Sternwheeler Stout
Ice Harbor Brewing Company

Review: 2610
Name: Sternwheeler
Brewery: Ice Harbor Brewery
Location: Kennewick, WA
Style: American Stout
ABV: 5.9%
Canned: 10 May 2026
Date: 13 May 2026
Initial Impression:
When I found out my wife was staying near Ice Harbor Brewing Company, this was the beer I wanted her to grab right away. Sternwheeler has picked up awards over the years, which usually means the brewery is doing something right with the style.
Appearance:
Served at 52°F in a pint glass. Opening the crowler released a satisfying hiss, though I was a little concerned after noticing it wasn’t filled particularly high. Thankfully, carbonation held up reasonably well.
The pour produced a creamy one-finger tan head with average retention, slowly dissipating and leaving bits of lacing behind. The beer itself pours inky black with dark rusty-brown highlights around the edges, slightly translucent under strong light (SRM ~32). Overall, a solid presentation for the style.
Aroma:
Malt-forward with restrained hop support. Dark-roasted malt dominates, with notes of espresso, dark chocolate, char, anise, toffee, bread crust, and light malt sweetness. Supporting aromas of caramel, molasses, and earthiness add depth.
The hop profile stays subtle but noticeable, contributing pine, light resin, faint grapefruit, and grassy bitterness that help keep the roast character from becoming too heavy.
Flavor:
Roast-driven but balanced. Chocolate, espresso, toasted bread crust, caramel, toffee, raisin, anise, and earthy roasted malt lead the palate. Mid-palate brings char, light smokiness, and subtle tobacco notes that add complexity without becoming harsh.
The hops provide enough bitterness and structure to support the malt profile, contributing pine, resin, grass, and a touch of grapefruit. The balance between roast and hop bitterness works particularly well here.
Mouthfeel:
Medium-bodied with moderate carbonation. Slightly thinner than expected for a stout, leaning closer to porter territory in texture. While somewhat aqueous at times, it still maintains enough palate presence to avoid feeling watery.
Overall Impression:
Sternwheeler is a significant step up from Hop Warrior and showcases a much more cohesive flavor profile. The roasted malt complexity and restrained hop character complement each other extremely well, creating a stout that’s flavorful and easy to drink.
My main critique is the mouthfeel—it lacks the fuller, richer body I typically want from a stout and drinks closer to a robust porter. A touch more dextrin malt or body-building character would push this beer to another level. Still, the flavor profile is excellent, and it’s easy to see why this beer has earned recognition over the years.

A decent stout but a little too much coffee notes for me, though it is quite smooth on the finish. Rated 9-2023

So this sat for like 7 years in the basement, was one of those shelfie beers that elrogish begs for you to trade him for a Chocolate Rain or some shit.

Pours black and brown. Thin 1/4" lighter brown head. Aroma was like evenly split between a quad and a Russian Imperial Stout, lots of dark fruit bitterness to it, moreso than roasted malt even.

Taste, oh man, this is the most quad like stout I've ever had. Sure, the oxidation plays a role in that but damn, this has more in common with a quad, RIS or baltic porter than an American stout at this point. Lots of bitterness, dark cardboard had a thinning effect on the body. Roasted malt is in the background instead of the forefront. Just too challenging of a drink for something that is supposed to be run of the mill strength stout. Has like a mineral and dark fruit bitterness that is too much. Maybe it was the age on it, I dunno, I just know it didn't do anything but look average.

 

 

 

I had this beer on-tap in a pint glass at the brewery.

Appearance: totally black with a finger of creamy dark tan foam. Very attractive.

Smell: roasty and a little sweet. A good sign of things to come.

Taste: roasty, dryish and rich. Almost a little ashy; I love that in a stout. Good stuff!

Mouthfeel: medium body with a good carbonation and a smooth creaminess. I like it.

Overall: this could be a go-to stout for me if it were offered on tap in my neck of the woods. A very solid beer.

Thanks to woemad for this one. A very nice brew, pretty typical, but solidly enjoyable. If it showed up locally, it'd be in rotation.

 

Malty, stout lightly hopped.

Good, slightly cloudy dark brown, almost black color, with minimal tan foam. Not highly carbonated. Strong malty mocha on the nose. Sweet drinkable stout, not particularly bitter, though the coffee and piney Northwest hops will bite you a little on the finish. Ice Harbor loves to hop the heck out of a beer, but they went less heavy handed for this one, so it retains the malty goodness of two different types of malt. Roasted Malt, and chocolate gives this stout a very coffee-like flavor. I don't taste the barley, but it may be what helps give this beer some of it's bready weight. Very soft on the mouth, the low carbonation makes the stout less crisp and clean (it's a stout though, so what would you expect?) and more warm and fuzzy on your tongue.

Served cold, if you drink slowly the coffee and chocolate flavors will develop as the beer warms up.

 

 

 

 

 

12oz bottle, poured into a pint.

A- Pours a milky black, just a little transparency around the edges. Did not pour with much head, maybe half a finger, which quickly dissipated. Not much lacing, though not much would be expected.

S- Delicious toasted malt aroma with a subtle sweet chocolate note.

T- Well balance and mild, not much complexity, but tasty. There is a nice malty aftertaste on top of the tongue. The chocolate notes dissipate quickly which pleases this drinker.

M- A little watery, but not objectionable so. Minimal carbonation. Not that there should be a lot, but this could use just a tick more.

D- Very drinkable. Enjoy one glass with a steak, another with dessert and another for a night cap. A most sessionable stout.

This stout, on tap at a brewery restaurant, had a good dark, almost black color, but with a mild head. The smell had a mild but pleasant nose. The taste wasn't bad, but didn't rate high for me as a stout. The different tastes of chocolate, malt, and a hint of coffee just didn't compliment each other.

12 oz. bottle from brewery, poured 2.14.10 into Deschutes pint glass.

Dark brown, almost black body, no visible carbonation. One finger brown head, pretty quick dissipation and minimal lacing. Big chocolate hit on the nose, some coffee, and faint citrusy hops. The taste is chocolaty, minimal coffee at this juncture, little hops. Mouthfeel is full, a bit chewy and sticky. Not the most drinkable of brews, but certainly a nice dessert stout. Worth a try.

Thank to JackCow for the hookup.

Poured a jet black with a medium tannish head and good carbonation. Nose is a little funky, sour with cocoa and coffee. Taste is chcolate, roasted barley, coffee. Mouthfeel is is rather warm feeling for a beer with lower ABV. Creamy, roasty and a pleasure to drink.

Thanks to fishingnet for this one.

A: Pours a nice shade of brown with a moch head. Very little retention or lace.

S: Big roasted malt up front with bold notes of chocolate and coffee.

T: Mild but tasty. Wonderful roasted malt with a great level of velvet like chocolate goodness.

M: Medium in body, smooth, and tasty.

D: Good I really enjoyed this beer.