Highest-rated stouts in North Carolina

Written by:
November 2, 2022
Bernardo Couto // Shutterstock

Highest-rated stouts in North Carolina

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 North Carolina 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.

#30. Dead And Berried

- Rating: 4.31 (23 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 10.5%
- Brewery: Foothills Brewing Company - Downtown Brewpub
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#29. 10W-40 - Bourbon Barrel-Aged

- Rating: 4.29 (26 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 9.5%
- Brewery: Hi-Wire Brewing
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#28. French Toast

- Rating: 4.13 (376 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 8.4%
- Brewery: Wicked Weed Brewing
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#27. Valdez

- Rating: 4.13 (410 ratings)
- Type: American Stout
- ABV: 6.2%
- Brewery: Pisgah Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#26. Imperial Stout

- Rating: 4.13 (514 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 10.5%
- Brewery: Olde Hickory Brewery
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#25. Sexual Chocolate

- Rating: 4.13 (1,453 ratings)
- Type: Russian Imperial Stout
- ABV: 9.75%
- Brewery: Foothills Brewing Company - Downtown Brewpub
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#24. Photon Sphere

- Rating: 4.26 (37 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 11.91%
- Brewery: Olde Hickory Brewery
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#23. Dark Arts - Rum Barrel-Aged With Espresso

- Rating: 4.33 (27 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 15.0%
- Brewery: Wicked Weed Brewing
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#22. Chocolatized

- Rating: 4.21 (78 ratings)
- Type: Russian Imperial Stout
- ABV: 10.9%
- Brewery: Pisgah Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#21. Drunken Vigils - Bourbon Barrel Aged Breakfast Stout

- Rating: 4.45 (19 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 14.9%
- Brewery: Southern Pines Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#20. Pistols At Dawn

- Rating: 4.20 (109 ratings)
- Type: American Stout
- ABV: 9.0%
- Brewery: Lonerider Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#19. Milk & Cookies - Bourbon Barrel-Aged

- Rating: 4.21 (111 ratings)
- Type: Sweet / Milk Stout
- ABV: 11.3%
- Brewery: Wicked Weed Brewing
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#18. Bourbon Barrel-Aged The Miller's Toll

- Rating: 4.31 (39 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 10.5%
- Brewery: Raleigh Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#17. Sexual Chocolate - Barrel-Aged - Coffee Infused

- Rating: 4.33 (38 ratings)
- Type: Russian Imperial Stout
- ABV: 9.6%
- Brewery: Foothills Brewing Company - Downtown Brewpub
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#16. Black Watch

- Rating: 4.24 (104 ratings)
- Type: Sweet / Milk Stout
- ABV: 8.0%
- Brewery: Highland Brewing
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#15. Night Jump

- Rating: 4.30 (55 ratings)
- Type: Russian Imperial Stout
- ABV: 13.0%
- Brewery: Aviator Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#14. French Toast - Bourbon Barrel-Aged

- Rating: 4.22 (211 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 11.4%
- Brewery: Wicked Weed Brewing
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#13. Seasoned Skillet

- Rating: 4.32 (48 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 15.0%
- Brewery: Burial Beer Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#12. The Miller's Toll

- Rating: 4.28 (71 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 9.1%
- Brewery: Raleigh Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#11. Querido Y Perdido

- Rating: 4.26 (104 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 11.0%
- Brewery: Casita Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#10. Griddle

- Rating: 4.25 (148 ratings)
- Type: Sweet / Milk Stout
- ABV: 10.0%
- Brewery: Burial Beer Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#9. Skillet Donut Stout

- Rating: 4.22 (520 ratings)
- Type: Oatmeal Stout
- ABV: 8.0%
- Brewery: Burial Beer Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#8. Houtenhamer (2024)

- Rating: 4.39 (40 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 15.0%
- Brewery: Burial Beer Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#7. Collaboration Without Representation

- Rating: 4.31 (103 ratings)
- Type: Sweet / Milk Stout
- ABV: 12.8%
- Brewery: Deep River Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#6. Drunken Vigils Breakfast Stout

- Rating: 4.40 (53 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 13.8%
- Brewery: Southern Pines Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#5. Lindley Park

- Rating: 4.28 (1,088 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 10.0%
- Brewery: Olde Hickory Brewery
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#4. Olde Rabbit's Foot

- Rating: 4.30 (492 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 10.13%
- Brewery: Foothills Brewing Company - Downtown Brewpub
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#3. Dark Age

- Rating: 4.30 (571 ratings)
- Type: Russian Imperial Stout
- ABV: 13.9%
- Brewery: Wicked Weed Brewing
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#2. Sexual Chocolate - Barrel-Aged

- Rating: 4.36 (1,293 ratings)
- Type: Russian Imperial Stout
- ABV: 9.6%
- Brewery: Foothills Brewing Company - Downtown Brewpub
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#1. The Event Horizon

- Rating: 4.36 (1,846 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 12.25%
- Brewery: Olde Hickory Brewery
- 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.

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