Midwest Year-round or fall stouts

Non beer nerds think dark beer means heavy or strong.

 

This is the truth. I cringe when people make comments about Guinness being "heavy"...lol

 

Central Water Satin Solitude is a good beer. Are we talking porters as well? Because if so, throw Edmund Fitzgerald from Great Lakes in there.

 

New Holland The Poet. Every bit as good as it needs to be…

 

Eugene is listed as a porter, which I find mostly indistinguishable with most non BA stouts. Only mentioning this because I have another porter I like, Spiteful Brewing's God Damn Pigeon Porter. Also I'm not positive if they release this every Fall or Winter, but Half Acre's Original Reaper is a nice standard stout.

Can't necessarily answer the rarity question beyond a guess there's more gold/demand in them BA & pastry stout hills.

 

I think the same thing is true in metro NYC. I guees the reason is that they don't sell.

 

I agree with your assessment. Not many year round traditional stouts made in Chicago. Most are imperial milk stout, pastry stout, ba stout, ect….

Haymarket Defender Stout is excellent. Certainly worth a try. Half Acre has released Original Reaper every fall for the last few years, but I I’m not certain it’s being made this year. Pipeworks made an oatmeal stout last year called East Keepers

 

Quite simply, because people prefer Barrel Aged Stouts and IPAs. If there was demand for 5-7% stouts AND they were more profitable than other beers your would see more production of them on the shelves. You could find a 5-7% non ba stout on draft at any brewpub in Chicagoland 7+ years ago. I can't remember the last time I had a non-ba stout and if I had to guess, it was probably a default Guinness at an event that didn't have craft beer.


But then of course, people have thrown out a bunch of options for local porters and stouts still being made, so not sure your premise is correct.

Edit: And your examples from the state of Michigan are from 1 brewery in Michigan and 1 in Ohio?