13 Best Stout Beers For All Beer Lovers Out There
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Stout beers have come a long way since the first time these beer styles were created. Whether it's the roasted, coffee-like taste, or the rich, dark color, people have embraced and loved this beer!
When it comes to this flavorful beer style, plenty of options are available. To help you choose which ones are worth trying, here is a list of the 13 best stout beers that you should try at least once in your life!
Our Top Picks
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Best Overall - Goose Island Bourbon County Stout• Highly rated |
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Best Splurge - The Bruery Black Tuesday Imperial Stout• Aged for at least one year in bourbon barrels |
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Best Bargain - North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout• High rating despite affordable price |
1. Goose Island Bourbon County Stout - Best Overall
The Bourbon County Stout was created to commemorate the 1000th batch brewed at the distilleries' first Clybourn brewpub. This rich Imperial Stout is blended from a combination of bourbon barrels from several distilleries, all aged for 8 to 14 months in freshly drained bourbon barrels.
The liquid is extra dark, with thick foam that derives from the bourbon barrel. The nose is a complex blend of charred oak, cocoa, vanilla, caramel, and smoke. A taste will reveal chocolate and vanilla flavors, oak, whiskey, and molasses, accompanied by caramel, berry fruit, and almond.
2. The Bruery Black Tuesday Imperial Stout - Best Splurge
The Bruery's Black Tuesday, created by the brewery's most dreadful day ever, swiftly rose to the status of a legend in the craft beer world. After a 16-hour brew day, an overflowing mash, and burns from scorching water, this Imperial Stout was born.
Brewing company founder Patrick Rue, who was so enraged by the beer, decided to store it for a year in bourbon barrels. The beer that came out was extraordinary.
At 19% ABV, Black Tuesday is just the same beer it was 10 years ago. Even though it now spends at least 12 months in bourbon barrels and occasionally up to 16 months.
The hue is a rich, dark brown with no discernible head. With a whiff, you'll detect strong hints of bourbon, oak, and toffee. This decadent ale has rich, warming flavors of vanilla and caramel, dark chocolate, and bourbon.
3. Maine Beer Co. Mean Old Tom Stout
The Maine Beer Company began modestly, with founders David and Daniel Kleban using a one-barrel system. They expanded quickly, propelled by an ever-increasing tailwind of great small-batch recipes and word-of-mouth praises. A grumpy face is painted in its pristine white-colored label, much like its name.
This jet black American-style stout has the aromas of sweet malt, dark chocolate, coffee, molasses, and spiced sweetness. It features dark chocolate flavors with a roasted texture and an almost astringent aftertaste emphasized by the hops. The vanilla offers a wonderful underlying spice but isn't overpowering.
This is another of those excellent beers for a night when you simply want things to slow down slightly. Overall, the vanilla stays a team member, just hinting without slapping you on the face.
4. Stone Brewing Co. Xocoveza Imperial Stout
Stone Brewery's chocolaty, winter-spiced mocha stout, made with cocoa, coffee, peppers, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg, is their spin on Mexican hot chocolate.
They brewed this for the first time in 2014 alongside San Diego homebrewer Chris Banker, whose recipe won their yearly homebrew competition. It rapidly became popular and has been on their holiday menu ever since.
The flavors of cocoa and cinnamon emerge first, followed by coffee, nutmeg, and vanilla. The fruitiness and slight spice of the peppers are warm on the aftertaste, while chocolate is present in every sip.
It's the same exquisite formula that fans have been clamoring for since 2014, marking the start of shorter days and longer nights. Enjoy now or later in the year because this one aged well.
5. Guinness Pub Draught Stout
This Irish stout may be the world's most popular dark beer style, and Guinness deserves a lot of credit for that.
The classic Irish beer is distributed worldwide, thanks to its smooth combination of low alcohol—just north of 4% ABV for its iconic draught version—and balanced bittersweet tastes, with a fragrance reminiscent of freshly made coffee tempered with a dash of milk.
When this beer was made in 1959, it was to celebrate Arthur Guinness signing a 9,000-year lease. It was an excellent way to mark 200 years of groundbreaking brewing. This smooth, velvety texture came about when nitrogen gas and carbon dioxide were mixed together brilliantly.
This is the first and original nitrogen-infused beer. Although it appears black and heavy when you first encounter it, it really tastes incredibly light and smooth. It swirls with the aromas of roasted barley, caramel, coffee, and chocolate.
6. Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout
The oatmeal stout was once marketed as a beverage for breastfeeding moms. Back then, it was labeled as nutritional.
A modest amount of oats in the same family as barley gives fantastic taste and smoothness to the finished product. Oatmeal stouts were popular in the late 1800s, but none were produced until World War II. That is until Samuel Smith brought them back in 1980.
This oatmeal stout is brewed and fermented in stone vessels and uses water from the original well at the Old Brewery that dates back to the 1800s. This stout is a pleasure to drink with its almost-opacity, silky and smooth mouthfeel, nuanced medium-dry flavor, and bittersweet aftertaste.
7. Prairie Artisan Ales Bomb! Imperial Stout
Prairie Bomb! is a fitting name for this brew. This Imperial Stout's incredible complexity results in a tremendous burst of mouthwatering flavors and aromas that linger long after the final sip has been taken.
This stout is aged on Nordaggio's espresso beans, vanilla beans, chocolate, and ancho chili peppers. As a result, this beer has a distinctive taste profile. Adding a little spice from the peppers to the coffee and chocolate flavors creates a perfect balance.
8. Perennial Artisan Ales Barrel-Aged Abraxas
Many brewers in today's craft beer scene are producing some sort of barrel-aged beers of their own. However, there aren't many that do it brilliantly. In contrast, St. Louis-based Perennial Artisan Ales releases one of the most outstanding barrel-aged beers on the market.
Barrel-Aged Abraxas is undoubtedly one of the rarest stout beers. The barrel-aged Abraxas Imperial Stout is aged in Rittenhouse Rye barrels. Cacao nibs, vanilla beans, cinnamon sticks, and ancho chiles are added to the aging process.
Barrel-aged Abraxas has a rich body with a delightful lingering roasted note that pours a deep brown with a thick head. It tastes just as terrific as it sounds, but because it's only made once a year, it's tough to come by.
9. Firestone Walker Brewing Company Velvet Merlin Oatmeal Stout
Brewmaster Matt "Merlin" Brynildson, who has won several top awards in beer competitions, was the inspiration for the name of this oatmeal stout.
Firestone Walker Velvet Merlin is an excellent example of the style, with flavors of hazelnut, cocoa powder, and roasted coffee intertwined with undertones of vanilla and toasted pecan.
This beer is made with many oats, which gives it a nice smooth feel. It has a medium-full body but is not too sweet, making it great for everyday drinking.
10. Deschutes Brewery Obsidian Stout
A stout as dark as the neighboring volcanic flow that bears its name, Deschutes Obsidian Stout is what you would call a standard American stout. It has rich flavors of dark roasted coffee, chocolate, caramel, and subtle background notes of black licorice and dried figs.
Because of its use of American hops, American stouts typically have scents and tastes of citrus or pine resin, and this brew flawlessly incorporates those hop qualities.
11. North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout - Best Bargain
The first Russian imperial stout, contrary to its name, was produced in England as a present for Russia's Emperor Peter the Great. The style is distinguished by its greater alcohol concentration and full-bodied taste.
The aroma is mainly made up of sharp espresso notes. Still, it also has smooth caramel and toffee touches and hints of milk chocolate. There are also some floral scents among the intense coffee aromas. The stout is black as night, with a velvety tan head that lasts until the last sip.
The flavors of this beer are heavy on the roasted notes, but it also has a lot of malty sweetness. The outright bitterness at the front and how it worked with the dark coffee and cocoa flavors were pleasant surprises. This stout is perfect for a chilly fall night or beachside bonfires.
12. Hardywood Gingerbread Stout
In 2018, "pastry stouts," or dessert-inspired brews, became more popular, but few lasted more than a year. Hardywood's Gingerbread Stout, on the other hand, showed that the trend could endure.
Baby ginger and wildflower honey from nearby farms go into the making of Hardywood Gingerbread Stout. Intricate flavors of milk chocolate, vanilla, honeycomb, and cinnamon morph into a bite of ginger in the end in this rich, creamy libation that embodies the essence of central Virginia.
13. AleSmith Speedway Stout
The dark, pitch-black hue of Speedway Stout, has become a trademark of this modern-day classic. The flavor is mainly dominated by chocolate and roasted malts, with hints of dark fruit, toffee, and caramel.
Each batch has a suitable dosage of locally roasted coffee, which brings out the dark chocolate tastes and improves the beer's drinkability.
Despite its strength, the delicate carbonation and creamy texture of Speedway Stout make it exceedingly smooth and surprisingly simple to drink. This beer matures exceptionally well and will continue to age for many years.
Conclusion
The rich, dark color and the roasted coffee-like taste of stouts have made it a popular beer style. It's not surprising that various people love this type of beer!
If you're looking for your next favorite stout, try one from our list to determine if it is worthy enough for your palate!
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