Mike's Top Stouts - A Biased List of the Best Craft Stouts

February 15, 2021

As I scroll
through my social media feeds, it is not uncommon to come across a list of top
craft beers for the year, the best hazies of late, and so forth.  If you
are like me, you read through these lists and probably disagree with at least
some (perhaps most) of the beers selected.  It is almost like the writers
penning the "top" lists are not really plugged into craft beer, or,
more likely, they have not really tried a decent variety of beer and thus rely
on opinions on others and push them forward as their own.

 

I recently read a list of top
stouts and my eyes watered and my teeth clinched.  The list was
terrible. 

 

So, here is a list of MY
favorite stouts.  A disclaimer from the beginning, I am biased and I do
not have access to every beer in the world/country.  Beyond that, I am not
going to list these in any order. These are stouts that I have enjoyed and
think you should try if you get your hands on them.  Some of them are more
accessible than others.  

 

Prairie
Artisan Ales – Bomb! (OKC, OK) @prairieales

I remember
someone asking me, aren’t you from Oklahoma? I usually wait to answer until they
follow up with the next question or comment. 
They asked if I had tried this beer, which at the time, I had not.  This beer gets a lot of accolades and
deservedly so.  You can get this and
several varietals nearly everywhere now. 
It may set you back more than you’d like.  However, it is top shelf. I enjoyed the
subtle heat it brings.

 

Stillwater Artisanal - Stillwater
Is Nothing Big Bunny Is Everything (Baltimore, MD) @stillwater_artisanal

The can is fairly nondescript,
but the beer is solid. I think the global rating on this beer is lower than is
warranted. It is 8% and the flavors are just, well, solid.

 

3 Floyds -
Dark Lord (Munster, IN) @3floydsbrewing

This is a beautiful and tasty
imperial stout.  The vanilla and coffee notes are not overpowering and let
the stout shine through.  Munster is a southern Chicago burb, so if you
are in the Chicago area, I'd say take a drive.

 

Goose Island -
Bourbon County Brand Stout (Chicago, IL) @goose_island

Speaking of Chicago... a solid
beer year after year.  This is one that lives up to expectations. Even at
a high abv (15% ish), this beer does not kill you with the booze flavor. 
It's smooth and tasty.  I would recommend keeping a few year over year.

 

Wicked Weed - S'mores
(Asheville, NC) @wickedweedbrewing

This may get me a few gut
punches since the brewery sold out to big beer.  I really enjoyed this
beer, more so than I thought I would.  The chocolate and graham cracker
flavors are present enough that you can almost feel the campfire. If you
don’t want to support big beer, Shiner makes a comparable beer.

 

Monnik Beer - His Dark
Materials (Louisville, KY) @monnikbeer

This is a beer that I can no
longer get since my move.  I put this one in a similar category as
the  Big Bunny.  It's a solid beer and I love the creaminess and the
chocolate notes.  One of the best beers in Louisville, Kentucky!

 

North Peak - Dubious (Traverse
City, MI) @northpeak

I tried this by chance, a buddy
(Saul!) bought it for me because "Mike likes those" - and I am
incredibly thankful for friends like Saul.

 

Schlafly - Coffee Stout (St
Louis, MO) @schlarflybeer

The bottle label design is
terrible. The beer is on point. Good balance of all the coffee and stout
things. 

 

Country Boy - Little Black
Train (Lexington/Georgetown, KY) @countryboybrewing

I've only had this American
stout on draft, but it is a coffee beer that I made sure to grab any time I
visited one of their taprooms. Yum! This brewery has another stout with more
coffee punch, but I prefer this one for its dialed back balance.

 

903 Brewers -
The Land of Milk and Honey (Sherman, TX) @903_brewers

Brewed with local honey and a
bit of lactose to help the velvety texture.  I enjoyed this one a
lot.  Sherman is a northern burb of Dallas.  Easy to get to and find.

 

Lakewood -
French Quarter Temptress (Garland, TX) @lakewoodbrewing

Speaking of Dallas
suburbs.  Like many stouts you've had, the Temptress beer has a very
varieties.  This one has been my favorite, but in all honesty, I'd put all
of them in the running.  This imperial milk stout is smooth and
delicious. 

 

Ballast Point
- Nitro Red Velvet (San Diego, CA) @ballastpointbrewing

Truth be told, it is hard for
an oatmeal stout to impress me.  I like them overall, but few have
"wowed" me.  A good friend (Taryn) and I tried this at the same
time.  She said wow, I said wow, we were but surprised at the complexity
of this beer.

 

Ballast Point –
Barrel Aged Victory at Sea (San Diego, CA) @ballastpointbrewing

Maybe one of the few breweries
where I would list two of their stouts on here? 
It’s okay. This imperial stout kicks ass and you can get it nearly everywhere. 

 

 

Goodwood - Black Blood of the
Earth (Louisville, KY) @goodwoodbrewing

I have not seen this beer in a
while, it was draft only and dang was it good. It packed a punch of booze and
flavor.  If you see it on tap, snag one.  Get ready.

 

Creature Comforts - Awaken, My
Love (Athens, GA) @creaturecomfortsbeer

Another imperial stout makes
the list.  Got this straight from the source when I was visiting Athens,
Georgia. Their place is cool, their beers are really good.  This one, of
course, was my go to and my favorite. 

 

Catawba - Honey Combed Honey
Nut Breakfast Stout (Asheville/Morganton/Charlotte, NC) @catawbabrewing

Most breakfast stouts try too
hard, in my opinion. This was another recommendation (@HoppyHayes) that worked
out well.  See, you tell people what you enjoy and wham!

 

 

Lagunitas –
Willetized (San Diego, CA) @lagunitaspetaluma

I would put
this up there with Goose Island’s barrel aged stout.  It has a bit more coffee character to it, but
it is another beautifully crafted stout.

 

Boulevard –
Imperial Stout (Aged in Port, French Oak and Rye Casks) (Kansas City, MO)
@boulevard_beer

I did not
expect to like this one as much as I did. 
In truth, the Boulevard beers I have had in the past have all been,
well, okay.  This one blew me away. The
variety of subtle characters throughout make this one of my favorite beers of
2020. 

 

North Coast –
Old Rasputin (Fort Bragg, CA) @northcoastbrewingco

I will close
with the best standby I could think of for this list.  This beer has been top notch since time
began.  Seriously high quality beer that
never disappoints. You can now get this beer in cans!

 

 

So, I am
absolutely sure there are many beers that I missed here.  I am sure I have tried (and rated) many beers
that deserve to be here.  I am sure there
are many beers I have yet to try that deserve to be here. What are some stouts
you would recommend? 

If you are feeling good about my list or want to touch based, I cohost a craft beer podcast (@CraftBeerBucketList) that you can find on facebook, twitter, instagram, and anywhere you stream podcasts.

 

Edited to add Instagram
handles.