Stout

[dafrey23]

Honestly, in the USA one of the best you'll find is Founder's Kentucky Breakfast Stout. It's a bourbon barrel aged stout. Only problem is that it's so darn popular that's it's really hard to find. If you come across it, grab some and give it a try.

Another good one is the Founder's Left Hand Milk Stout. That's readily available.

[polarbear]

I've been getting into Choc Hops of late

Its a Chocolate Stout made by Mildura Bay Breweries

Its an Easter Seasonal and it aint cheap but its one of the best Chocolate stouts i've ever tried

[Bill Hayes]

Honestly, in the USA one of the best you'll find is Founder's Kentucky Breakfast Stout. It's a bourbon barrel aged stout. Only problem is that it's so darn popular that's it's really hard to find. If you come across it, grab some and give it a try.

Another good one is the Founder's Left Hand Milk Stout. That's readily available.

My bottle shop just got another shipment in and I've had to snap up a few Old Rasputin while they are there plus I'll give the Yeti a try too. I saw the Founders and will now have to go back tomorrow and pick up a few of those. Cheers.

[Ken Gargett]

tried he narwhal on the weekend. good but i prefer the holgate.

[Bill Hayes]

tried he narwhal on the weekend. good but i prefer the holgate.

I agree Ken. I didn't think much of the Narwhal. I have a couple more to try and I'll put up a list with my personal rankings for debate. Everyone's taste is different and I know I lean toward smokey flavours in stout. I reckon what separates them is a touch of velvety smoothness on the back of the tongue along with the smokey character that I like. The Narwhal was missing the extra element of, 'for want of a better word', smoothness - like in a great aged cigar - kind of like those 2000 D4 EL's that you blind reveiwed with Rob.

[Bill Hayes]

Well, it's turned to Spring here in Melbourne and I feel all stouted out. Below is my simple ratings for the Stouts I tried this Winter. Time to move to Pale Ale and German Wheat Beer for a while.

Stout

Clown Shoes Blaecorn Unidragon Russian Imperial 9/10

Brasserie Dieu du Ciel Peche Mortel extra strong stout brewed with coffee 8.5/10

Yeti Imperial 8.5

Old Rasputin Russian Imperial 8/10

Courage Russian Imperial 8/10

Lagunitas Imperial 8/10

Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout 8/10

Mission Dark Seas Russian Imperial 7.5/10

Green Flash Double Stout 7/10

Black Sheep Russian Imperial 7/10

Holgate Temptress Porter 7/10

Deschuttes Obsidian Stout 6.5/10

Sinha 6.5/10

Clown Shoes Vampire Slayer Imperial American Stout 6.5/10

Sierra Nevada Narwhal Imperial Stout 6.5/10

Marston Oyster Stout 6/10

Samuel Smith Russian Imperial 6/10

Brasserie Dieu du Ciel Aphrodisiaque vanilla and cocoa stout 6/10

Founder’s Breakfast Stout 6/10

[Wil]

Well, it's turned to Spring here in Melbourne and I feel all stouted out. Below is my simple ratings for the Stouts I tried this Winter. Time to move to Pale Ale and German Wheat Beer for a while.

What pale ales are you into? I've always leaned toward british pales because they seem to balance the malt and hops a little better. I tend to find Aus and American pales ales a bit too hoppy.

[Habana Mike]

+1 to the Old Rasputin and Lagunitas. Sounds like I need to look for some Clown Shoes!

Had a Left Hand Brewery Milk Stout this afternoon that pairs perfectly with a cigar.

Slightly creamy, touch sweet and dark chocolate. Very smooth with no astringency or bitterness, one of the best I've sampled lately.

Good luck finding it down your way.

I'll have to consider some of the lighter brews to suggest for your summer, it's approaching fall here now.

Cheers

[Bill Hayes]

What pale ales are you into? I've always leaned toward british pales because they seem to balance the malt and hops a little better. I tend to find Aus and American pales ales a bit too hoppy.

There are a lot of Pale Ale's now in Australia from craft brewers etc. I seem to be able to find a new one at each bar or bottle shop but can never remember them all. Although, I quite like Mornington Pale Ale from Australia. Little Creatures Pale Ale from Fremantle in West Australia was one of the first to really take off in Australia. It's pretty distinctive and I like it but only a few. They get a little sickly after about 3 or 4 I reckon. I did like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale from the States the best a few years ago but I've just discovered Dale's Pale Ale from the States in a can but my bottle shop has run out of them. I tried a Japanese Pale Ale in a can called Yona Yona at a restaurant and it was fantastic but I haven't seen it anywhere. I kind of put the British and Irish ales in a different category but I haven't had a lot of experience with them - just the usual suspects like Boddington's, Caffrey's Kilkenney etc. I find they are smoother with less bite but don't suit a hotter climate IMHO.

[Bill Hayes]

+1 to the Old Rasputin and Lagunitas. Sounds like I need to look for some Clown Shoes!

Had a Left Hand Brewery Milk Stout this afternoon that pairs perfectly with a cigar.

Slightly creamy, touch sweet and dark chocolate. Very smooth with no astringency or bitterness, one of the best I've sampled lately.

Good luck finding it down your way.

I'll have to consider some of the lighter brews to suggest for your summer, it's approaching fall here now.

Cheers

I just realised I put the wrong score on my 2nd pick stout. It should read: Brasserie Dieu du Ciel Peche Mortel extra strong stout brewed with coffee 8.5/10. The stouts that I tried I didn't pair with a cigar. The above mentioned stout would be the only one I would recommend pairing with a cigar. Most of the other Russian Imperial stouts I feel would tend to overpower and be a touch bitter for cigar matching. But the fancy named Peche Mortel had a very smooth but strong coffee flavour but not too bitter that I reckon would go well with an upmann, bolivar or partagas perhaps or maybe even a RASS. Of course my bottle shop has run out of this beer too. Ken's recommended Temptress Porter might work well also. The sweeter notes could perhaps bring out the fruity aspect or chocolate of some cigars. Thanks for the tip Habana Mike. I'll keep my eye out for the milk stout.

[Wil]

There are a lot of Pale Ale's now in Australia from craft brewers etc. I seem to be able to find a new one at each bar or bottle shop but can never remember them all. Although, I quite like Mornington Pale Ale from Australia. Little Creatures Pale Ale from Fremantle in West Australia was one of the first to really take off in Australia. It's pretty distinctive and I like it but only a few. They get a little sickly after about 3 or 4 I reckon. I did like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale from the States the best a few years ago but I've just discovered Dale's Pale Ale from the States in a can but my bottle shop has run out of them. I tried a Japanese Pale Ale in a can called Yona Yona at a restaurant and it was fantastic but I haven't seen it anywhere. I kind of put the British and Irish ales in a different category but I haven't had a lot of experience with them - just the usual suspects like Boddington's, Caffrey's Kilkenney etc. I find they are smoother with less bite but don't suit a hotter climate IMHO.

Little Creatures is nice, but agree that it does get a little sickly. I'm coming around to some of the US pale ales. As long as they're not too fruity...

British pale ales like Timothy Taylor and the Samuel Smith pale ale and IPA aren't that dissimilar to the US pale ales. They just aren't as aggressively hopped.

[Fosgate]

As Habana Mike suggested. Left Hand Brewing Company makes a high rated and coveted milk stout in the craft brews.

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/418/3434 and even better if you can get it in the nitro marked bottle or on nitro tap. They are arguably the best at using nitrogen in the bottle.

Old Rasputen is a very good and popular Russian Imperial stout so much that their reciepe is cloned and available on a few home brew supply store sites. (I brewed one). The problem I find with the Russian Imperial stouts is that it all depends on how old they are as to how good they are. If you get a strong alcohol taste or burn then it is still young. They need to sit 2yrs on average for the flavors to develop and balance out the alcohol. I plan on aging one of three batches for three years before I bottle it. I have tried an award winning local home brewers batch that he brewed in 2008 and tasted in the fall of 2012. They are phenominal at this age. Personally if I did not home brew my own I would buy a case or two of bottles and toss it in the closet for a year or two. Of course I would probably taste one after six months and every other month after that. As for on tap I would ask which one is the oldest and have that one served first.

[HabanoHam]

Don't forget to add Founders Breakfast and Imperial Stouts to your list, I think you'll be quite pleased with them

[Hugomarink]

Honestly, in the USA one of the best you'll find is Founder's Kentucky Breakfast Stout. It's a bourbon barrel aged stout. Only problem is that it's so darn popular that's it's really hard to find. If you come across it, grab some and give it a try.

Another good one is the Founder's Left Hand Milk Stout. That's readily available.

I live in California and cannot get KBS here, but I found a bottle in a small beer shop in London last Christmas. It was as good as advertised.

As for Stouts I can get here relatively easily, here are my faves:

Stone Imperial Russian Stout

Alesmith Speedway Stout (I think this may be the best of the readily available Stouts)

Drake's Drakonic

Firestone-Walker Parabola (only released once per year so it's not easy to get)

Highwater Campfire Stout

Ballast Point Sea Monster Imperial Stout

Green Flash Double Stout