This bigger cousin of the dry stout gets a bump of strength and a deeper coffee-chocolate flavor profile, making it a great option for a seasonal treat.
For a hearty dish to warm these chilly days, grab your favorite roast-forward stout or porter and head for the kitchen to try the recipe for these short ribs.
From Kelly Montgomery, co-owner and head brewer of Cincinnati’s Third Eye—a frequent medal-winner for their stouts—this richly layered recipe includes a range of flavorful dark malts plus additions of lactose, cacao nibs, and vanilla.
From Kelly Montgomery and his team at Third Eye Brewing in Cincinnati, here’s a homebrew-scale recipe for a full-bodied stout from their medal-winning program. Lil Astral features oats, lactose, cacao nibs, and vanilla.
Musing on the “Florida effect” and chocolate-chip cookie-dough as the compass North, the team at Bottle Logic in Anaheim, California, shares the thinking and process behind their coveted barrel-aged stout, Fundamental Observation.
From Bottle Logic founder and brewmaster Wes Parker, here’s a homebrew-scale recipe for their beloved barrel-aged, vanilla-laced imperial stout.
Oklahoma City’s Big Friendly is a two-time Brewery of the Year at the Great American Beer Festival, in 2022 and 2023. Here’s a recipe for the imperial stout—no adjuncts, not yet barrel-aged—that serves as the base for Vanilla Boom, one of our Best 20 Beers in 2024.
One of the great things about this beer is its stability: The roast continues to shine even after a few months in the keg or bottle. Some sweetness can build over time—but by then, we may be deep into winter, and that sweetness may be just the thing.
Marcus Baskerville, former head brewer and co-owner at Weathered Souls in San Antonio, shares this recipe for the richly layered, Caribbean-accented imperial stout that was one of our Best 20 Beers in 2023.
From cocoa to coconuts via lactose and long boils, brewers are shaping today’s dessert stouts for easy appeal. Just don’t say they’re easy to make.