My International Stout Day List

Welcome to November 3rd, or as we are supposed to refer to it, International Stout Day.  This is a day to celebrate the dark goodness of some perfect winter beers, but in autumn.  As the leaves are changing, so must the taste buds.  No longer are crisp pilsners required for weekend picnics, lawnmowing is done- so no more light wheat beers (Dunkelweizens still are welcome), pumpkins beers are getting harder to find on the shelves (since they are starting to make their appearance in July) and winter warmers have yet to show up.

What ends up being the best beer for the changing of the seasons is the Stout. Pushed onto American palates by Guinness- hey I started there, you probably did too- the rich, roasty goodness can get you through the cooler nights.  So grab a dark one, and enjoy.

Here happen to be a few of my favorite stouts.  Some good beers to have one of or more than a few. (I am trying to stay away from one-offs and special releases, and focus on beers that many can actually obtain.)

1. Guinness (4.2%)- seriously, you have to give it props (Foreign Extra, if you can get it)
2. Sierra Nevada Stout (5.8%)- a highly underrated stout that has the malty sweetness, but also the bitterness that is expected from Sierra Nevada.
3. Founder's Breakfast Stout (8.3%)-the younger brother of the uber-popular Canadian and Kentucky Breakfast stouts can hold his own in any line up.  A coffee lovers dream.
4. Great Divide Yeti (9.5%)- I prefer the Oak-Aged Yeti, but the regular, belgian, chocolate, espresso, and vanilla are all very good (I didn't have the Brett Yeti, but I would imagine it was good).
5. Southern Tier Mokah (11.2%) - what tastes like a blend of the Java and Choklat, perfect balance between coffee and chocolate make this a great cold weather beer.  Delicious as a dessert (If you can't find Mokah, check out the Creme Brulee if you truly want dessert).
6. BrewDog Tokyo*- this 18.2% (yes, 18.2%) beer tastes like it should only be about 7%, dangerously drinkable. They say it was brewed with Jasmine and Cranberries, but I think they added a bit of black magic. Expensive, but worth every penny. (This was introduced to me by Mr. Mitchell of BeerInBaltimore.Blogspot. I have to credit him for my addiction to it.)

Honorable mentions go to Bell's Expedition, Troeg's Java Head, Rogue Shakespeare and Oskar Blues Ten Fidy.

Wednesday at Max's

I should have sat outside, but the chair was too comfy inside. They had some great beer on tap (as always), and it took all my strength to not order the Oak Aged UnEarthly, Double Simcoe on cask or the 120 minute. I did "settle" on the Great Divide Belgina. It is their Belgian IPA. Very nice beer. Nothing special, but it was exactly what I thought it was. Sometimes that is nice. I kind of wanted it to surprise me a bit.

My second beer was the Lagunitas Correction Ale 2009 (on cask). Very nice American Ale. I thought it was very simple, not sweet with a good hops/malt balance. I was actually thinking it would be hoppier. Very nice, drinkable beer.

The last beer I tried was the Pint Night beer. Stoudt's Abbey Double. I wasn't quite in the mood for a abbey style, so I left it for last. I thought it was what I wanted. I found out that I was wrong. It just didn't hit the spot for me. Overall, I typically like this brewery's offerings. I think maybe the first two beers threw my tastes off. I will try this in the future to give it a fair chance.

Cheers. Have a good weekend.