Night Shift to Release Horchata-Inspired Milk Stout

El Lechedor, a bourbon barrel-aged rarity, makes a brief appearance at the end of January.

By Christopher Hughes· 1/19/2015, 4:27 p.m.

El Lechedor glassware at Night Shift. Photo via Night Shift Brewing

After brewing an experimental, six-barrel batch of El Lechedor last winter—then watching it promptly disappear at their Everett brewery—Night Shift Brewing decided to dedicate more time, energy, and barrels into producing its second iteration. Brewed with cinnamon, poblano peppers, vanilla beans, lactose sugar, and nutmeg, the decadent milk stout (7.2% ABV) actually drinks like Mexican horchata, albeit with roasted undertones from a hefty dose of chocolate malts and a boozier kick, thanks to its predominant aging in used bourbon barrels.

“We’ve tried a number of different variations of this style and these kinds of spices,” says Night Shift cofounder Michael Oxton. “We wanted to give our own take on a milk stout and the recipe we produced last year was so successful, we just knew we had to brew it again. The recipe is pretty much the same as last year, the main difference being that we used mostly fresh bourbon barrels instead of used barrels from our Bean Porter program. And we aged it for four weeks, so that vanilla-y bourbon character is much more prevalent.”

Night Shift has tripled production on their El Lechedor this year, producing 18 barrels, which will translate roughly to a thousand 750ml bottles ($15) and a limited number of kegs. Like last year, draft pours and bottle sales will be limited to the brewery.

To help celebrate its release, Night Shift will be throwing a party on January 28 with food from Munch Mobile Kitchen and free branded glassware for the first 100 customers. The special El Lechedor glassware, which can also be purchased for $5, were appropriately modeled after milkshake soda fountain glasses. Needless to say, supplies are extremely limited on both the beer and the commemorative lucha libre glass.