American Craft Beer The Best Craft Beer, Breweries, Bars, Brewpubs, Beer Stores, And Restaurants Serving Serious Beer.
Stouts are one of the most beloved styles in craft beer and they seem to make even more sense when the temperatures drop. So with winter having finally arrived, here are 5 definitive American stouts that you need to try before you kick it.
Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro
If ever there was an American craft brewery whose reputation was deservedly built on the back of a stout, it’s Longmont, Colorado’s award-winning Left Hand Brewing!
Pumped out of its mind on lactose (the milk sugar that gives this beer its appealing creaminess), and on the nitrogen that ensures its deep rich head, Left Hand Brewing’s 6% ABV Milk Stout Nitro is an Americanized take on what Guinness does so well – only better.
Founders KBS Imperial Stout
The Holy Grail for many a stout lover, Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout (KBS) is an enormous 12.4% ABV barrel-aged Midwestern masterpiece that’s brimming with deep, dense flavor.
The nose alone, is a roasted explosion of bittersweet chocolate, espresso, and bourbon-soaked vanilla bean. And its delicate mouthfeel has a sweet and slightly spicy complexity that’s almost without peer. Absolutely killer!
Deschutes Obsidian Stout
Maybe it’s because of Deschutes Black Butte Porter’s enormous nationwide popularity that’s it’s sometimes easy to forget that the Oregon, and now Virginia-based brewery, also makes one of the world’s best American-style stouts.
Deep, robust and rewarding, Deschutes 6.4% ABV Obsidian Stout is a feast of espresso, chocolate, roasted malt and black barley, with just enough hops to finish things nicely..
Firestone Walker Velvet Merlin
Originally named Velvet Merkin, but changed after the Paso Robles brewery aligned themselves Duvel Moortgat and probably felt the need to grow up, Firestone Walker’s winter seasonal is in a class of its own.
Boasting rich notes of expresso and dark chocolate, Firestone Walker’s Velvet Merlin is a 5.5% Oatmeal Stout with an unbelievably creamy mouthfeel and a surprisingly dry finish.
Avery The Czar Imperial Stout
We’re sad to report that Avery’s terrific Imperial Stout has been discontinued (along with the Dictator Series it was part of) and that it has just been bottled for what might be its final release – so be sure to purchase multiple bottles for trading and cellaring!
With an ABV that fluctuates from year to year (it’s 8.3% this year) The Czar Imperial Stout is a spicy and floral dark crimson Russian Imperial that will be missed!
