Hooligans vs Left Hand Milk Stout

As I mentioned on Tafel Mystère Belgian Single (Batch 367), I had some Pack o' Hooligans Stout on my last brew day, but wanted to give it it's own blog post.

As you probably know if you've been following along, Pack o' Hooligans is my Roll-a-Style beer for the BJCP Style 16A. Sweet Stout.

Now, when I think of "Sweet Stout", my mind goes to Left Hand Milk Stout as the defining commercial example.

I'm fairly lucky to be able to get Left Hand Milk Stout anytime I want and decided to compare Pack o' Hooligans Stout vs Left Hand Milk Stout.

I tried the two beers together last Saturday. 

 

Now, to be transparent, you may remember that on 2024 Learn to Homebrew Day, when I brewed Hooligans, I got distracted and boiled my bittering hops longer than intended.

And, a longer boil obviously increases the bitterness.

Since one of the characteristic elements of the Sweet / Milk Stout style is "sweetness", if I were to brew the style again, I would try to follow along the recipe and not how I actually brewed it.

And ... unsurprisingly, Left Hand Milk Stout does taste significantly sweeter than Pack o' Hooligans Stout.

However, I do actually generally prefer more balanced beers, so Pack o' Hooligans does actually fit more in my preferences.

It probably wouldn't do great in a competition, but to me it actually tastes better.

I guess to be fair, the IBU range for the 16A. Sweet Stout is actually fairly wide, so my IBU fits in the range.

Left Hand is a bit higher in ABV at 6% vs 4.5% of Pack o' Hooligans Stout, but both are on opposite ends of being "in style". 

Visually, they look almost exactly the same. They are very black with a nice tan head. The Left Hand might have slightly thicker, longer lasting foam, but not really significantly better.

I would say Left Hand is fuller in body, but that might be simply the sweetness biasing the perception.

The roast and chocolate notes are very similar. They are both smooth and extremely drinkable, but I prefer the less sweet, more balanced character of Hooligans Stout.

I'm very proud of how Hooligans turned out even with the "screw up" on brew day.

My last couple "comparison" posts have included BBQ photos / text. While I actually didn't BBQ the day I did this comparison, I thought I'd include Sunday's Chuck Roast smoke in this post to be consistent.

If you have been paying attention to this blog for awhile, you know I do shredded beef, on the smoker quite often.

It makes nice sandwiches.

Generally, I smoke the chuck for a few hours, and then let it finish in the Crock-pot. I did the same thing on Sunday.

As always, it turned out fantastic. I love putting the beef on a roll with some cheese and pickles for a sandwich.

We always have left-overs as well, which are great for lunches over the week.

Yum!

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Go Blackhawks!