Stone Mint Coffee Milk Stout

The last time I had a peppermint beer was 2015 and it was Ballast Point's Peppermint Victory at Sea. As I stated in a previous blog, I love Victory at Sea and Peppermint Victory at Sea sounded like a fun variant to a really great beer. I dropped everything and raced to the store to buy a bottle. I cracked it open as soon as I got home and was immediately disappointed. Absolutely nothing in the flavor of that beer worked for me. From my first sip to my last I thought it tasted exactly like I was drinking a great coffee beer after brushing my teeth. Everything about its flavor felt off and medicinal. For some reason, I thought that would be the general consensus of my beer drinking friends. However, that was not the case. What I found was that Peppermint Victory at Sea seemed to bring out an extremely polarizing reaction. Some absolutely loved it, some absolutely hated it. I always found the reaction to Peppermint Victory at Sea to be particularly intriguing but I never found the need to drink another mint beer, until now. Stone Brewing Company has now joined the minted stout party with their latest offering, Mint Coffee Milk Stout. Over the years, I have enjoyed many beers from Stone. They do not always hit their mark but I admire the fact that they take risks. Due to its medicinal flavor potential, I view putting a mint beer out as a risk. So would Stone deliver a solid mint stout? Or for the second time in a row, would I think I was drinking a beer that reminded me more of coffee Listerine than beer?

What should not come as a surprise is Stone Brewing Company found a way to make a really nice mint beer. Nevertheless, I found myself surprised by how much I enjoyed Stone's Mint Coffee Milk Stout. My optimism started with the aroma. The mint was not at the forefront at all. It was full of coffee, lactose, chocolate and roasted malt. The mint was present in the flavor, delicately blended with the chocolate. The coffee is the star of the show here, dominating the first few sips. It was complimented nicely by chocolate & lactose. This provided a nice creamy mouthfeel leading to a surprisingly clean finish. As it began to warm, the combination of chocolate & lactose rose to the forefront. This caused the beer to become a bit too sweet for my liking. That criticism aside I did actually enjoy this beer. I would have liked it to have a little more body but everything works fairly well here. It has just the right amount of mint. It compliments the other flavors here, never overpowering them. For a flavored stout it is nicely balanced.

I am not sure I can say that this beer completely changed my opinion of using mint in beer. This beer worked because the mint was used as a compliment to the beer. At no point is the mint the star of the show. I am looking forward to seeing what the reaction is to this beer. I doubt it will be as polarizing as Peppermint Victory at Sea. From my standpoint, mint in beer may not be my favorite thing but from now on I will certainly be more open-minded when it comes to mint flavored stouts.

Overall I would rate Stone Mint Coffee Milk Stout a 3.5/5. Stone Brewing delivers again with a really nice mint flavored stout.


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