5 Essential Imperial Stouts

Imperial Stouts are one of the most beloved styles in craft beer. And with so many worthy Imperial Stouts out there (and so many variations), even attempting to come up with a definitive list might be dismissed as sheer recklessness on our part. But that’s never stopped us in the past.

So here are 5 big-time Imperial Stouts that you need to get to (if you haven’t already).

, 5 Essential Imperial StoutsHunahpu’s Imperial Stout Cigar City Brewing (Tampa, FL) – One of the most prized and coveted Imperial Stouts in the nation, this 11% ABV Imperial is complex and nuanced – and this year’s release is a celebration of dark, fruity flavors, chicory coffee, and vanilla /chocolate tones. Their non-spiced variation Marshal Zhukov’s Imperial Stout doesn’t suck either.

Founders Breakfast StoutFounders Brewing (Grand Rapids, MI) – A near perfect melding of flaked oats, bitter and imported chocolates, and two types of coffee, Founders 8.3% ABV Breakfast Stout gives off an intense fresh-roasted java aroma. Plus it’s all topped off with a frothy, cinnamon-colored head that goes on forever. A classic!

, 5 Essential Imperial StoutsOskar Blues Ten FIDY- Oskar Blues Brewery (Longmont, CO / Brevard, NC) – Brewed with enormous amounts of two-row malt, chocolate malt, roasted barley, flaked oats and hops this is one of the most widely distributed (and thankfully available) Imperial Stouts on our list. Oskar Blues 10.5% ABV Ten FIDY is “darker than dark” and loaded with layers of chocolate -covered caramel and coffee flavors that only richen as the beer warms.

Avery MephistophelesAvery Brewing (Boulder, CO) – The final installment from their The Demons of Ale Series and clocking in at a massive 17% ABV (Yikes!) Avery’s appropriately named Mephistopheles is coal black and complex and surprisingly un-boozy to the taste. Devilishly good!

 

, 5 Essential Imperial StoutsDark Lord Imperial Stout3 Floyds Brewing (Munster, IN) – A beer so popular that they’ve built a festival celebration around it, 3 Floyds Dark Lord is a demonic Russian-Style Imperial Stout brewed with coffee, Mexican vanilla, and Indian sugar. This 15% ABV monster defies description and is a beer collector’s dream. But unfortunately getting your hands on a bottle can be difficult, as its only available one day a year, and tickets to Dark Lord Day can sell out even faster than the GABF.

 

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