Recently I've drank 2 stouts that make me pause for a moment. They were Hel & Verdomenis (by de Molen) and the classic Samuel Smith Imperial Stout (really not much of an "imperial" by American standards at only 7% abv, but extremely good none the less) What I liked so much about these is their balance and smoothness. So many of the American imperials are so bitter and so over the top malty that I have a hard time wanting more than 1 in a night. With Hel and SS, I could drink a case. They're not too bitter, not too sweet, not too malty...just...perfect. I really like the medium-heavy mouth feel, mild sweetness, not over-the-top hops, not ridiculously dark malt... With that in mind, what are some other stouts that have that perfect balance? (I still love all the over the top stouts like founders IS, KBS, black note, central waters and the like but Im looking for something different at the moment)
I recently got the chance to try Yeti and the Oak aged espresso seasonal Yeti on tap at Great Divide Brewery in Denver. I like stouts quite a bit, but I wouldn't say it's my style of choice. But I LOVED Yeti. It was everything a stout should be, in my opinion. Chocolatey, roasty, malty, viscous, and well, stout. Both were Imperial stouts, but they were both very balanced, in my opinion. Very drinkable.
Looked on seekabrew and saw that you should get Deschutes in your area...Deschutes Obsidian Stout is one of my go to stouts. I find it to be good for 2 or more servings in a night without being too much. IMO, it is well balanced and could be what you are looking for. Cheers! Edit: the only thing you won't get is that heavy mouthfeel.
Try Southern Tier 2X Stout, and Left Hand Nitro/Milk Stout - these are both milk stouts, but each also has a nice balancing sweetness, not over the top at all, and very smooth - they both have a pretty wide distro, hope you can find these local to you. If you like a little sweeter and creamy mouthfeel Youngs Dbl Chocolate Stout is a pretty nice one too, and easy to find. Happy hunting - Cheers!
New Holland The Poet for a lighter, balanced oatmeal stout. Courage RIS is heavy and robust, but very well balanced between sweet/roasty/bitter IMO.
Balance is not a defining characteristic in a perfect stout. The best stouts in the world all kick your palate's ass in one way or another, and that's by design.
Anderson Valley Barney Flats Stout to me is smooth, creamy, slightly chocolatey, and comes in at only 5.7%. Flavorful but balanced, in my opinion.
Old Rasputin is a little on the Hoppy side but sooo damn good. Sierra Nevada Stout is very well balanced and you can drink them all night.
if you like SS imperial maybe give the oatmeal stout a shot its one of my go to stouts i can never get enough of it BA SCORE 94 exceptional - 3,400 Ratings THE BROS 95 world-class - read more ยป rAvg: 4.24 pDev: 11.56% Reviews: 1976 Hads: 1424 Ratings Help thats not so bad by comparison to imperial higher on BA and 4 shy on the BROS
I generally like--prefer the "you only really want 1" type of big beers. Even if I'm going to have more than 1. If Central Waters Imp stouts are more intense than what you want, I think you may just not be wanting imperial stouts at those times when you want to knock a few back. Nothing wrong with that. Maybe swing over to porters?
ten fiddy, expedition. Perfectly balanced?, well i really can't say. Too many to say what is really balanced correctly
Not that this is easily attainable, but balance in a big stout leads you to one place: Kate the Great Of the widely available ones, I recommend the Yeti series.
If you haven't tried Fulton's Worthy Adversary yet, you need to run down to the local liquor store and pick one up. Best offering by far by Fulton and only found in MN. The other smooth drinking imperial stout is Dark Horse's Plead the 5th. Just excellent and it just hit shelves in Minny last week.
Yeti, Avery Czar, Avery Uncle Jacobs, Ten Fidy... oh.. wait, you want something mellow and drinkable? I thought this was another "name your favorite imperial stout" thread... Instead I would check out Odell cut throat porter, Deschutes Obsidian stout as well as their Black Butte porter, Left hand milk stout, Victory Storm King stout. Check out St. James cream stout if you can find it. Very balanced between sweet and roasty and also very drinkable.
one I had recently was Hawkshead Organic Stout, like what guinness would be if it had balls. Extremely tasty and easy to put down.
- YES!! I have to agree wholeheartedly here, haven't had this one in awhile - this is an excellent stout, it says "brewed with brewers licorice" on the label, don't let this sway you, it's just another note in a great symphony, affordable and sessionable - I give this recommendation 2 thumbs up!
Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout North Coast Old Rasputin Victory Storm King Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti Epic Exponential Series Imperial Stout
I was giving options to the op. Beers that are distributed in his area that I personally feel are good and balanced representations of the style. You're entitled to your own opinion.
I don't even think Victory would classify Storm King as balanced. Some things can't be written off as personal opinion.
Delicious. But I can't believe FBS hasn't been mentioned. A more well-rounded stout imo, and probably the closest to a perfect balance for my taste.
Just because something is complex or bold doesn't mean it's not balanced. A balanced beer just means that the different characters being represented in the beer do not overwhelm each other and work together to create a balanced flavor profile. Contrary to your "opinion" and misuse of the term "balanced", a lot of people (on this site) consider Storm King to be a balanced beer.
If people refer to Storm King as a Black IPA and not a stout, this happens very often, one should probably not use the word balance to describe it. I agree that bold, assertive and complex beers can be balanced but Storm King is way too assertive with its hop profile to be considered balanced. Balance has to be thought of in terms of the style. With big assertive beers you have to match the huge bitterness with huge sweetness or creaminess. If one component starts to out weigh the others then balance is lost. Calling a beer unbalanced should not automatically be an indictment on the beer, it is nothing more than accurately describing the beer. There have been some awful examples of balanced beers in this thread. I will not argue that they are beers worth trying but they simply are not balanced.
As somebody said above, if you are looking for balance anything with "imperial" in it is not the beer you are looking for.
Bell's Kalamazoo has been mentioned here but I will throw Double Cream out there. I feel Double Cream is a bit more balanced than Kalamazoo. The sweet and creaminess provide the perfect counterpoint to the roasty malt flavor.
