"Starter" Stouts

Sorry, my post was poorly phrased - I'm doing too many non-work related things. If you get Anderson Valley Oatmeal Stout in AZ I highly recommend that.

 

Alaskan Oatmeal Stout
Anderson Valley Oatmeal Stout
Deschutes Black Butte Porter (one of my favorites of all time)

 

If you're priming him for an imperial chocolate stout, you'd be better off suggesting porters and sweet stouts rather than dry Irish stouts. Perhaps you should try some of these as well if you think all low-alcohol stouts are "watery".

Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald
Founders Porter
Sierra Nevada Stout or Porter
Sam Smith's Oatmeal Stout (one of my first)
Rogue Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout
Anchor Porter
Smuttynose Robust Porter
Left Hand Milk Stout
Boulder Obovoid
Wolavers Alta Gracia Coffee Porter (released in October)
Lagunitas Capuccino Stout

 

I have little new to offer, but I want to second some of the beers already mentioned in this thread. Samuel Smith’s oatmeal stout was the first non-Guinness and non-Murphy’s stout I ever tried. Then Sierra Nevada’s stout. Anchor introduced me to porters. Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout was my first imperial stout. You can’t go wrong with any of those classics.

Samuel Smith’s porter is probably another good introductory option as it has the “dark beer” flavor profile but is smooth and insanely drinkable. Smuttynose’s robust porter is also tasty. I recently tried Anderson Valley's oatmeal stout and was blown away.

Gah, now I want to go home and drink some porters and stouts!

 

Black Tuesday. Go hard or go home.

 

There is not and never has been any difference between porter and stout though at times many people have tried to differentiate them.It's simply a matter of what the brewer decides to call them. The relevance to the OP is that when looking for a suitable stout he might find one labelled as a porter.

 

Guinness Foreign Extra Stout.
Old Rasputin.
Victory Storm King

 

Left Hand's Milk Stout
Anderson Valley's Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout
Sam Smiths Oatmeal Stout
Ska's Milk Stout
Deschutes Obsidian Stout

 

Mikkeller Black


I kid, I kid... Java Head from Troegs is a good starter stout IMO (if you like coffee)

 

Buried Hatchet Stout

 

The only ones I can think of that that are distributed to MD are Sierra Nevada Stout and Sixpoint Diesel.

 

Boulevard Dark Truth Stout, Delicious!

 

If you're brewing a big stout, why not just try a bunch of imperial stouts to see what he likes and if he developes a palate for big stouts. Since he lives in Maryland, he should have no trouble finding the following beers.

Victory Storm King
Stoudts Fat Dog
Weyerbacher Old Heathen
Weyerbacher Heresy
Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout (seasonsonal, should be out in another couple months)

 

A bit of a different angle here, but what about Narragansett Porter if it's available by you? First of all it's cheap, but more importantly it's thick, on the sweeter side, has chocolate and roasty notes, and is just overall pretty good. It is very approachable and a good step towards a real RIS without wasting your time on crappy watery stouts.

Trader Joes sells it by me.

 

founders porter.

 

Williamsburg Alewerks Coffee Stout. You can get it in MD and it's like a mini Founders Breakfast Stout.

 

Only on this site can a man feel confident making his avatar a picture of him cuddling, no, snuggling, a bottle of beer.

And I love it.

 

ISO Oak-Aged Bourbon Chocolate Imperial Stout.

Echo a lot of the comments in here with Edmund Fitzgerald and Rogue Shakespeare Oatmeal. Both are really balanced and well done, as is Bear Republic Big Bear Black Stout.

 

Ballast Point Victory at Sea... not a stout.