Is it me or is it STOUT season?

mantis

Hello all ,
I was wondering if anyone else noticed that it's STOUT season. YES lovely Stouts , I have had many in many different forms and I'm gonna list my favorite's followed by some pic's.

1) Troegs Java Head- this Stout is smooth and soothing to your soul. It's coffee taste is smooth and creamy. After ever sip you just want to take another. very inviting.
2) Guinness Foreign Extra Stout - Not to be confused with the typical Draught which is a very watered down version of this fantastic Stout. It's bite is nice and finishes with a Black Licorice flavor. Easily one of my very favorite Stouts.
3) Saranac Vanilla Stout- ok a bit on the sissy side but man is is nice. I didn't think I was going to enjoy this as it comes in the 12 beers of Winter. You can't purchase a 6 pack or case. You just get 2 per 12 pack. After my first one I wrote Saranac a email asking for a 6 pack or case. It's beautiful and you can down a few without feeling regrets in the morning.
4) Youngs Double Chocolate Stout- Just like the Saranac , super easy to drink with a milk chocolate finish. Very nice very clean very tasty.
5)Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout- O how this is just one of my all time favorite beers. So creamy and beautiful it will call you to drink another and another.
6) Founders Breakfast Stout- ok the first time I had one of these it was Oktoberfest season. I was not ready for such a bold and strong Stout. I was not in the mod to enjoy such sheer force yet a hint of grace. Since I left Oktoberfest , I'm fully geared for the winter Stouts and heavy dark beers. I just picked up a 4 pack and I'm ready to begin this quest again.

So there you have some of my favorite Stouts , I'd like to know yours. I'll post a few pic's in a few.

Honorable Mention was the Wolavender Oatmeal Stout-This was another one of those smooth creamy beautiful Stouts. Up there with the best of them.

Rodeo0530

Mmmm...beer. I think you've provided a wonderful stout starter list for anyone curious. I love the breakfast stout. Double chocolate, coffee, oatmeal stout. What more would you want? I brewed a nice chocolate stout last year and it turned out very nicely.

Systems

Geeeze!
Between you and mrbiron, I may take a road trip!

cnh

See, this is why we need guys like Dan (in addition to audio) who can list things the rest of us are too just lazy to search for and find on our own. Well, OK, we've had Guinness both here and on the other side of the Atlantic.

Now I have a dozen suggestions, almost none of which I've ever heard of because I'm surrounded by "boring" academics who drink like old women and live in the middle of nowhere.
We probably couldn't find any of this unless we drove to Boston!

Thanks Dan!

cnh

Syndil

Stouts are not usually my thing, but I do enjoy Left Hand's Milk Stout occasionally. This time of year I am most excited about the pumpkin ales. Tried that Young's Chocolate Stout before and thought it tasted like burnt coffee. :P

danger boy

i like a good stout now and then... a local brewery here makes a vanilla bourbon stout.. let me tell you. it's smooth and delicious...

headrott

You should absolutely try the Rogue Chocolate Stout. It is absolutely the best Chocolate Stout I've had. It has real Belgian Chocolate in it. It is very rich, and I have a hard time finishing a bottle of it. It is absolutely phenominal. Sorry, don't have apicture of an actual bottle of it, just the link below. I will get a bottle of it tomorrow and take a picture though. Here is the link:http://www.rogue.com/beers/chocolate-stout.php

Greg

mantis

Your very welcome,
yes I believe just about every beer drinker has tried Guinness Draught but what about Extra Stout and Foreign extra Stout? They also make a Black Lager which is a pretty nice beer.

mantis

WOW Vanilla Bourbon Stout , that sounds terrific.

mantis

Rouge Chocolate Stout is on my list. A few of my friends have already had it and loved it. I'm making my rounds with the Stouts , milk stouts are next.

deronb1

Not a stout, but I tried my first beer (6) from the Founders Brewery, "Dirty ****". Great beer! Knocked me on my arse.

quadzilla

I must spend too much time on computers. I read STOUT as standard out and wondered why someone was starting a thread on UNIX I/O redirection. At the same time, I was actually a little excited at the prospect of that subject...

gdb

I'm glad you discovered Saranac brews.....did you ever get the Trail Mix 12 pak that I suggested? It contains my preference over stout which is a lovely PORTER ! Ever try Flying Dog brews ? They are local (Frederick, MD ) but transplanted from Colo. and have ubercool labels painted by Hunter S Thompson's illustrator, Ralph Steadman. Some great beers. Their Weizen tastes like spoiled iced tea w/lemon though, yuk. Cheers ! Merry Festivus !!!

gelinas

gdb wrote: »

I'm glad you discovered Saranac brews.....did you ever get the Trail Mix 12 pak that I suggested? It contains my preference over stout which is a lovely PORTER ! Ever try Flying Dog brews ? They are local (Frederick, MD ) but transplanted from Colo. and have ubercool labels painted by Hunter S Thompson's illustrator, Ralph Steadman. Some great beers. Their Weizen tastes like spoiled iced tea w/lemon though, yuk. Cheers ! Merry Festivus !!!

I live in Howard county, just down the road from Frederick. Everytime I've tried the flying Dog Stuff, i've enjoyed.

mrbiron

Stouts for me are a desert beer and i can only do one...Therefore, i haven't really gotten into them.
Year round for me is IPA season which is my bread and butter!

I'm almost sure of it that Saranac doesn't make a bad beer.
That Founder's Breakfast Stout looks interesting and i know a store up here that carries it. I may have to take a trip this weekend and give it a whirl. Then i can see what kegs they have! Tis the season!

Beer is such a universal language!!!

gdb

gelinas wrote: »

I live in Howard county, just down the road from Frederick. Everytime I've tried the flying Dog Stuff, i've enjoyed.

Mmmmmm, the Canopy !

brgman

Troegs in Harrisburg is one of my customers and the Mad Elf is the Holiday brew they make.Supposed to be the chit.I quit drinking 20+ years ago so i don't have first hand experience but they sell every bottle they make as fast as it is bottled.
They also make some scratch beers that have people camped in the parking lot the night before it goes on sale just to get it.
Crazy!

gelinas

gdb wrote: »

Mmmmmm, the Canopy !

HAHAHAH, it definately took me several minutes to figure out what you meant. At first, I'm like, is he talking about some particular flying dog beer? Then I'm thinking is this some nickname for Howard County...

And finaly it dawns on me, DUH! :redface: you're refreing to the delicous pit beef, turkey, and pork joint on route 40. Gotta love the Canopy..

gdb

I do, very much. Also, Smokys in Eldersburg ! (huge seating area w/bathrooms too )

http://flyingdogales.com/

gdb

If you ever get into Frederick, try the relatively new place called the Roasthouse. Great food, beers & people !!
http://www.roasthousepub.com/ Stouts are being drawn daily!

Update....at tonights dinner event the first course is oysters served w/Pearl Necklace Stout !!

cienega

I was lucky enough to enjoy the Founder's Breakfast Stout on tap and it was much better than the 4 pack I purchased later. It was one of the best single beers I have ever had out somewhere and I've tried many.

headrott

danger boy wrote: »

i like a good stout now and then... a local brewery here makes a vanilla bourbon stout.. let me tell you. it's smooth and delicious...

Did you have this beer at the RAM brewery and restaurant? Sounds good.

Greg

mantis

deronb1 wrote: »

Not a stout, but I tried my first beer (6) from the Founders Brewery, "Dirty ****". Great beer! Knocked me on my arse.

I've had it , it had a nice almost wine type texture to it. Smooth and mature if you ask me.

mantis

gdb wrote: »

I'm glad you discovered Saranac brews.....did you ever get the Trail Mix 12 pak that I suggested? It contains my preference over stout which is a lovely PORTER ! Ever try Flying Dog brews ? They are local (Frederick, MD ) but transplanted from Colo. and have ubercool labels painted by Hunter S Thompson's illustrator, Ralph Steadman. Some great beers. Their Weizen tastes like spoiled iced tea w/lemon though, yuk. Cheers ! Merry Festivus !!!

Yes I do recall , No I have not tried the Trail mix yet but I'm sure this spring is probably a good time to do so. I like porters and I'm looking forward to giving.
Flying Dog is on my short list as one of my friends is trying to try all of their beers.

mantis

mrbiron wrote: »

Stouts for me are a desert beer and i can only do one...Therefore, i haven't really gotten into them.
Year round for me is IPA season which is my bread and butter!

I'm almost sure of it that Saranac doesn't make a bad beer.
That Founder's Breakfast Stout looks interesting and i know a store up here that carries it. I may have to take a trip this weekend and give it a whirl. Then i can see what kegs they have! Tis the season!

Beer is such a universal language!!!

I have tried a lot of Saranac beers and no they don't have a BAD beer at least not yet. They know how to blend their brews well which is a good sign of a good company. Yes try the breakfast Stout , there is a lot going on.

mantis

brgman wrote: »

Troegs in Harrisburg is one of my customers and the Mad Elf is the Holiday brew they make.Supposed to be the chit.I quit drinking 20+ years ago so i don't have first hand experience but they sell every bottle they make as fast as it is bottled.
They also make some scratch beers that have people camped in the parking lot the night before it goes on sale just to get it.
Crazy!

YES Troegs is one of my very favorite brewers. Mad Elf is neat and very strong. I didn't think I would like it with the cherry flavor but after I drank one , I could see myself polishing off 3 or 4 , then it would polish me off at 11%.
Troegs also makes my favorite double bock and Stout in the Troegenator and Java Head. Crazy good beers that I could be stuck on an island with any one of them and be very happy.

Do me a personal favor and tell them to keep up the good work , release some Christmas brews , then gear up for spring with some interesting mixes. Also tell them that the Troegenator is perfection.

mantis

cienega wrote: »

I was lucky enough to enjoy the Founder's Breakfast Stout on tap and it was much better than the 4 pack I purchased later. It was one of the best single beers I have ever had out somewhere and I've tried many.

A friend of mine feels the same way. He loves this beer and it's his number 1 right now. it's good stuff in the 4 pack . Honestly if you want the bottled version to taste it's best , try it around 50 deg or even slightly warmer. The colder it is the worse it tastes. Actually it just hides all it's wonderful flavors.

deronb1

mantis wrote: »

I've had it , it had a nice almost wine type texture to it. Smooth and mature if you ask me.

Yes, it was quite smooth. Called itself a "scotch ale" and I'll be damned if it didn't smell like scotch. Not really a scotch flavor, but very, very drinkable. I'll check out the stout from them!

Syndil

I'm lucky enough to have the NABC as my local haunt. Was once rated the 6th best brewpub in the world according to ratebeer.com. They jokingly used to serve the domestic rice/corn "lagers" at $8 a bottle. Their reasoning was that if you were going to choose to drink industrial swill over their excellent selection of taps (they have about 40 or so), you were going to pay for it. Now they don't even serve them any more. Woe to the unwary traveler who walks in and tries to order a Bud.

Had a Corsendonk Christmas Ale there last night (on tap, naturally). I'm a sucker for a Belgian ale, and this was one of the best I've had.

mantis

Sweet man sweet. I had a Christmas Ale at a growler station , I forget who made it , it was wonderful. I want to switch to Christmas ales but I'm having so much fun with Stouts it's hard to stop.
Mad Elf From Troegs is what I'm gonna serve my family this Christmas , I'm planing on a lot of drunk people , it's 11% and super easy to drink.

Syndil

11% will definitely do it. Had a 9% tonight and had to wait it out before I left the pub. Was a Brother Thelonious from North Coast Brewing. Actually was a bit darker than I would have liked, though the draft board did mention it was a dark Belgian. It was almost a porter IMO, which is just not my bag. But it was still pretty good. If you like the darker beers, then this is the Belgian for you.