
Highest-rated stouts in Kentucky
Highest-rated stouts in Kentucky
They're dark, creamy, and may have the consistency of used motor oil—and stout lovers wouldn't have their beer any other way.
Stouts are technically ales, a group of flavorful beers made with yeast fermented at a higher temperature. These brews are dark brown or black in color due to a key ingredient: charred, unmalted barley. This also imparts a roasted flavor to the beer, resulting in notes of bitter coffee or sweet chocolate.
Other ingredients can add different flavors and mouthfeel to the stout. Oatmeal leads to a caramel color and a more malty flavor. Milk stouts contain lactose for sweetness and body, while American Imperial stouts are richer in taste thanks to additional malts and hops. Pastry stouts brewed with cake, candy, or even peanut butter are a dessert drink for some.
Stout flavor profiles also vary by region. English stouts have a dry finish and get their characteristic bitterness from roasted barley. Irish dry stouts, the best known of which is Guinness, have a creamy taste and a distinctive foamy head produced by nitrogen gas taps. American stouts contain American hops and dark malt for a more bitter flavor.
While stouts can be highly drinkable—Irish dry stouts can be as low as 4.2% ABV—the beer style also allows brewers to push the envelope in terms of alcohol content. The strongest of the group, Imperial stouts, can be upwards of 12% ABV; for example, the 2024 iteration of Goose Island Brewing Company's famed Bourbon County Stout clocked in at 14.7%.
Although lager is the most popular type of beer in the United States, roughly 1 in 5 beer drinkers enjoys stouts regularly. That gives America's almost 9,800 craft brewers plenty of reason to develop new riffs on the style. With this variety in mind, Stacker compiled a list of the best stouts from Kentucky using data from BeerAdvocate and sorted according to their weighted ranking. Beers without images were excluded. Only stouts that made BeerAdvocate's top 100 list by state were included.
#21. Buku
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 12.5%
- Brewery: Mile Wide Beer Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#20. Kentucky Coffee Barrel Stout
- Type: English Stout
- ABV: 8.0%
- Brewery: Alltech's Lexington Brewing and Distilling Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#19. Kentucky Peanut Butter Stout
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 8.2%
- Brewery: Alltech's Lexington Brewing and Distilling Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#18. Hazelnut Stout
- Type: American Stout
- ABV: 6.5%
- Brewery: Country Boy Brewing
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#17. Mayan Sacrifice
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 8.5%
- Brewery: Darkness Brewing
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#16. Reformation
- Type: Foreign / Export Stout
- ABV: 8.0%
- Brewery: Wooden Cask Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#15. Dead Blow
- Type: Foreign / Export Stout
- ABV: 7.2%
- Brewery: Braxton Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#14. McPoyle
- Type: Sweet / Milk Stout
- ABV: 6.5%
- Brewery: Mile Wide Beer Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#13. Dark Charge - Bourbon Barrel-Aged
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 13.0%
- Brewery: Braxton Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#12. 35K
- Type: Sweet / Milk Stout
- ABV: 7.0%
- Brewery: Against The Grain Brewery & Smokehouse
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#11. You, me, & Mr. PB
- Type: Sweet / Milk Stout
- ABV: 5.6%
- Brewery: Mirror Twin Brewing
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#10. Dark Charge - Bourbon Barrel-Aged - Starter Coffee
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 10.0%
- Brewery: Braxton Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#9. Corruption
- Type: English Stout
- ABV: 10.5%
- Brewery: Wooden Cask Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#8. Kentucky Maple Barrel Stout
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 12.0%
- Brewery: Alltech's Lexington Brewing and Distilling Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#7. Dark Charge - Bourbon Barrel-Aged - Vanilla
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 13.0%
- Brewery: Braxton Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#6. Nate's Coffee Stout
- Type: American Stout
- ABV: 8.0%
- Brewery: Country Boy Brewing
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#5. Snake Eyes Imperial Stout
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 11.0%
- Brewery: West Sixth Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#4. Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Imperial Milk Stout
- Type: Sweet / Milk Stout
- ABV: 12.0%
- Brewery: Alltech's Lexington Brewing and Distilling Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#3. Uncle Disheveled
- Type: American Stout
- ABV: 5.5%
- Brewery: Mile Wide Beer Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#2. Snakes In A Barrel
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 13.0%
- Brewery: West Sixth Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#1. Bo & Luke
- Type: Russian Imperial Stout
- ABV: 13.0%
- Brewery: Against The Grain Brewery & Smokehouse
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
This story features data reporting by Wade Zhou, writing by Jill Jaracz, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 48 states.