Nitro Candy Cane Imperial Peppermint Milk Stout

Review Date 12/15/2023  By John Staradumsky

  Style: Spiced   Brewery: Left Hand   Country: USA   State: Colorado   $ Per OZ: $.27 (B)   ABV: 9.5%

Is this a new beer? This might be a new beer. At least, I don’t recall ever seeing Left Hand Nitro Candy Cane Imperial Peppermint Milk Stout before. As I type, there are 2166 check-ins to this beer on Untappd (one of them is mine!), and 1580 of them are from this month. So, I am thinking this is a new beer for 2023. I have not seen it in stores, but it sounded quite interesting, so I bought a can from Half Time Beverage.

I just love the contrast of bright holiday peppermint against the dark chocolate roasty notes of a stout. Such beers can inspire thoughts of candy canes, but of course also a cool Peppermint Patty candy. I will end any suspense about this beer immediately and let you know it did not beat out my favrite example of such beers, Jekyll Redneck Christmas Stout, which still reigns supreme.

Of their Nitro Candy Cane Imperial Peppermint Milk Stout, Left Hand says on their website:

Take a walk down Candy Cane Lane and experience the aromas of rich chocolate, fresh peppermint, and a hint of coffee. This smooth, full-bodied Imperial Peppermint Milk Stout is reminiscent of peppermint bark and will keep you warm and cozy on a cold winter's night. So snuggle up to the fire, and enjoy the mo-mint.

Ingredients from the website:

MALT  2-Row, C-40, C-120, Munich, Rolled Oats, Flaked Barley, Chocolate

HOPS CTZ

OTHER         Lactose, Peppermint

Left Hand Nitro Candy Cane Imperial Peppermint Milk Stout has an alcohol content of 9.5% by volume and I paid $4.99 for my can from Half Time. Total Wine sells it for $14.49 a 4-pack at their Atlanta location at Akers Mill. This comes in a pint can, but the label says the contents are 13.65 ounces, with the remainder apparently being nitrogen gas. My can is stamped BEST BY 05/05/2024.

Left Hand Nitro Cane Imperial Peppermint Milk Stout pours to a dark black (but not opaque) color with a thick creamy tan head from the nitro pour and a nose of smooth milk chocolate and bright festive peppermint. Taking a sip, the beer is light in body, too thin to my taste.  It’s chocolaty, and the nitrogen adds a smooth creaminess, but the thin body is still distracting. The peppermint is here, and I like it. It is the star of the show. The beer finishes with a grassy hop aroma that detracts from the peppermint and does not seem to work well with it.

Would I buy it again? Not this year, but if they bring ir back, I do enjoy these beers enough that I would want to see if they got it right the second time. Still, since that’s not a certainty, I will not at this time call this a rebuy.   

Glad I tried it?  T

Would I rebuy it??