Winter in Clark County is the perfect time to shift from hoppy IPAs and light pilsners to darker, more malt-centric brews like stouts and porters.
During these cooler months — when we’re not sipping beer on a sunny beach but in the dead of night — these rich, velvety, midnight-hued brews fit the mood. One of the older beer styles, stout is a good start with its rich, roasty character and many variations.
I recently visited local breweries to sample stouts in their taprooms and found a bounty of luscious pours. This is just a small sip of what’s available in Clark County.
Brewers will be adding more to this list through the end of this year and into the next, as well as coming up with clever names.
The word stout easily rhymes with a variety of words creating an opportunity for brewers who are often history buffs, literary types and pop culture aficionados to come up with some interesting names for their dark beer. You may find something like Tears for Fears-inspired, Stout, Stout, Let It All Out, or the more commanding When in Doubt, Drink Stout.
Beers with a higher alcohol content are typically poured in smaller portions. In addition, due to the higher cost of a barrel-aged stout, the price may be slightly higher. A glass of stout in local taprooms hovers in the $7 to $8 range.
Milk Stout doesn’t really have milk in it but uses lactose to add creaminess and sweetness. It was touted in early-1900s England as a nourishing drink for nursing mothers and anyone feeling ill. I recently had a pint of My Milk Stout Brings All the Boys to the Bars (6.4 percent alcohol by volume) at Heathen Brewing (1109 Washington St., Vancouver; 360-836-5255). As I indulged in this creamy, chocolatey sipper, the Kelis song “Milkshake” lodged in my mind for the rest of the day. This stout pairs well with Heathen Feral House’s excellent enormous chocolate chip cookies ($6.50) with the cheeky name that shall not be mentioned here.
Oatmeal stout gets its creamy nuttiness from oats. Vice Beer (705 S.E. Park Crest Ave., Vancouver; 360-718-2598) named its Shaquille O’tmeal (7.5 percent ABV) in honor of the large basketball legend and pop culture personality. The brew is silky, sweet and creamy.
Drinkers with a sweet tooth should seek out pastry stouts. Brewers have made beers in this style inspired by everything from cannoli to red velvet cake. I’m not typically a dessert lover, but this winter I’ve been drawn to pastry stout as a post-dinner treat.
This obsession started with a Halloween offering Dead by Dawn (7 percent ABV) at Trap Door Brewing (2315 Main St., Vancouver; 360-314-6966). It’s made with local hazelnuts toasted in house, accompanied by chocolate and Brazilian vanilla giving notes of Nutella.
I also tried Heathen’s When In Stout Add Peanut Butter (10.8 percent ABV), a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup-inspired stout that started with a luscious peanut butter smell followed by rich, chocolate flavor.
Fortside Brewing Co. (2200 N.E. Andresen Road, Vancouver; 360-524-4692) recently added its annual bourbon-barrel-aged Russian Imperial Stout, Night King (14 percent ABV) to its taproom lineup. This stout gets its name for its high alcohol content (8-12 percent ABV) and history. It was shipped to Russia from England in the 18th century. Night King smells exactly like the Bull Run Distillery bourbon barrels where it ages for a year. It has a chocolatey and boozy flavor with just a touch of balancing bitterness, a decadent beer meant to be sipped in a snifter next to a roaring fire.
If you find yourself drawn to the dark side, the Northbank Brewers Alliance will be hosting Beyond the Darkness again in February, a weeklong celebration by Clark County brewers of dark-hued brews.
