I am more of a wine than a beer drinker but on a hot day with a plate of juicy pork ribs my curiosity was awakened by Mother’s Milk.
Usually I am not fond of stouts as this type of brews has a certain bitterness to it but I decided to put it to the test.
After all one of the reasons I came for Lunch at the Zipper Factory Tavern was to have a brasserie like experience.
Another reason to try this Mother’s Milk was that it is a local kid made in Kingston, New York by Keegan Ales. Here is how they describe this baby: "a dark, rich, and creamy milk stout with hints of chocolate" as for the finish no bitterness but "smooth and silky".
Wikipedia offers this on Milk Stouts: "Milk stout (also called sweet stout or cream stout) is a stout containing lactose, a sugar derived from milk. Because lactose is unfermentable by Saccharomyces cerevisiae, it adds sweetness, body, and calories to the finished beer. Contemporary labelling standards prevent the use of the term in the UK. The classic example of sweet stout is Mackeson’s XXX.
Milk stout was supposed to be very nutritious, and was given to nursing mothers. In 1875, John Henry Johnson first sought a patent for a milk beer, based on whey, lactose, and hops.
Milk stout was not very widely distributed before Mackeson’s Brewery acquired the patents to produce it in 1910. Since then its production has been licensed to other brewers."
As far as I know this Mother’s Milk is only available in New York State.
Besides offering us fine brews Keegan Ales links with some fine neighbors such as virtuoso bass player Tony Levin currently touring with Peter Gabriel whose recent venture WE7 I mentioned last week.
I will tell you more about the Zipper Factory in a week or so as soon I have their Summer menu.
In the meantime, if you are in the Madison Square Garden area and looking for a cozy and relaxing place to do lunch (or dinner) only a block away from the hubbub of 8th Avenue (on 37th Street) give them a try. You will be pleasantly surprised.
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