Beginner Imperial Stout Recommendations

Love my Michigan imperial stouts, but Great Lakes Blackout stout is a great gateway RIS.

 

You should have Liftbridge Imperial there, it's a winner in my book.

 

Prairie Pirate Bomb. Wow, much better than regular Bomb!

 

Another not mentioned,

Silhouette Russian Imperial is the real name, sorry.

 

I have to agree with those that have suggested starting wth porters or non-imperial stouts. New Holland The Poet is a really nice oatmeal stout with a low abv. Deschutes' Black Butte and Obsidian are worth a look too.

If you are dead set on wading into Imperials, the previous suggestion of Brooklyn Black Chocolate is ideal. Cheap, easy to find, and delicious.

 

Can't believe nobody has said Deschutes Blacke Butte Porter & Obsidian Stout, both classic offerings readily available (maybe?)

*edit: Hoos78 beat me to it

 

The best answer is Founders Breakfast, it's readily available, and really REALLY good.

You can delve deeper afterwards.

 

Some people think that the season that follows Fall is Winter, but we know it is really Stout season...

Too many good choices.

 

Great Divide Yeti (and variants)
Tallgrass Buffalo Sweat Stout
Guinness Extra Stout & Foreign Extra Stout (none of that 4% Guinness Draught)
Founders Breakfast Stout
Sierra Nevada Narwhal
Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast
Boulevard Imperial Stout
Stone Xocoveza
New Holland The Poet

 

Yep, had a nice sipping Kbs last night.

 

Any of the Evil Twin stouts are great. Not too expensive and in my opinion very good. Siberian Nights, Yeti, I love them all.

 

Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro, took one six pack to wake me up to the dark side. I recommend this because the nitro dumbs down some of the malt bitterness. I am not a nitro fan, but at the time I had this beer I wasn't a stout fan. Now I like stouts and don't like nitro. Conundrum.

 

A lot of good stouts mentioned in here but not necessarily "entry" imo. I wouldn't suggest ones like narwhal or storm king simply for how bitter with roastyness they can come off initially.

Imo more palatable ones for someone new to the style could be ... Even more jesus and blackout stout. Imperial biscotti break and breakfast stout if he wants to go the coffee route. Dragons milk for barrel aged.

Honorable mentions to dark apparition and stoudts fat dog.

 

You like hoppy beers and so do I. Do you have access to Victory Brewing - Storm King? (IMO, the hoppiest Imperial Stout I've ever had.)

 

Big bad Baptist from Epic. Love it

 

skip the mediocre stuff, go straight for some classics.

easy picks for me: ten fidy, expedition, founders imperial

 

Old Rasputin broke me in. In fact, I was so moved by it's awesomeness that I ended up mail ordering an Old Rasputin tee shirt, and that was back when ordering off of a number on the carrier was the only option. Ya, that's commitment. My other recommendations would be Siberian Knights from Thirsty Dog if it's available in your area and Narwhal when it hits. All three of those stouts are IMO complex enough to hold your interest without being overhyped and priced to match. All three are bargains for what you are getting.

 

Bells Kalamazoo(vastly underappreciated beer), bells double cream, Young's chocolate, Shakespeare stout, hell even Guinness, left hand milk Stout, Sierra Nevada stout, Sam Smith oatmeal stout...all good places to start. I'd also recommend some good porters to begin with. Founders, great lakes Eddy fitz, fullers Porter, Sam Smith's taddy Porter...too many to list