It’s summertime in Boston again, which means it’s time for another American Craft Beer Fest. This year was a lot of fun. Team Beeriety got to try a lot of new beers and chat with a bunch of different beers lovers. We saw some familiar faces, but also made many new friends and tried many new beers. Here are five of our favorites.

Boulevard Brewing

None of us had ever heard of this Kansas City based brewery before the fest, but it’s safe to say we’re now all fans. All of their beers we tried were amazing. In particular we enjoyed their Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale. This delicious Saison, dry-hopped with Amarillo, completely blew us away. Unfortunately Boulevard doesn’t distribute out to our homebase of Boston, but if you can get you’re hand on some, you’re sure to enjoy it.

White Birch Brewing

White Birch is a relatively young brewery from Hookset, NH that has recently caught our attention. We were really impressed by their Wrīgian beer. This Belgian strong ale made with Rye was another really surprising find of the day – a lovely marriage of the spicy complexity of rye and the full, sweet flavor traditional to so many Belgians.

Goose Island

This sizable brewery out of Chicago made quite an impression with fest goers. The line to try their Bourbon County Brand Vanilla Stout was of the longest we’ve ever seen at any beer festival. The beer did not disappoint, with big bold flavors that were nicely balanced by vanilla.

Brooklyn Brewery

Brooklyn never fails to disappoint with their beer and this year was no different. The brew that stood out for most of us was The Concoction, an unusual beer brewed with smoked malt, minced ginger, lemon juice and wildflower honey. It was tasty, but unlike any other beer I’ve had in awhile.

Duck Rabbit

A North Carolina Brewery that specializes in dark beers, this place has steadily been growing its reputation over the last few years. Their End of Reason was one of the best baltic porters I’ve had in many, many years. If you’re lucky enough to have access to this brewery, you’re in for a treat.

Did you attend the ACBF? If so let us know what you’re favorite beers were in the comments!

Milk stout was once thought to be extremely nutrious.

To those unfamiliar with the style, milk stout may sound pretty gross. Pouring milk into a glass of IPA seems like a terrible, terrible idea. Fortunately that’s not what milk stout is at all. It’s actually a tasty and delicious form of stout that is a great way to introduce someone to the world of heavier beers. Let’s take a look at what this style has to offer.

Although the style is known as ‘milk stout’ the name is a bit of a misnomer. There really is no milk in the beer, but rather lactose sugar. This is the type of sugar found in milk and one of the main things that gives it its creamy goodness. During the brewing process most sugar in the wort (pre-beer) is fermented into alcohol by yeast. However, there is always some sugar that the yeast is unable to process. This unfermented sugar remains in the beer and is what imparts a sweet taste to the brew. The sweeter the beer the more unfermented sugar there is in it. During the mashing process a brewmaster is able to control how much sugar will be fermented and how much will remain unfermented. Through this process wildly differing beers can be crafted from similar ingredients.

Lactose sugar simply can’t be fermented by most brewing yeast, so all of it will remain in the beer, giving it a creamy and smooth taste. This makes for a wonderfully delightful brew that’s great in the winter months, or any time of year really. The lactose sugar takes off much of the dry bitterness that many stouts and porters can have, which means that can be good way of introducing someone to the world of stouts and porters if they haven’t enjoyed them in the past.

Although it’s impossible to say for sure, milk stouts seem to be of British origin, having roots somewhere in the sweet stouts and cream ales of old. Mackeson Triple XXX Milk Stout was for many years the most popular version of the stout. With its sweet and smooth flavors it’s a must try for anyone. Sadly it appears Mackeson has been retired by its parent company Whitbread. But fret not, American craft brewers Left Hand also make a delicious milk stout, which is a bit less sweet than Mackeson, but still wonderful. Duck-Rabbit, an up and coming brewing based in Farmville, NC also make a great milk stout, be sure to give them a taste as well.

What’s your favorite milk stout? Next time you try it, let us know by tweeting your beer and adding the #mybeer hashtag.