Flavorful Stouts – Part I

In past years, I’ve drawn attention to winter and how hearty stouts are so enjoyable is this timeframe. Is it that we are drawn to bolder flavor in colder months? Are we not worried about ‘putting on our winter coat’ (a phrase used to illustrate how winter beers add to our waistline) or is it that we want to explore new taste varieties? Well, all three reasons may be true. Stouts are for winter like light beers work in the summer. So with this established, I’d like to introduce you to some very differently flavored stouts that are intriguing and satisfying. Each has a bragging right and each is worth trying. Part 1 will tell you about two stouts from Maine and Massachusetts while Part 2 will discuss two other amazing stouts from larger brewers in both east coast and west. All four are different but worth examining. Let’s dive in…
Holy Donut Imperial Stout from Lone Pine of Portland, Maine, is absolutely original. Combining dark chocolate and toasted coconut may remind you of a Girl Scout cookie variety called Samoas. Roll that taste into a decadent 10.5% imperial stout and you have Holy Donut. The name comes from a local Portland donut shop which has supplied the main taste ingredient for this beer. Deep and dark with a plentiful khaki head, Holy Donut is smooth and luscious. The coconut is nicely apparent and the donut side is not overwhelming. Slight booziness is encountered but doesn’t steal the show as you partake. It is slightly sweet in both aroma and taste with some expected stout bittering at the end of your sampling. Consider it to be a dessert drink or a sipper with friends. Lone Pine has a well established line of amazing beer so add this to your shopping list and any others you may encounter.
Wide Awake Imperial Stout from Night Shift Brewing in Everett, Massachusetts, is a hefty blend of Night Shift’s own coffee beans infused into a mighty tasty stout. You might ask yourself, ‘coffee and stout?’ but it is a perfect combination. Just like bourbon barrels add a compelling difference to stout, coffee does as well. It’s like peanut butter and Jelly. There’s lots of perfectly balanced expresso aroma and flavor right up front on this one followed by dark chocolate and vanilla. It couldn’t be more different from Holy Donut due to its bean bittering, though they look almost identical. At 9% ABV, Wide Awake throws you a curve ball that you’ll want to catch over and over.
BeerAdvocate.com hasn’t officially rated either Holy Donut or Wide Awake yet as of this writing. You can find both of these great beers at Case-n-Keg in Meredith as well as other fine beer providers. Try sampling these stouts side by side and give them your own rating as to which one you enjoy most. As mentioned above, it is still Stout Season. See you next week for Part 2.