Massive Recall for Left Hand’s Milk Stout Nitro

Over 20,000 cases of Left Hand Brewery’s most popular brew, the Milk Stout Nitro, are being recalled. The cause? A foreign brewing yeast came in contact with the beer and led to a a secondary fermentation inside of the bottles. While the beer is still good to drink, the increase in CO2 is disturbing the gas qualities of the beer and causing the beer to overflow and disrupt the desired nitro cascade.

Details on providing replacement beers are being worked out. The process could take up to six weeks. In the meantime, those who purchased the beer are kindly asked to return it to the store that sold it to them. Below are the complete details of the recall from the Longmont brewery.

To Our Valued Left Hand Fans,

Left Hand is issuing a recall of Milk Stout Nitro bottles with specific best by dates that do not meet brand specs due to a foreign brewing yeast. In addition, we will be eliminating in-process beer and packaged beer in our coolers which were impacted.

Recalled beers include Milk Stout Nitro bottles with best by dates of 10/16/16 to 2/28/17 as well as Milk Stout Nitro that is included in Mountain Mixers, our variety package, with codes 130B to 242A.

Like other breweries, Left Hand uses specific yeast strains for our ales and lagers. Each yeast strain gives specific desirable characteristics to the beers and are a key ingredient in our recipes. Unfortunately, a foreign brewing yeast, which looks just like our own yeast, came into contact with our house ale yeast and impacted the gas in our bottles for specific periods of time and under certain conditions.

Because the yeast looks similar to our own ale strain, it was not identified until the Milk Stout Nitro bottles arrived in the market, with the gas mixture further impacted under specific conditions. We have discovered that the foreign yeast strain is creating a secondary fermentation inside of the bottles and is causing an increase in CO2. The resulting effect is changing the gas qualities of the beer and causing the beer to overflow and disrupt the customary nitro cascade.

While we believe this to be a Milk Stout Nitro bottle issue, we are doing extensive testing of every single batch of ale in our brewery and in the market and releasing them for distribution one by one. Nitro kegs are less susceptible due to the lower amount of dissolved oxygen and cold storage which is standard for kegs.

Quality is of the utmost importance to Left Hand. In addition to recalling compromised Milk Stout Nitro bottles, we are acting immediately to rectify the issue. We have eliminated our current house yeast, sanitized all equipment to eradicate any potential trace of the foreign yeast and have implemented new practices. We will begin brewing immediately to replace lost beer and get the beer back in your glass.

If you believe that you have purchased Milk Stout Nitro bottles or our Mountain Mixer pack with the best by dates and codes listed above, please return to the location where you purchased it. Replacement Milk Stout Nitro will be available in approximately six weeks. If you wish to send additional questions or feedback, you may do so by completing the online beer feedback form at http://lefthandbrewing.com/contact/#Feedback.

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and we thank you for your understanding and continued loyalty. Left Hand is proud to be a brewery of integrity, quality, and transparency from our kettles to the glass. From all of our employee-owners to all of our beer drinking fans, we appreciate your continued faith in our unwavering commitment to provide you the best beer drinking experience.

Chris Lennert

Chief Operating Officer