Stout beers. Post your favorites.

[Looneybomber]

Niconaughts. Add your favorite stouts to this thread.

I'm not a big fan of stout beers, I love abbey/belgium style ales; Tripel and quad ales to be exact. But I've run across a couple stouts which should be available in most areas that you should really try.

By Ommegang of NY: Chocolate stout

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/42/38818
I'm not currently drinking this beer, but for a stout I really liked this beer. It's smooth, pretty flavorful, but not overly powerful. The chocolate is certainly apparent, but Ommegang really did a good job adding it to their beer.

I've paired this beer up with steak, pasta (robust cheeses and heavily seasoned), and sweet & sour chicken breast (not breaded chinese) and it's worked pretty well.

By Avery of CO: Mephistophele's
http://www.averybrewing.com/index2.html
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30/28204

This beer is demonically good, demonically strong...and demonically expensive. I paid 7.99 for a 12oz bottle. Sorry for being melodramatic, but it's in the "demon" series of beers. It's actually not that expensive, I've paid just over $1 per ounce for a beer. Trappist Rochfort or whatever it was.

This beer is black black, and has a TON of flavor. With it's chocolate and burnt barrel aftertaste, I have to wonder if they didn't just melt some chocolate and add some charcoal into the beer to prevent any light from penetrating it.

It pours pretty thick, kinda like a thin cough syrup, and has no head. Do not serve cold, but don't serve room temp either...unless you want a biting flavor, then definately drink it at room temp.

As I am drinking it, I'm still not sure what foods I'd pair this with. It's flavor will be overbearing for any foods I prepare. Maybe it'd work with a blackend chicken or fish. Right now, I am drinking it alone, but could see myself snacking on beef jerky while drinking it.

PS you'll notice all kinds of AbV percentages for this beer. The Avery website lists a different percent (15.1%) than what's printed on my bottle (15.92%) which is different than what beeradvocate lists (13.43%). All I can say is this beer definately has a high alcohol content!

[sbird1]

Sorry, I like to drink beer, not eat it. I'll stick with my Arrogant Bastard and Fat Tire.

[r34 gtr]

Teh boomb!!!

[Looneybomber]

Teh boomb!!!

I drank a growler (64oz jug) of their Dead Guy Ale one night...Wasn't impressed with it. I did see the Dead Guy ale home brewing kit for sale somewhere and it would have been fairly economical to brew it yourself...but I just did not like the flavor enough to ever want to drink it again, let alone gallons of it that I'd likely not brew as good as they do.

That said, their stout makes me leary since I'm not even a big fan of stouts. Although I will give it a try since you say it's good.

[ravagemotorsports]

st. pauli's girl is the best in my opinion

[VRoy]

Fort Collins Double Chocolate Stout 750ml bottle wonderful finish, just a great all around Chocolate stout. We sold out of this very quickly. Also Clipper City Brewing, the Heavy Seas line( higher alc.) Peg Leg stout is very good, and sold in six packs hah. Bells makes some good stouts i think they have 3 to offer, one of them being a imperial.

[Looneybomber]

Do you own or work at a liquor store?

[VRoy]

My Family owed a store called the Tipsy Gourmet before the ecomony took a dump. I was the warehouse manager. Great for tasting the beers that got stocked We carried a rotating stock of about 200 different micro brews and 300 to 400 different bottles of wine. Oh, the good ole' days

[Looneybomber]

The store I like to go to is a wine store (over 2000 different kinds) that carries liquor and beer. They may have 200 different kinds of beer, 100 being microbrew/crafts...I'd have to ask.

I went in one day just after inventory and the guy told me the exact amount of different kinds of wine, but all I remember was it was over 2000. Too bad no body carries the amount of microbrews you guys had, but everyone I talk to would rather pay $6/6pk instead of $6-8/bottle.

[VRoy]

Sounds like your going to Total Wines, or something similar. We had a whole price range, lol from PBR (dont hate best cheap beer out there) to 12 year old barrel aged brews that cost 15 bucks a 12oz.

[Looneybomber]

Oh I'm not hating on pbr, I started drinking it a while back when a bar in Lawrence sold it for $.50 a can! After that I started buying it, but noticed if I drank too much of it...well that bathroom would not smell too nice the next morning.

[VRoy]

haha, thats funny and oh so true. I cant say anything better for wheat beers either lol. PBR is a big college beer around here. For 5.95 a 12 pack you cant beat it for beer pong

[PBfrEAk]

I didn't know you had a thread in here!!

I did a thread on a VERY good stout I tried in GenChat.

Young's Double Chocolate Stout

I'm not a huge fan of stouts either but this one impressed me.

Very Chocolaty and not as ashy. I'm not huge fan of the charred taste.

And on a side note: The Dead Guy Ale didn't impress me too much. It was good, and I was glad I got it...but nothing great.


Modified by PBfrEAk at 12:56 AM 9/16/2009

[Looneybomber]

I too wasn't a big fan of dead guy ale (bought a growler [64oz bottle] and had issues wanting to drink the whole thing). However, Double dead guy ale was pretty good.

[Looneybomber]

Yumm.

[Looneybomber]

Well, I had this beer, but I think my taste buds were all messed up before drinking it. I had a couple pickled and spiced garlic cloves, sundried tomato stuffed olives, and a couple jalapeno stuffed olives before drinking it.

Beeradvocate gave this beer an A. I don't agree with them.


When I drank it, I found it to be a bit too bitter due to not having enough malty flavor to back it up. I even found it to have a bit too much alcohol...which just may be the first time I've thought that the alcohol took AWAY from the flavor. It's only 9% AbV and my most favorite beer is ~16%AbV, so it's not that I don't like highly alcoholic beers.

Price, $7.49/4pk

It's 2.50 cheaper than the Sam Adams imperial stout above, but I would gladly spend that extra 2.50! It's money well spent.

P.S. It's worth noting that it's starting to taste better. I think I overloaded my taste buds with them dang olives and garlic cloves.

[seang]

Bell's Special Double Cream Stout is one of my all time favorite stouts. It's a cream stout, like the name. IDK if they sell Bells' where you live, but they are in alot of states. I was gonna post a pic, but that's alot of work. If you are interested, you can Google it for a fast result. Ask for it by name.

[PBfrEAk]

Lancaster Milk Stout



My new favorite Stout.

I love most Stouts, with my least favorites having very stroong ashy flavors and bitter coffee flavors.http://forums.nicoclub.com/zeromodify?cmd=editpost&id=5218476

This one is wonderful however.

Sweet, caramel and milk notes are VERY strong and wonderful. Not too heavy either.

Normally I let my six packs last me a couple days...this one however will be done tonight.



A MUST DRINK.


Modified by PBfrEAk at 10:41 PM 11/16/2009

[Looneybomber]

I didn't know you had a thread in here!!

I did a thread on a VERY good stout I tried in GenChat.

Young's Double Chocolate Stout

I had that tonight. It's pretty good...not among my favorites, but I would buy it again. I'd rank Ommegangs chocolate stout above it...it's also quite a bit more expensive though I had, ahh crap, I had 3 other pretty good stouts today and a porter worth talking about but I can't remember them all. I also had quite a few other beers and some more when I got home.

[numbnuts240]

delicious.

[srellim234]

I had a chance to try Ten Fidy out of Colorado last week. Outstanding.

Here are some reviews on it from Beeradvocate.com.

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2681/34483

[s0m3th1ngAZ]

My hometown fav
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2104/9442
Terminator Stout.
There was a store here in Beaverton called Liquid Solutions that stocked 200 international brews and 150 local beers. I miss it:(

[PEZi]

there's always sam adams cream stout.... i was definitely surprised when i tasted that one

then of course there's always good local brews around

[Looneybomber]

Brewery: Great Divide Brewing Co.
Brew: Oak aged chocolate imperial stout

*sorry not my pic. I'm having issues getting the picture off my card*

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/158/19216

If I had only one word to describe this beer, knowing how your stereotypical imperial stout tastes, I would say SPICY!

Initially this beer pours without a lot of head. Swirling it around, it laces the glass nicely, right up there with Avery's mephistopholes, but second to Goose Island's Bourbon county stout.

It smells good, but unfortunately I just finished the glass and haven't drank much the last few weeks so my olfactory nerves are now dulled a bit. I can still pick up a little chocolate and beer.

Taste wise, you can pick up hints of dark chocolate, burnt wood?, stout beer (damn, I need to write beer reviews after a couple sips, not after getting tipsy), and cayenne pepper. Much like eating a sweet and spicy BBQ sauce, initially it's not too spicy, but over time that spice builds up and leaves a lasting "hi, I'm hot", in your mouth. I downed my first glass pretty quick and that spice was very noticeable. Very comparable to my steaks, which by the way I could see my self eating while indulging on a bottle.

Unlike some other imperial stouts I've had recently and wasn't impressed enough to even write about, this beer has a lot of body. It's heavy and thick tasting, not something you want to drink quickly. This allows it to be drinkable at a wider variety of temperatures. My first drink was around 40 degrees, much too cold for this beer really, and now it's around the mid 60's and still tastes great. A little bitterness with the accompanying malty sweetness and other subtle flavors helping to balance things out. Oh, and did I mention the cayenne that leaves a lingering hotness?

Price: $10.99/22oz bottle.

All in all this beer scores well; an easy A! My former favorite 22oz imperial stout*, Avery's Czar, just got smoked. (get it, because this beer is hot/spicy )

If you can find it, I recommend it. Let me know what foods you pair it up with, that cayenne is throwing me off.

*Avery's Mephistopheles imperial stout comes in 12oz bottles and remains my all-time favorite with Goose Islands Bourbon County taking a very close 2nd. I had a local liquor store special order me a case of Bourbon coffee stout and am just waiting for it to come in.

[Encryptshun]

and of course

[Looneybomber]

Ok, it's been a while since I made this thread and I've slowly acquired a pallet for stout beers, with one caveat; the stout has to be somewhat special. Guinness is not special! Imperial stout, chocolate stout, coffee stout, oatmeal stout, etc... you get the point.

Today, while on my last night here on an Air Force base in TX, I went to the local HUGE liquor store and bought something I can't get in KS...

Brewery: Oskar Blues Brewery
Brew: Ten Fidy imperial stout

Sorry, not my pic.

Beer Advocate:
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2681/34483

This is the best beer I have ever had in a can, which includes a semi-local brewery Tall Grass brewery. It's also the most expensive at about $4/can and comes in a 4pk. I can't really give a good review of this beer because I am drinking it straight from the can. This on base hotel room had no glass glasses.

Every time I take a sip from the can, the smell and robust flavors scream out "I'm an imperial stout" and surprise me that this is delicious treat to my taste buds is coming from a can. Overall, this beer is good, real good. It's not quite as good as the Mephistopheles I reviewed above or the Bourbon County Stout I really need to make a review of, but it is certainly a beer I would like to buy again!..If only I could get it again. I will have to call my liquor store I used to frequent when I was in KS and see if they can order me a case. Delicious!

[Q451990]

It is a tasty beer... and at 10.5% alcohol (hence the tenfidy name) I can feel it nicely after a couple.

[breadbox]

We have a local Bier called ODIS, O'Connor Dry Irish Stout. Tis delicious.