As Lord Figment, ruler of Epcot welcomes guests to the first festival of 2025, we know I am searching for beer. Now, at the The Artist’s Table in the American Adventure pavilion, I’ve heard some chatter about Wicked Weed’s “Pineapple Daydream IPA.” Now, I love me Dole Whip, but I was fooled once by Wicked Weed with a Pineapple IPA where I just couldn't really find the pineapple hidden in dankness. So Pass! But as I grabbed the Deviled Egg Trio I also saw a stout and I jumped in.
Lost Coast's "Peanut Butter Chocolate Stout"
Lost Coast Brewery’s “Peanut Butter Chocolate Stout” is one of a few milk stouts that are offered at the 2025 Festival of the Arts…or FARTS (school kids all chuckle)! “Peanut Butter Chocolate Stout” is a 5.6% ABV with 21 IBU milk stout, though I didn’t really catch any hop bite. The sips are malty to give a light chocolate flavor or a light dark sweet bread. The peanut butter is balanced but not overwhelming. A milk stout has the addition of lactose which does make this brew a little sweeter than a normal stout, but not overly sweet (a theme). And the lactose makes it super silky on the palette. On a cool festival night, it’s a nice addition.
But, it’s not my favorite peanut butter stout ever. I’ve been raised on Minnesota’s Dangerous Man "Peanut Butter Porter"! That brew explodes with chocolate and peanut butter. I’ve added small portions of it to a regular porter, and instantly made it a peanut butter bomb. I’ll confess that beer was so thick and filling, that I couldn't even make a dent in a second pint bought the first night I had it. So not to be a pain, my festival sips were a little light for me.
Now, my drinking companion made an audible gasp with their first sips and found it to be a milky peanut butter chocolate. But if you are sharing my tastes, it was a light not overly sweet peanut butter brew. I think they found the flavors to be sweeter and stronger.
Lost Coast Brewery is nearer to Disneyland than Epcot, founded in 2014 in Eureka, California. For a brewery that I have never tasted before, they have some impressive capacity, with 225,000 cans and bottles and 800 kegs produced daily. They do this through what many breweries would die for, a state-of-the-art and highly efficient facility. And after ten years, it is a production that I assume had dialed in their recipes for their high-tech equipment. While they have some seasonals, it looks like they have focused on a core lineup. Honestly, I love getting a taste from so far away.
Who Drinks This? If you like stouts or milk stouts, you won’t be disappointed. It is also a beer you can consider if you want to try this style, as it drinks smooth but is not overwhelming in flavors, unlike Dangerous Man’s peanut butter classic! This beer is out there in cans in some U.S. markets, and I can see it being a nice drinkable stout for get-togethers and hangouts.