About Stouts and Porters

Stouts and porters are very dark, almost black in color, and feature heavily roasted flavors and aromas. This is achieved when brewers use malt that has been heavily kilned until it resembles burnt toast. These beers use top-fermenting yeasts and are members of the ale family. Originally, the term “porter” was used to describe an English dark beer that was the drink of the masses long before lagers were conceived or modern ales were fashionable. In the heyday of porter, during the eighteenth century, the term "stout" was used to denote the strongest and weightiest beers in a brewer’s portfolio. The same holds true today, with porters generally being lighter in body and color than stouts. Stouts and porters are enormously popular among craft brewers, with virtually all brewpubs and regional microbrewers producing one or both year round.

Top Picks for Stouts and Porters

Otherwise Brewing Hella Nibs Dessert Stout
94 points
Chocolate and vanilla candy and pastry for days but still dry and with a pleasingly light bitter finish to keep things balanced.
Edison Brewing Gus Porter
94 points
Wonderful to taste a traditional style Porter with such quality and complexity without giving way to frills.
Stillmank Brewing Milk Stout
93 points
Formidable in all respects, leading with a celebration of black malts with the 'milk' playing support to the altar of 'Stout'.
Fremont Brewing Dark Star Imperial Oatmeal Stout
93 points
An excellent rendition of an Oatmeal Stout for sipping on a winter afternoon.
Twin Leaf Brewery MDXXI Mexican Chocolate Imperial Stout
91 points
Dark bitter chocolate with baking spices and then the chilis really begin to shine on the mid palate; complex, multi-layered deliciousness and wonderfully dry.
Maguires Draught Stout
91 points
$6.99
A spot-on Irish stout with nice roasted grainy nutty flavor and a creamy, satisfying finish.
91 points $6.99
Wild River Brewing And Pizza Co. Double Eagle Imperial Stout
87 points
Roasty toasty, curl up under a blanket next to the fire or pound a few in the snow near a ski slope.
Awards: 2023 World Beer Championships Silver Medal
Penn Cove Brewing Co. Patmore Porter
84 points
A dominating rich and smoky porter best as a nightcap.