Paul Nashak, a managing partner of the Mountain Sun Pub group and one of the “founding fathers” of Stout Month says, “Stouts are blank canvasses on which we can paint whatever picture we want, using varying yeasts, hops, grains, as well as adjuncts like coffee, fruit... you name it. Stouts are really one of the most diverse beers out there.”
Here are sixteen of those diverse stouts to taste in the next few days before we run out of February. Happy Stout Month!
Martin House Brewing Company Pretzel Stout
This stout is brewed with more than six pounds of crushed sourdough pretzels per barrel that balance out its sweet and roasty notes. Available in 16-ounce cans.
Blue Owl Brewing Professor Black
Sour beer, let alone sour stout, is rarely found in cans. This stout is a “sumptuous cherry stout with a swanky finish,” the brewery says.
Good People Brewing Coffee Oatmeal Stout
Breakfast beer, served in a can. This sessionable stout packs big coffee flavor and finishes strong with Willamette hops.
3 Floyds Brewing Dark Lord
This cult-followed Russian imperial stout is a thing to be savored, and possibly pulled out of the cellar this stout month. This 15 percent ABV brew is available one day a year, on Dark Lord Day in April.
Deschutes Brewery The Abyss
Another famed Russian imperial stout is The Abyss, brewed with molasses, licorice, vanilla beans, and cherry bark. It might come out in November, but there’s a good chance you’ve got a bomber of this one stored away in the cellar as well.
Steamworks Brewing Backside Stout
This beer won a bronze medal in the Oatmeal Stout category at the 2014 Great American Beer Festival. Now it’s available as a nitro beer in cans.
High Water Brewing Campfire Stout
More than four pounds per barrel of graham crackers are added to this beer’s mash, along with chocolate malt. Additionally this beer is created with natural toasted marshmallow flavor—it’s kind of like liquid s’mores.
Free State Brewing Co. Iron Man Imperial Stout
Ten malts and fout hops comprise this Lawrence, Kansas-brewed stout that won a 2012 Great American Beer Festival bronze medal in the American Stout category. This big stout is available year-round in bombers.
The Great Adirondack Steak and Seafood Brewery Whiteface Stout
Here’s a multiple award-winning foreign-style stout with notes of freshly roasted coffee and dark chocolate. It’s well worth the trip to Lake Placid.
Finch’s Beer Company Secret Stache Stout
Here’s a milk stout you can’t hide for too long. It’s brewed with vanilla beans and chocolate, and it’s available in 16-ounce cans.
Anthem Brewing Company Uroboros
This unexpected stout is brewed with chocolate and roasted malts, dark candied sugar, and oak spirals, and fermented with Belgian yeast. This beer is available in 12-ounce cans.
Ska Brewing Bump ‘N’ Grind
This coffee cream stout is a new addition to Ska’s seasonal stout lineup. The brewery took its Steel Toe Milk Stout and added coffee and cocoa nibs.
North Coast Brewing Company Barrel-Aged Old Rasputin
For many, Old Rasputin is the epitome of barrel-aged imperial stout. It’s often considered a litmus test for Russian imperial stout.
Coppertail Brewing Co. Captain Jack’s Stone Crab Stout
This beer is brewed with fresh Key West Stone Crab claws. Salted chocolate, anyone?
Westbrook Brewing Company Orange Bliss
Orange Bliss is just that. It’s a chocolate stout brewed with orange, brewed with love from the Westbrooks.
New Belgium Brewing Hop Stout
Craft brewers will dry hop just about any beer style these days, and stout is no exception. New Belgium offers the Hop Stout, dry hopped with Chinook, Styrian Golding, Willamette, and Equinox hops. It’s only available on draft, so get it when and where you can.