Looking to get into Stouts & Porters

Milk stouts would probably be a good place to start. Three of my favorites are Murphy's, Left Hand and DuckRabbit.

 

Stout
Bell's - expedition stout
Great divide - expresso oak aged yeti
3 Brothers - Resolute


Porters
victory at sea- ballast point
coffee porter - smog city

 

Shake Chocolate Porter. (Boulder)
Porter (Sierra Nevada)
Porter (Founders)
Vanilla Porter (Breckenridge)

Milk Stout Nitro (Left Hand)
Organic Chocolate Stout and Imperial Stout (Samuel Smith)
Double Chocolate Stout (Wells & Youngs)
Old Rasputin (North Coast)
The Poet (New Holland)

Just to name a few. Honestly, go try a few and you'll quickly be able to figure out what you like!

 

Left Hand Nitro Russian Imperial Stout would be a great one to start with

 

Shiner's Birthday Beer....

 

two words; Samual Smith

 

Stone's Suede Imperial Porter (collaboration with Blue Jacket and 10 Barrel) is terrific.

 

I was kind of disappointed that this was one of the beers that was available for purchase when I visited 3 Floyd's last summer, but holy crap, that disappointment went away with the first sip. 100 degree August be damned, I'll drink that milk stout any day.

And while we're on the topic of hard to find beers - I bet the OP would be opened up pretty quicky if he could find himself some HF Everett. I remember that one being more creamy/chocolately than coffee-y as well.

 

I agree with chocolate stouts. Boulder Shake tastes like chocolate milk. Strong chocolate taste without high alcohol makes it an easy transition beer.

 

You can't go wrong with Smuttynose robust porter and Oskar blues ten fidy stout. They are both great examples of the styles and you can start branching out from there.

 

If it hasn't been said yet, I'd recommend the Bell's Kalamazoo Stout. It's unique and different from regular stout but still pretty good. I'd also recommend the North Coast Old Rasputin Stout. It isn't overwhelming but bold enough to leave an impression.

Regarding porters, I'd go with Yard's Washington Tavern Porter and Founders Porter.

 

Try Founders Porter and Left Hand Milk Stout (Nitro if you can)
Thank me after

 

Haven't had anything from Hill Farmstead yet. I was disappointed by the beer selection at 3 floyds when I first looked at it when I went. I was hoping for more beers I couldn't get in KY but I was still very happy after drinking some fresh and munching on the tremendous food they have. I drink stouts year round so the temp doesn't bother me lol.

 

Victory Storm King
Its like a black IPA. Basically an IPA with a fuller body and more roast.

 

Anchor Porter
Ballast Point Victory At Sea
Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout
Samuel Smith Russian Imperial Stout
Founders Breakfast Stout

 

My favorite porter is Revolution Eugene Porter. It has a toasty aroma and is not too sweet or bitter. It doesn't come on as strong as a lot of the coffee stouts and and is not as alcoholic as some as the higher abv's. That being said i like many of the beers made by Founders, Bells, Left Hand, and Brooklyn in similar style, but this is a beer a little more mellow and very easy to drink. I don't know if you can get it in NJ but i highly recommend you try it if you can get it. They have variants like Mean Gene and Bean Gene, but the Eugene Porter is a little more middle of the road and comes in 6 packs and is affordable at around $11 for a sixer.

 

Just drink Ten Fidy until you forget what everything else tastes like, then start over.

 

Oatmeal stouts and milk stouts are where you want to start. Neither is known to have much roastiness that can sometimes come off as a coffee taste characteristic. Here is the result of a search of the Beer section for oatmeal stouts. http://www.beeradvocate.com/search/?q=oatmeal&qt=beer

 

Starter Stouts:
Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout, Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro, Young's Double Chocolate Stout, Weyerbacher Old Heathen, North Coast Old Rasputin.

Starter Porters:
Fuller's Porter, Deschutes Black Butte Porter, Founders Porter

 

You should definitely try Ballast Point Brewery's Victory At Sea (Stout). That is the most flavorful porter I've had to date. Admittedly, I haven't been in the craft scene for too long, but that's just my two cents.

Edit: Victory at Sea is actually a Porter. I just finished drinking Track #10 (Barrel Aged Stout) from The Lost Abbey so I confused the two styles.