Stout: Less alcohol than Bud Light

Many drinkers, even knowledgeable ones, can get confused about what exactly stout is, said Eric Asimov in The New York Times. The very word evokes an “inky, impenetrable, black” liquid. Just as most people think darker coffee must contain more caffeine than lighter roasts, many assume that stout is an alcoholic blockbuster. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”

Most stouts have an alcohol content of about 4 percent, “fractionally less even than Bud Light.” There are also myriad stout styles—English, Irish, oatmeal, chocolate, Russian imperial, and so on. Some are sweet, others dry. Our tasting panel recently sampled 19 North American stouts. The top three, in order, were:

Mendocino Brewing Black Hawk Stout

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Saratoga Springs, N.Y. ($2, 12 oz)

This could easily become my new midday tipple—dry and light, with flavors of roasted barley and coffee.

McAuslan Brewing St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout

Montreal ($2, 11.5 oz)

The oatmeal lends a slight sweetness to the malted barley.

Mad River Brewing Steelhead Extra Stout

Blue Lake, Calif. ($1.75, 12 oz)

“Full and creamy.”