Each week on the Tavour app, we highlight top-notch beers from independent craft breweries across the U.S. — and sometimes even from abroad! Here are just a few of the crave-worthy Stouts we shared with beer lovers recently. Have you scheduled your beer delivery yet?
Mikkeller Brewing San Diego - Beer Geek Brunch - Imperial Stout
When we heard that Mikkeller and Alesmith formed a new, super brewery down in San Diego, we thought we’d crossed over into a heaven-like dimension just for beer geeks.
The world-renowned Mikkeller, with some of the highest-ranked beers ever on BeerAdvocate and stacks of awards, teaming up with a national powerhouse for a brewing spot on the West Coast? That’s just too good to be true!
Then, we got a stash of one of Mikkeller San Diego’s coveted beers for Tavour: Beer Geek Brunch!
It’s a thick ‘n chewy 10.9% ABV Imperial Oatmeal Stout brewed with coffee, and it boasts the mocha-rich tastiness dark beer geeks crave.
Each sip of this Mikkeller behemoth plunges the palate into opulent layers of just-ground espresso and freshly-made fudge. Notes of sweet bread and vanilla come through on the finish, right before a final whisper of dark chocolate ganache. Yum!
Energy City Brewing - Bâtisserie Chocolate Raspberry Tart - Imperial Pastry Stout
The last time we treated ourselves to some sweets from a fancy bakery, we got raspberry creme all over everything. Lets just say, their dainty to-go box couldn’t contain the obscene amount of pastries we ordered!
Despite this previous run-in with those treacherous baked goods, we feel like winners with Energy City’s latest addition to their 4+ UT-rated Bâtisserie Imperial Pastry Stout series. It tastes just like a luxuriously rich chocolate raspberry tart — without the sticky mess!
The brewers pack Bâtisserie Chocolate Raspberry Tart Imperial Stout with loads of drippy raspberries and succulent baker’s chocolate until it swells with bold dessert flavors. Sip after decadent sip, lush surges of vivacious berries balance against waves of cocoa nibs.
Illinois sweet-tooths on Untappd and BeerAdvocate have called this brew “delicious” more times than we can count the number of pastries we ordered!
903 Brewers - Homeschool - Imperial Stout
Our resident Tavour beer explorer has a friend named Anna with three kids between the ages of 5 and 10. When she heard that their elementary school would be returning to classes “virtually,” she just about fainted.
This beer is for Anna — and all the other craft fans who’ve had to convert their living rooms into libraries and their kitchens into science labs.
Homeschool Stout is the decadent, chocolate-laced Imperial Stout that all teachers deserve, whether you chose that vocation or not! Each taste is a thick, sumptuous mouthful of bittersweet, roasted malts, creamy coconut, and velvety vanilla.
And, all of that fantastic Almond Joy-like flavor comes with an A+ 10.5% ABV — you won’t find THAT in the school vending machines!
The lucky few who’ve gotten their hands on Homeschool Stout are rating it an honor-roll worthy 4.38 on Untappd, raving:
- “Actual fire!!! . . . Great mouthfeel, chocolate cake with tons of coconut! Exceptional beer!” @David V.
- “This one is legit. Coconut macaroon in liquid form.” @schan d.
- “Holy crap. Best stout of all time.” @matt
Wild Leap Brew Co - Birthday Month: Barrel Aged Cake & Ice Cream - Imperial Milk Stout
Do you know what the best kind of birthday party is? The kind where they give YOU a gift for even showing up.
Well, Wild Leap just turned 3 years old this September, and they didn’t just throw one big bash with one little gift for their fans. They turned the whole month into one long celebration and topped it off by brewing an ultra-limited birthday Stout!
The fifth and final release in this exclusive anniversary series is Birthday Month: Barrel Aged Cake & Ice Cream Stout. After unwrapping all its luscious layers of whiskey-laden chocolate cake flavor, we’re really not sure whether we’re celebrating their birthday or our own!
To make this indulgent dessert beer, Wild Leap blended their Vanilla Ice Cream Stout aged in award-winning ASW whiskey barrels and a mouthwatering Cake Stout. Then, they tied an extra ribbon of silky lactose into the 10% ABV brew for even more cakey fluffiness.
Every sip is like a slice of German chocolate cake layered with caramel coffee filling, and all slathered in decadently soft cream cheese frosting. And of course, with a hefty scoop of scotch vanilla ice cream on the side — it is a party after all!
Listermann Brewing Company - Don't Lay A Finger - Imperial Pastry Stout
Sweet-toothed Stout fans are drooling like hungry kids on Halloween night over Listermann Brewing’s candy-infused Don’t Lay A Finger!
Listermann brewed this 10% ABV Pastry Stout with a silky ribbon of lactose, chocolate, and 60 lbs of real Butterfingers per batch. That comes out to just over 25 whole candy bars in every barrel of this decadent brew!
Each sip of Don’t Lay A Finger is absolutely flush with the gooey, chocolate-coated peanut butter sweetness of the real thing. The mouthfeel is thick as molasses, with a palate-pleasing creaminess that makes the boozy ABV completely undetectable. It really is like candy for grown ups!
For those of us looking to wrap our fingers around something cocoa-rich and peanutty, @brewmeisterjw says it best: “Don’t Lay A Finger is a MUST TRY for fans of chocolate and PB!”
And outside of Ohio, Tavour is the only house on the block handing out this creamy candy bar beer anywhere!
Further reading:
- You received your beer delivery, now what? Learn more about how to store (and serve) your beers.
- Curious about cooking with beer? Check out these recipes for Beer Can Chicken, Beer Bread and Beer Cheese Dip!
- We decode one of the most common beer questions we hear: “What’s The Difference Between An Ale And A Lager?”