” in the name of this beer is referring to the tanks used to brew a beer, but I am a metal head and immediately I thought of war tanks, which immediately made me think of the band, Marduk. Specifically, their 1999 full length album, Panzer Division Marduk. Just like the triumphant victory the band speaks of in their lyrics to the title track of this album, Dairy Tank came quickly and conquered the field! This song was so fitting on so many levels. The first verse, especially the first line describes this beer…

Black, fearsome and grim and mighty
Panzer division Marduk rolls over enemy land
Striking hard and fast against your lines
We blow your fortress into sand