6 Stouts That Won't Break the Bank

HyVee Wine and Spirits has a generally good collection of beers to choose from. I went through their beer cooler and created my own six-pack combination for $10. I chose six stouts from six different brewing companies and compared them all. Some were excellent, others merely decent. But for just $10 I thought they were all worth it. I drank all six stouts over the course of about a week. I was hoping to do this all in one weekend, but my work and school work had other plans for me.

The six stouts I chose were

1. The 8 Ball Stout: Lost Coast Brewery
2. Sierra Nevada Stout: Sierra Nevada
3. Uncommon Stout: Bent River Brewing
4. Kalamazoo Stout: Bells Brewery 
5. Dreamer Oatmeal Stout: Breckenridge Brewery
6. Moo Joo: Brau Brothers Brewery 

The 8 Ball Stout
The 8 Ball stout poured a deep brown in color and sat in the glass nearly black, similar to most stouts. A small head covered the top but dissipated in a moment of ten seconds. The aroma was thick with a robust chocolate note. On the front of the palate the flavor was light and marginally sweet and ended with a full chocolate flavor on the back of the palate leaving a mild roasted bitterness after flavor. The consistency was rather thin. This stout was good, but definitely not the best of the six.
ABV 5.8%
Rating 3.0





Sierra Nevada Stout
Rich nut brown in color, this stout poured also with a thin head. The head parted across the class as if Moses himself had parted it with his staff. The flavor moved moved across the palate smooth at first but became sharp, earthy, and bitter at the back of the palate. The aroma had a roasted earthy sent but not chocolaty. The Sierra Nevada was my least favorite stout and had a thin consistency to it.
ABV 5.8%
Rating 2.8




Uncommon Stout
This stout reminded me of a stout dwarves would raise their glasses to. The Uncommon Stout is an oatmeal stout and had an aroma of roasted coffee. The head poured a little larger than the last two stouts and lasted longer, about twenty seconds. Sitting serenely in the tulip glass, it reminded me of a cup of dark Colombian roast coffee. The consistency was smooth and creamy with notes of roasted oats and coffee and left a definitive coffee flavor on the back of the palate. With every sip an rich roasted earthy and coffee aroma wafted up to the nose. A great stout that I would enjoy buying again.
ABV 6.5
Rating 3.4




Kalamazoo Stout
The Kalamazoo poured a dark chestnut brown and looked like black glass reflecting back at you. It poured with small head that disappeared as quickly as it formed. It had a complex aroma full of roasted oats and dark chocolate notes. Thinner in consistency than the Uncommon Stout, but creamier and fuller than the first two. Sharp dark flavors rolled over the tongue with earthy notes on the back of the palate and a slight licorice note than transcended above the other flavors for a full bodied complex taste. Very enjoyable with lots happening in the mix of flavors.
ABV 6.0%
Rating 3.3




Dreamer Oatmeal Stout
This particular stout poured with almost no head at all and sat in the glass with a blackness as dark as a black bear's fur. The aroma was dark and earthy yet subtle compared to the others. My favorite of the six I tried, the Dreamer Oatmeal Stout was creamy and smooth in flavor and light on the palate with no bitter after flavor. Easy to drink and pleasing ion the tongue this was a stout I could easily have more than one.
ABV 4.9%
Rating 3.5





Moo Joo

Moo Joo is an oatmeal milk stout that poured without a head. When undisturbed in the glass Moo Joo had an appearance of polished obsidian. It had a smooth full bodied flavor with a silken consistency. Complicated notes of sweet, chocolate, and roasted coffee with a mild bitter bite. This stout will raise spirits and seems like a good beer to drink while contemplating deeply. Drinking Moo Joo makes me think of a black bearded huntsman easing himself into his handcrafted wooden chair in front of a roaring fire in a log cabin enjoying this stout.
ABV 5.8%
Rating 3.4

My three favorites were the Dreamer Oatmeal Stout, Moo Joo and Uncommon Stout. I noticed my favorites all had a creamy smooth finish which I find to be a trait necessary in a good stout. I also scaled the ratings a little because I know there are more fantastic stouts out there and I didn't want to discredit them by inflating the ratings of these 6, but for their cost these were quite enjoyable.  If you get the chance, go out and try these stouts and share what you think in the comments below.