Kent Dubai - creamy milk stout

Tasting Summary

These comments are the opinion of the individual reviewer and represent what they thought of the beer on a particular day in a particular pub. If a review is less favourable, it may be because the beer suffered somewhere in the supply chain between them and the brewery.

The River Ale House, East Greenwich, Greater London

Who	Score	When	Notes
Philip Pirrip	Not Tried	30 Sep 2026	Still around!
Philip Pirrip	Not Tried	29 Sep 2026
Hogan Sampling	Not Tried	29 Sep 2026
Philip Pirrip	Not Tried	27 Sep 2026
Hogan Sampling	Not Tried	27 Sep 2026
Hogan Sampling	Not Tried	26 Sep 2026
Philip Pirrip	Not Tried	24 Sep 2026
Hogan Sampling	Not Tried	24 Sep 2026
Philip Pirrip	Not Tried	23 Sep 2026
Philip Pirrip	Not Tried	22 Sep 2026
Hogan Sampling	Not Tried	22 Sep 2026
Hogan Sampling	Not Tried	21 Sep 2026
Philip Pirrip		20 Sep 2026	Milk stout that did not live up to its glowing tasting notes
Hogan Sampling		20 Sep 2026	2nd beer of this visit: Second day on with a good creamy head and lasting lacing on this milk stout brewed at Birling Place Farm, Birling, Kent, north of West Malling, with the microbrewery set up in 2010. A sweet chocolatey first bite on this dessert-style sweet stout inspired by the viral "Dubai chocolate" trend. Its dark-roasted malt base with pistachio, chocolate, and lactose milk sugar contributing to its dessert-like sweetness for me. A dry hoppiness lending earthy and spicy touches and emanating from its traditional English hop varieties, Fuggles and East Kent Goldings. A dry, spicy malty bitterness lingering with a chocolatey sweetness prevailing with hints of nutty pistachio on its outflow down my whistle. Served still in good nick but far too sweet for me and so a half once again sufficed on its second night.
Hogan Sampling		19 Sep 2026	2nd beer of this visit: Fresh on with very good head and lasting lacing on this milk stout from Birling, Kent, north of West Malling, with the microbrewery set up in 2010 in a farmhouse location at Birling Place Farm. A dry malted first hit on this dessert-style sweet stout inspired by the viral "Dubai chocolate" trend. A chocolatey and milky maltiness rising from its dark-roasted malt base alongside pistachio, chocolate, and lactose milk sugar lending it, its dessert-like sweetness. A hint of dry hoppiness shining through from the earthy and spicy traditional English hop varieties, namely Fuggles and East Kent Goldings. A chocolatey sweetness with hints of nutty pistachio contrasted with a dry, spicy malty bitterness lingering on its slide downwards. Served in very good nick but too sweet for me and so a half sufficed.

The Two Halves, Margate, Kent

Who	Score	When	Notes
Dosser		09 Sep 2026	Superb creamy stout at £4.50 with a wonderful view.

The Magnet (formerly The Magnet Micropub), Broadstairs, Kent

Who	Score	When	Notes
Hogan Sampling		22 Aug 2026	2nd beer of this visit: Served with an excellent head and a lasting creamy lacing on this milk stout from farmhouse brewing set up in 2011 in Birling, West Malling, Kent. A dry bitter first bite. From its malted barley and roasted malts, a chocolatey, coffee-infused cocktail of maltiness rising but not too much of an overload of a chocolate milkshake for me! A bitterness winning over from its locally sourced Fuggles, a woody, spicy and slightly damp-earth flavoured hop, and East Kent Goldings, an earthy, herbal and honey-like hop, and there to balance out the heavy sugars of the lactose and chocolate. A subtle fruity hoppiness bobbing up and down mixed with its creamy cocoa and balanced by its Middle Eastern creamy green nuttiness from imitating the middle layer of the Dubai chocolate bars. Pistachio is a culinary nut and is scientifically the edible seed of a drupe, a fruit with a hard stone, like a peach or a cherry. The pistachio tree* is native to Central Asia and the Middle East. A lingering dry sweet hoppiness with hints of chocolate waving on its descent. Its lactose (milk sugar) aiding its thick, creamy slide through its chocolatey layers from its chocolate and cocoa extracts. In top form. *Pistachios today largely come from the United States (mainly California), Iran and Turkey, producing roughly 87% of the entire world's crop.

Artillery Arms, Ramsgate, Kent

Who	Score	When	Notes
Dosser		09 Apr 2026
Dosser		05 Apr 2026	Very creamy stout

The Three Pillars, Gravesend, Kent

Who	Score	When	Notes
Hogan Sampling		07 Mar 2026	3rd beer of this visit: A very creamy head presented on this milk stout and sticking to the end. A malty fruity first bite off this dark creamy concoction from Birling, north of West Malling, Kent, and forming part of their specialty range designed to be a dessert-style beer. A gentle chocolatey note rising with creamy pistachio infusions bobbing up and down aided by lactose (milk sugar), lending it a sweet and creamy texture. A dark fruited maltiness winning over from its roasted malt base. A dry malty bitterness paddling out from hop varieties such as Fuggles and East Kent Goldings likely to have been used to give an earthy, spicy and mild bitterness to balance the sweetness of the lactose and chocolate. One half sufficed as somewhat over-sweetened for my taste buds.