Five Great Stouts for International Stout Day

Cheers!

In honor of International Stout Day, Thursday, Nov. 3, I figured I’d share with you five stouts that I find to be particularly tasty. There’s nothing better than sitting back on a cold night with a pint of thick stout — a virtual meal in a glass. This list is by no means all-inclusive, but I can promise you none of them will disappoint you:

1. Rogue Chocolate Stout: This is a fantastic beer. One of the best stouts I’ve had. Maybe too good, as last week, I imbibed enough of them to leave me with the king of all headaches for the ensuing 24 hours. Or maybe it was the two PBR pounders I chased it with. Drink wisely, my friends.

2. Smuttynose Imperial Stout: Love, love, love this stuff. I’m a big fan of most Smuttynose beers, but this one is especially good. The word is Smutty’s Kate the Great Russian Imperial Stout is even better, but since they brew so little of it, and sell it only once a year, I’ve yet to have myself a taste. Mostly because I hate waiting in line to drink beer. Maybe next year …

3. Stone Imperial Russian Stout: I tried this one at the American Craft Beer Fest back in June, and it was one of the best of the many beers I had that day. As I said at the time, if I could only have one beer in my fridge, it might be this one.

4. Dogfish Head Worldwide Stout: Another one that I first sampled at ACBF. As with Smuttynose, almost every beer Dogfish makes is terrific, but this one was especially good. And as I wrote back in June, it’s so strong that it had people at ACBF literally gasping for air after trying it.

5. Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout: I’m still kicking myself for not getting over to the Brooklyn Brewery during my trip to NYC earlier this year. I love their lager, and though some of their other beers (Brooklyn Summer, Pennant Ale) are a little less tasty, their Chocolate Stout is really good. I think I first tried it last year at the Tavern on the Square in Cambridge. Tough to drink more than one of these (though I think I had two). It’s definitely not a sipping beer.

Mr. X is a contributor to the Beer Drinking Report.