Moksa Brewing Mostra 5th
Imperial stout with coffee, vanilla beans, and maple syrup. Light chocolate and marshmallow nose wafts with sweet vanilla and a hint of rich vanilla tannin over maple. A brief roasty bite on the sip is quickly braced by maple sweetness, but it’s the 60% cacao chocolate-bar s’more with a touch of biscuity graham that makes it so compelling.
ABV: 15.6% Location: Rocklin, California
Finback Heinous
Imperial stout with coffee, chocolate, and hazelnut. Peanut brittle on the nose is backed with some hot cocoa, which leads to a sweet-but-not-too-sweet sip that’s a mocha with a 50/50 mix of milk and dark chocolate and a shot of hazelnut. The coffee, thankfully, appears only on the finish, as a bit of roast that scrubs the palate. It’s deliciously decadent without being overbearing and sweet at all the right moments.
ABV: 12% Location: Queens, New York
Seventh Son Fox in the Stout
Imperial stout with vanilla and cacao nibs. Inspired by a salted chocolate brownie made by a neighboring bakery, this beer showcases layers of dry cocoa powder and bittersweet chocolate on the nose while the sip is perfectly balanced—artfully riding that line between burnt-sugar sweet and bitter sharp cocoa with a touch of dark malt roast.
ABV: 8.9% Location: Columbus, Ohio
Surly Tiramisu Funeral Bar
Imperial stout with vanilla, cocoa, and molasses. Creamy with a roasty coffee-cocoa sharpness, this dessert stout is highlighted by glimpses of molasses sweetness but remains firmly structured by a rich dark chocolate bitterness that keeps it from cloying. It’s odd to describe a 10% imperial pastry stout as “drinkable,” but this fits the bill.
ABV: 10.2% Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Alvarado Street Biggie’s Bon Bon Bonanza
Imperial milk stout with vanilla and cacao nibs. The strong vanilla nose softens the roasty chocolate notes with an herbal and enticing sweetness, and the sip reflects balanced sweet and vanilla layers. It’s an ideal expression of dessert beer, not cloying while embracing a complex, nuanced, and thoughtful approach to “pastry.”
ABV: 10% Location: Monterey, California