Hitachino Lacto Sweet Stout

Why I tried this: Interesting story. I was at World of Beer UCF (no kidding right?) and talking with Kyle for a bit. He informed me that their machines were down, so we couldn't access my account or print out my list. I told him we'll figure it out, and asked for a recommendation. He came back with a 22oz highly alcoholic scotch ale, to which I told him that I needed to make it home. So, he came back with choice #2, the Hitachino Lacto Sweet Stout. I know Jon is a big fan of Hitachino, and I've tried their Classic Ale and Espresso Stout, so I took it.

Smell: Not a lot there, actually. There's a faint smokiness, on top of a malty sweetness. It didn't smell particularly roasty, and I didn't detect the usual coffee. It was weird.

Taste: The first thing I got when taking my initial sip was sweet malts. I detected some caramel in there, as well as a smoky flavor. As the sip fades, it turned from sweet to slightly sour, with a definite smoked flavor to it. Not bad.

I have to admit, that this was not what I was expecting from a stout. To be fair, the beer came from Japan, and I tend to notice beers from there are pretty unique. The smoky flavor was an interesting twist, and the milk sugar and caramel malts made a nice sweet mixture that faded out into a mild sourness that wasn't unpleasing at all. If anything, this beer will stick out in my mind as more being unique than it was delicious, but overall it was still pretty decent. With that said, I'd give it a quarter full glass award.

--Jeff