What do you look for in Stouts?

Coffee with cream, some booze, chocolate, and a bit of dark fruits would be the perfect regular stout. Not what you asked, but it would need a really thick body too

 

Ideally, a nice balance (meaning nothing is overdone) between roast malts (coffee/dark chocolate), base malt and/or sweetness, hops and yeast signature (dark fruit, butterscotch)- in all gravity ranges. I'm not that big on added flavorings.

 

Balance I guess but there is a lot of variance within the stout style and I can appreciate most of them for what they are regardless of abv, body, etc

 

Dark and roasty; tones of coffee, dark chocolate, and char.

 

Coffee or chocolate or both

 

Also, a nice personality.

 

Bourbon and vanilla.

 

Would like to see more aged in Rum or Tequila barrels...

 

I prefer stouts that are more coffee forward. Chocolate is good too but usually seek out the ones that are coffee heavy.

 

Chocolate - particularly a nice depth of flavor; sweeter milk chocolate/powdered cocoa to bittersweet dark chocolate
Coffee - usually a nice roasted bite to counter any sweetness
Vanilla - particularly a nice flavor to transition between the roasted notes and bittersweet chocolate
Creaminess - perhaps from lactose, as I like milk stouts quite a bit; probably more to do with mouthfeel than true flavor

 

Coconut, coffee, chocolate, and vanilla, in that order.

 

Chocolate,Vanilla sometimes some Peppers!

 

I've got a bit of a sweet tooth, so I tend to prefer notes of chocolate being slightly more prominent than anything else, as long as that's not all I can taste. I still like some roasted, charred, hoppy bitterness mixed in as well to somewhat balance it out.

 

The taste profile of Sierra Nevada Stout for regular stouts, and Old Rasputin for RIS's. So I guess balance with discernible hopiness.

 

Strong bourbon and a hint of vanilla. Can't go wrong!

 

Satisfaction! I like to feel that I have just had a world class ale. Rich flavors that evolve as you drink are nice.

 

This with a balanced sweetness, not too cloying or not too bitter.

 

I want complexity without being overly bitter.

 

In my quest for the perfect stout I've long since discarded the notion of one ideal flavor profile. There are just too many sub-categories, all with their own champions.
The one thing that will elevate one stout over another for me is (as my name may indicate) the body/ feel. Call it creamy, thick, dense, heavy, chewy, syrupy, sludgy or whatever. For my tastes I prefer a stout to feel huge.