Best Stout Beer: 10 Best Stouts to Drink

The best stout beer transports you to a cozy bar where everyone is wearing thick, cable knit sweaters, and outside the clouds are low and a sea salty mist hangs in the air. There’s a fire roaring in the corner and there’s a fat orange cat socializing with the regulars. Oh, also the best stout beers should taste rich and dark and a touch bitter. Some of the best stouts have a creamy, foamy head—but that’s not totally necessary. Some have big bubbles like soda and are practically refreshing. 

The best stout for you might be one that has very low carbonation, but the best stout for me might be extremely fizzy. I’ve done my best to qualify each of these picks, because there’s something for everyone on this list (as long as you’re a person who generally enjoys a darker brew). After multiple taste tests, we found the best imperial stout, the best milk stout, the best chocolate stout, the best oatmeal stout, and more. But the best stout of all has remained the same, and I stand by my ruling of the number one best stout to drink (I’ll go ahead and spoil that it’s not Guinness). If you disagree with me, just take it up with the orange cat. He’s really the one who runs this place. 

Here are the best stout beers you can buy at the grocery store.

Best Chocolate Stout

This chocolate stout is sweet, sweet, sweet. It almost tastes like someone mixed some instant hot chocolate mix into a stout. It’s that kind of sweet. So, if you’re looking for a beer that can replace dessert (or a beer to use as the base of a boozy ice cream float), this is the best chocolate stout for you.

Credit: Liv Averett / World Market

Rating:

6.5/10

Sporks

Best Barrel Aged Stout

If you don’t want a chocolate stout but still want a stout that will stand in for dessert, this is the best stout for you. Two-thirds of the imperial stout blend are aged for up to a year in whiskey casks—the final third is fresh-brewed stout. The resulting brew is rich with dark, concentrated dried fruit flavors. And, yes, there are definitely some cacao notes in the mix, too. But it finishes bitter and oaky, which just makes you take another sip. At nearly 12% ABV, this is not a chugging beer. But it is the best imperial stout to pair with a slice of pie or some end-of-the-evening aged cheddar.

Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart

Rating:

7/10

Sporks

Best Milk Stout

Milk stouts are called milk stouts (or cream stouts) because they are brewed with lactose. Traditionally, they are slightly sweet and have very low carbonation. Left Hand is a textbook example of one. It’s thick with mild bitterness and a lovely coffee-tinged flavor. I think this is the best milk stout to drink in the late afternoon with a cookie.

Credit: Liv Averett / Target

Rating:

7/10

Sporks

Best Imperial Stout

At nearly 14% ABV, this imperial stout packs a serious punch. It almost has a bit of a boozy burn. It tastes like if an Espresso Martini was transformed into a beer. It has a sweetened black coffee flavor with delicate bubbles. I’d happily end an evening with a bottle of this stout. It’s the best imperial stout beer to sip as a nightcap. And woe be unto those who decide to crack another. Let me remind you: It’s 14% ABV! 

Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Best Bubbly

I love the Guinness Extra Stout bottle. It is so pleasing to hold. It’s just slightly smaller than a standard bottle and a bit stouter. Adorable. The beer itself is filled with tiny bubbles and the flavor is maltier and sweeter than a classic Guinness. It’s not a creamy, mild stout. It’s a punchy stout—like your short friend with a big personality. If you like dark lagers but want something with a bit more oomph, this is the best stout for you.

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Best Refreshing

There’s a reason Guinness has a reputation as the best stout beer to drink after running a marathon. It’s unexpectedly refreshing! Even though it has a savory aroma—almost like soy sauce—and the flavor has notes of coffee and unsweetened chocolate, it’s still gulpable. Of course, a freshly pulled Guinness is known for its creamy, frothy head, but even bottled or canned Guinness offers some creaminess. That’s thanks to the widget in the bottle or can, a cylinder of plastic that agitates the beer, which helps froth it up.

Credit: Merc / Walmart

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Best Oatmeal Stout

My notes from the tasting of this stout really ramp up: “It’s really nice and refreshing,” I wrote. “There’s a touch of sweetness and nice roundness. It’s not really bitter at all—great for beginners.” And then something happened because my next tasting note is: “I can’t stop drinking this. It’s so good. It’s better than Guinness.” It’s the best stout beer for those just beginning their stout journey, but it’s also the best stout to try if you like Guinness but are curious about expanding your stout repertoire.

Credit: Merc / Drizly

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Best Nitro Stout

Turns out, you don’t have to make a beer in Ireland to have it qualify as an Irish stout. A dry Irish stout is defined as a black beer made with roasted barley. And Colorado’s Left Hand Brewing makes a delicious one. It has an earthy, coffee aroma (textbook Irish stout), and that follows through to the flavor, as well. But the most distinct quality of Left Hand’s Irish stout is the texture. It’s a nitro beer, which means it has more nitrogen gas than carbon dioxide, and therefore less carbonation. It’s a creamy, foamy beer that’s very easy to drink. If you typically opt for whatever beer is offered from a cask at your local pub, then this is the best stout beer for you. Plus, it comes in at just 4.3% ABV, so it’s one of the best stouts to buy if you’re planning on having a few.

Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart

Rating:

9.5/10

Sporks

Best Breakfast Stout

Breakfast stouts are made with breakfast ingredients. This one from Founders is made with oats, as well as two different types of coffee, as well as chocolate. The coffee really comes through, bitter and just a touch sweet. It’s the best stout if you drink your coffee black and strong. It’s so complex and blends the flavors of coffee and beer together in a truly harmonious way. I’d drink this stout at brunch or after dessert. I’d swap out my morning coffee for this stout if it was socially acceptable. It’s so good.

Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart

Rating:

9.5/10

Sporks

Best of the Best

This stout tastes like a foggy San Francisco day and smells like your grandfather’s old leather chair (in a really good, tobacco-and-leather kind of way). It has fine, small bubbles—it’s somewhere between Guinness and Guinness Extra in terms of carbonation. There’s pronounced bitterness but it’s not overwhelming; it simply lingers on the back of your tongue so you don’t forget that you’re drinking a stout. It’s the best stout beer out there if you have any taste for stout whatsoever.

Credit: Merc / Drizly

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

ncG1vNJzZmiroKS%2FrLHDZ5qopV%2BWv7W1wqWcaJqVqMFuv9OorK1lkpqys3s%3D

 Share!

• Share on Facebook
   
• Tweet
   
• Share on Google+
   
• Post to Tumblr
   
• Pin it
   
• Submit to Reddit