After careful consideration, the time has come to nominate and induct the inaugural class of the Stout Hall of Fame! The Stout landscape has certainly exploded over the past few years and there are many Stouts worthy of induction. For our inaugural class, I want to recognize the Stouts that started it all! Those who were around 10 years ago when Stouts were only a winter beverage. While a few come to mind, I want your input!
What are your nominations for the OG Class of the Stout Hall of Fame? Send me your nominations using the comment box. I’d like to focus on the Stouts that started this dark journey. Think about what started you down this dark alley…..
Some thoughts on eligibility:
- The Stout has to be available for at least 5 years
- It has to be available at least regionally, if not nationally
- No brewery only releases…..for now!
To whet the whistle, here are some that are bouncing around in my head – in no particular order:
Oskar Blues TENFIDY
CIgar City Hunuapu
Prairie Artisan Ales BOMB!
Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout
Perennial Artisan Ales Abraxas
The Bruery Black Tuesday
Alesmith Speedway Stout
Founders Brewing KBS
Surly Brewing Darkness
Epic Brewing Big Bad Baptist
Guinness Stout
Firestone Walker Parabola
I’m sure I missed many – and that’s why I need your input! Tell me what I missed or reinforce my thinking! I expect to induct about 15 to 20 Stouts in this inaugural class, so your comments are welcome and encouraged!
Looking forward to reading your comments!!
I’m not sure who the governing body is for all of these special “days” or “months” that we like to celebrate and commemorate but whoever decided that the shortest month of the year should be Stout month seriously miscalculated! All kidding aside, we’re nearing the end of February and what many would consider the end of Stout Season. Being the Stoutwhisperer, there is no such thing as Stout Season, unless you want to consider the entire year a “season”. In actuality, if you want to put an exclamation point on the busy part of the stout release season, I would submit to you that exclamation point is the annual Kentucky Breakfast Stout (KBS) release by Founders Brewing of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Whatever your
feelings are about Founders, KBS is one of the early bourbon barrel aged Stouts and deserves a place in the Stout Hall of Fame! The annual KBS release is in early March and Founders makes it an event, starting in it’s home state of Michigan and then rolling it out nationally. After the KBS release, things start to settle down and the brewer calendar starts to transition to the lighter colored brews……perhaps with one exception. The good people at Toppling Goliath are having their 2019 vintage Assassin release on March 30 this year. Stout lovers bought up all the tickets to the release in mere minutes and the migration to Decorah, Iowa will commence in late March. Note: I wish I could show a picture of Assassin, but I’ve never been fortunate enough to see it in the wild, much less taste it on draught or from the bottle (that means ISO!)!
Labs is their small batch experimental laboratory where they try new things and see how they turn out. I was fortunate enough to sample their Dark Charge with Pineapple and smoked Poblano Peppers. I was intrigued, as I felt it could be really tasty but I also thought it could be a train wreck if it wasn’t executed well. My fears were unfounded, as the sweetness and flavor profile from the pineapple shone through and the notes of smokiness and heat from the Poblanos tempered the pineapple to create a wonderful balanced stout. It worked and I’m so glad I had the opportunity to enjoy it!
celebrating 
well known release is yet to come, with 
Russian Imperial Stout. Because of the popularity of the event, they moved it from their brewery in Minneapolis to the Somerset Amphitheater in Somerset, Wisconsin. Moving the celebration to a location more suitable for a festival like environment was probably a wise choice! The different attendance packages Surly offered included on-site camping – love that option for an event like this! Let everyone have a great time and minimize the potential for trouble. They also provided shuttles from Minneapolis for those who couldn’t do the camping thing. Nice move, Surly!
few months ago. He gave me a preview of Darkness Day (see the question about the variants) along with some insights into the how and why of Darkness:
to cool before the tasty dark elixir made a triumphant return to the shelves and taps. Thankfully for those who consider themselves Stout aficionados, the annual “Stout Drought” is being eliminated (or at least is shrinking) and we have the craft beer industry to thank! As more local craft beer brewers enter the market, they are listening to their customers – we want Stouts year round – and they are obliging! All you have to do is look at social media…..there are weekly Stout releases and although we can’t be everywhere to take advantage of each release, just knowing they are out there tells me the Stout market is alive and well, even in the summer months! So go ahead and drink that Stout on a hot summer day!
and The Toll conditioned with cacao nibs. It was a wonderful nectar that the good people at Raleigh Brewing should take note of and consider for a future release! The barrel aging and the chocolate notes combined well and made for a tasty Stout that was a one of a kind treat!
brewery/taproom in downtown Asheboro that had the feel of a local neighborhood gathering spot. Locals were welcomed by first name and visitors were welcomed as if they were a local. The two people tending the bar were very helpful and accommodating. If I were an Asheboro resident, I could see how Four Saints would be a regular stop!
by a few days and enjoyed MDXXI, an Imperial Mexican Chocolate Stout from Twin Leaf Brewery
meet and relax!
notes of Hazelnuts and Coffee. Loved the aroma and the taste!
barrel imperial stout brewed with molasses and rye. I really loved what the molasses added to this one – it really softened the bourbon notes and made it a smooth Stout!
great Barrel-Aging program and have a great knack for dialing in their adjuncts to perfection! I’ve been fortunate enough to take most (but not all) of the above and I’ve been very impressed with the entire lineup! I’ve had to trade for most of these and I’m thrilled to know that many of these will find their way to my local bottleshops and taprooms! My guess is that FB will start with sending Maple Bacon Coffee Porter and Last 
Snow up north to us (as well as some of their non-Stout/Porter lineup) and will expand to their Barrel Aged Stouts and Porters depending on sales and volume.
Coffee Porter and it truly is a memorable beer….the maple aroma lasts for a good while and it’s truly deserving of all of the accolades it has received over the years! The Funky Buddha brew crew appears to have the recipe down just right!
regional, and national brewers are all vying for our wallets and cellar space and Funky Buddha certainly has the Stout/Porter lineup to grab a healthy share!
Mississippi River via UPS and FedEx via the lively trading community. One brewery that I’ve kept my eye on has been 
For the 2018 vintage, Smog City bottled approximately 1900 bottles which is about 800 less than last years vintage. What’s new this year is that they are releasing two variants, Cinnamon Vanilla Infinite Wishes and Hazelnut and Cocoa Nibs Infinite Wishes! After tasting Infinite Wishes, I can only imagine how incredible these two variants taste!
After my Infinite Wishes experience, I couldn’t wait to dive into The Nothing, Smog City’s Double Chocolate Imperial Stout. I enjoy dark chocolate and the label descriptions and the reviews really intrigued me. Upon opening The Nothing, the escaping aroma was one of dark chocolate cocoa – not the sweet sugary kind, but the wonderful scent of dark unsweetened cocoa. Brewed with “darkly roasted chocolate malts” and 2 types of cacao nibs, The Nothing is the darkest, blackest Stout I’ve ever seen. The pour of The Nothing is a sight to behold! The taste closely followed the
aroma, as the chocolate flavors really come forward from both the cacao nibs and the malts. The Nothing is really something! The Imperial Stout base with the chocolate malts combined with the cacao nibs create a luscious, alluring, black as night elixir that the Smog City Brewmasters should be proud of. As the phrase on the label states, “Don’t be afraid of the Dark!”
Stoutwhisperer 