Beer of the Week: Milk Truck

From the Beer Writer: Vanilla is well known for the way it so exquisitely amplifies baked goods and other confectionery treats. Its cohesiveness with sugar is such that many people aren’t aware of how at home it can be in savory dishes. Ever had lobster with butter or a sauce infused with vanilla? Life changing! In adding to their portfolio, the brewing team at Mother Earth Brew Co. sought out to celebrate a coffee-house staple: the vanilla latté. Despite the saccharine way some Starbucks frequenters prefer this espresso drink, the sugar is negotiable and can be left out altogether. After all, vanilla is supposed to be the star, and it is in this stout. Dubbed Milk Truck, it’s brewed with coffee, oats and lactose (aka, milk sugar, hence the beer’s moniker). It would seem a restrained hand was used with that last ingredient, because while there’s some sweetness, the coffee and roasted malts play a bigger part in creating a mostly savory flavor profile. And in a day and age where high-alcohol sugar-bomb stouts are the cat’s pajamas, this beer’s 5.8% ABV (alcohol-by-volume) is another asset borne of restraint. Milk Truck feels like a trip to the coffee shop where one breezes by the baked-goods counter and heads straight and single-mindedly for the barista.

From the Brewer: “To determine the types of specialty malts to use, we created malt teas to test chocolate, roasted-barley and caramel malts from as many maltsters as possible. Combined with the experience of our Vista Head Brewer Bret Stitzman, we were able to put together a balanced recipe with nuances in all the right places. With some American and some British malts we built a great base beer with dark caramel, chocolate and coffee flavors that meld perfectly with the lightly sweet addition of lactose. There was one thing left to create the perfect beer version of a vanilla latte and that was coffee. We worked with a local coffee roaster to develop the profile we wanted using Brazilian, Columbian and Guatemalan beans with a medium roast that accentuates the rich coffee notes you’d find in a good latte. Being Mother Earth, we had to add some vanilla to get the fan favorite vanilla latte profile we all know and love. The beer is smooth, full-flavored and reminiscent of a coffee-house favorite.”—Chris Baker, Director of Brewery Operations, Mother Earth Brew Co.