Milk Beer - Dr Moo, Lactiwel, Chinese Awes and Bilk

Homer: Got any of that beer that has candy floating in it? You know, Skittlebrau?
Apu: Such a beer does not exist, sir. I think you must have dreamed it.
Homer: Oh. Well, then just give me a six-pack and a couple of bags of Skittles.

The ‘Art of Skittlebrau’, beer judged not only on taste, but also on appearance post-skittle induction. Able to be produced in a wide variety of flavours and colours, Skittlebrau is confectionary brewing at it’s finest(?) indeed, the drinker can “taste the rainbow”, and see it too.

I’d imagine the wine critic Willie Gluckstern would also call Skittlebrau ‘a train wreck in the mouth’, like he did wine and cheese. I’m curious what Homer and Willie would make of pints of Dr Moo, Lactiwel, Chinese Awes and Bilk? Milk beer bartender.

Given my occupation and love of beer, I suppose I should be championing the stuff. At the recent Great British Beer festival I tasted a Milk Stout – a beer that contains a lactose derived from milk thrown in at the end of the boil – and a meal it was too, good stuff.

However, ‘whey beer can be produced with or without addition of malt’. That’s just not right, or left, and certainly not real beer. The argument doesn’t look good, nor do the collection of whey beers I’ve found being made in Austria, France, Japan and China look any better either. Still, you got be into win I guess, and good on them for getting in there and having a punt.

In New Zealand, whey processing is big business. The alcohol produced is used in pharmaceuticals, perfumes and inks as well as beverages, like Feijoa Liqueur, KiwiBerry Liqueur, etc… These relatively new NZ whey liqueurs are already available in about 30 countries, competing with other whey liqueurs, notably Bailey's.

I’m not a liqueur fan though, I’m a real beer man. Having said that, I’m interested to have a sup on these milk beers, better the devil you know than the devil you don't eh, and have made enquiries to get me some. The ‘Art of Milk Beer’, beer judged not only on taste, but also on appearance post-whey induction… the things we do…

The dark, smooth milk stout beers remain a part of the brewing heritage of the UK and New Zealand. Are there others in the mash?

Milk Beer Breweries
(I've not included the horse milk beer Kumis - that's another story - below are all cow's milk beers, if you know of any more please let me know)

Dr Moo – Austrian milk beer
‘The country drink for a good life’ Contains 3% alcohol
http://www.telesis.eu/projekte/spannende-konzepte/eine-marke-fuer-ein-regionales-biergetraenk



Lactiwel – French milk beer
Marcel Besnard’s beer made from milk and malt, contains 2% alcohol and is brewed using a fermentation process similar to that of traditional beer, except that instead of ale or lager yeast, Bernard uses kefir yeast and lactic bacteria.
http://www.lactiwel.com/



Bilk – Japanese milk beer
Contained 30% milk, but sadly does not appear to be on their current catalogue. Bilk created a massive media circus upon it’s launch. Abashiri Brewery also like to brew brightly coloured blue, red and green beers.
http://www.takahasi.co.jp/beer/



Chinese Awes - Chinese milk beers
Marketed as a health drink, and awarded “the Chinese beer outstanding innovation product” prize by the Chinese Food Association. A cream coloured beer with a milky aroma, it contains between 0.2% – 6% alcohol. They make a bit of cheese too. Respect.
http://www.china-9.cn/