When it comes to beer, breweries have not shied away from experimenting with flavours and beer lovers have gladly accepted what the brewers have offered to them and continue to do so till date. While some experiments have been a miss, most have been hits, with the new taste and character appealing to a specific beer drinking crowd.
When some breweries picked up lactose as an ingredient, many could not wrap their heads around it. To be honest, beer was considered to be a manly drink which was made out of just grains. But with time, perceptions changed. Beer is a ‘human’ drink now and no new ingredient can put off a beer enthusiast if it adds a delicious flavour to the beverage.
One might think the concept of milky beers is new to the market. To clear this misconception, I am obligated to tell you that lactose beers have been around since the 1800s. Once quite popular in England, the trend died a fast death during the mid 90s. With the trend making a successful comeback, many breweries like Lefthand Brewing have gone ahead by making lactose beers as their flagship beverage.
Earlier, milk sugar (lactose) was mostly added to stouts to give the dark beer a sweet taste and a creamier consistency. This style gained fame and breweries started to brew sweet stouts/cream stouts for their consumer-base. Soon, the world was introduced to pastry stouts. These beers are dessert-like, lactose being one of the many ingredients among maple syrup, brown sugar and cinnamon.
But the sweet beer trend didn’t contain itself to just stouts. Brewers started to add lactose to lagers and sour ales. Such experiments brought the delicious Milkshake IPAs to the forefront. Fruity-sweet and heavy-bodied, the beer has the characteristics of a milkshake!
Though the lactose beer industry is enjoying the market, they are faced with some drawbacks as well. A good share of beer drinkers are lactose intolerant. That means a good share of the market can not explore beers that are brewed with milk sugar as an ingredient.
If you are not lactose intolerant, make sure you indulge in lactose beers whenever you get a chance. A few of the popular ones are Kiuchi Brewery’s Hitachino Nest Lacto Sweet Stout, Watney’s Cream Stout, Mackeson’s XXX Stout and Tired Hands Brewing Company’s Milkshake IPA’s.
And don’t forget to share your experience with us in the comments below!
