As the seasons change, so does your palate. During the spring and summer, lagers, IPAs, and other light brews quench our thirst and keep us refreshed. Now that winter is here, it’s time to transition to bourbon barrel-aged, holiday spiced creations to keep us warm and cozy. That’s right, everyone, we’ve entered stout and porter season!
The heavy-bodied, intense flavors of porter and stout varieties warm you from the inside out when temperatures drop. These liquid blankets occasionally have higher ABVs, and each brew has subtle differences in taste and texture, making them stand out amongst others. They also pair exceptionally well with meats, stews, and bisques, which are ubiquitous in the winter.
STOUTS
These dark, bitter, and roasty flavored beers will leave you warm, full, and ready to hibernate. What sets stouts apart are their taste and color. They’re shockingly black and taste like coffee, licorice, and chocolate. A stout should be full and creamy to the taste, making it the perfect beer to sip on on a cold night.
PORTERS
A porter is a deep brown, reddish color with a creamy head. It has a slightly bitter, roasted chocolate flavor. As one of the heaviest beer styles, it’s best to drink in the colder months when you need something to keep you warm. With so many different porter options, you can sip and sample all winter long.
To toast the season and honor the complex conventions of beer names, we compiled new brews to pick up this season:
No BS Brew Company
Jamaican Me Happy Nitro Coffee // 6% ABV
Featuring Evening Star Coffee, a locally owned company based in Avon, this porter has slight chocolate and smoky notes and finishes with a roasted coffee flavor that was cold brewed in the fermenter. The body is medium and the color is very dark.
Dublin Corners Farm Brewery
Tree Tapper // 5.5% ABV
This maple porter is brewed with local maple syrup made by Moondance Gardens as well as Cascade Hops.
No BS Brew Company
Unbranded Peanut Butter Cup Porter // 6.4% ABV
A fun twist on a classic porter. This porter is infused with chocolate syrup and peanut butter for a smooth, recognizable, but unnamed flavor.
No BS Brew Company
Blue Devil Porter // 6.6% ABV
Brewed to celebrate the opening of the second location of No BS Brew Company in the beautiful village of Victor. Expect to taste subtle toasted malts and very little hop bitterness.
Mortalis Brewing Company
Venus Cannoli Milk Stout // 7% ABV
This beer is brewed with cold steeped dark grains, locally roasted cocoa nibs, and Tahitian vanilla beans. The beer is then conditioned on cannoli shells, mascarpone and cream cheese powder to provide the rich creamy flavor.
Rising Storm Brewing Company
Ain’t No Chimneys Stout
A Mexican hot chocolate inspired stout that will be released at Rising Storm around Christmas time.
Strange Design Public House
Boiling Hot Coffee // 6% ABV
The first in the Festival Series recalling the favorite live music memories of the brewery owners. It was 1999 at Camp Oswego. The temperatures soared into the 90’s and triple digits. Phish was on fire! Their first venture for food brought them to a vendor selling, “Coffee, Boiling Hot Coffee!” This stout is an homage to the moment that still makes the owners laugh after all these years. Best enjoyed cold.
Mortalis Brewing Company
Nyx // 11% ABV
This is a stout brewed with roasted barley and complex malts to bring a brownie-like aroma and flavor that uniquely complements the toasted coconut.
Mortalis Brewing Company
Hazel // 10.5% ABV
This Coffee Stout showcases freshly in-house roasted hazelnuts and cold steeped coffee.
No BS Brew Company
Turtlestone Oatmeal Stout // 6.9% ABV
Featuring NYS malts from Murmuration, NYS Craft Malts, and NYS hops from Cobblestone Hopyard, this is a lighter bodied stout. Expect to taste subtle roasted malt and chocolate, rounded out with a slight hop finish.
Mortalis Brewing Company
As Above So Below // 10% ABV
This Imperial Coffee Stout is brewed with a favorite local coffee. It is full bodied with loads of coffee and then finishes with hints of rum, cinnamon, pecan, and chocolate.
Battle Street Brewery
O’Shay’s Oatmeal Stout // 5.5% ABV
This medium-bodied stout was brewed with 2-row malt, chocolate malt, black malt, flaked oats, crystal malt and roasted barley. The flaked oats give the beer a creamy mouthfeel and the crystal malt adds just a bit of sweetness. New York Glacier hops round out the recipe for this well-balanced dark ale. Cheers!
Mortalis Brewing Company
Erebus // 11% ABV
This Russian Imperial Stout is brewed with a long duration boil and layers of specialty grains. The beer is then conditioned on a pound of vanilla beans per barrel of beer.
Keep in mind these brews are seasonal and available in limited quantities, be sure to check out the breweries' websites and social media for the latest releases.