Highest-rated stouts in Ohio

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November 2, 2022
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Highest-rated stouts in Ohio

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 Ohio 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. Blackout Stout

- Rating: 4.20 (3,699 ratings)
- Type: Russian Imperial Stout
- ABV: 9.9%
- Brewery: Great Lakes Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#20. Total Eclipse Breakfast Stout

- Rating: 4.22 (421 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 9.1%
- Brewery: Maumee Bay Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#19. Sohio Stout

- Rating: 4.25 (167 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 8.5%
- Brewery: Columbus Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#18. Whiskey Rebellion

- Rating: 4.29 (95 ratings)
- Type: Russian Imperial Stout
- ABV: 11.0%
- Brewery: Warped Wing Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#17. Dire Wolf Canis Mexicanus

- Rating: 4.29 (99 ratings)
- Type: Russian Imperial Stout
- ABV: 10.4%
- Brewery: Wolf's Ridge Brewing
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#16. Bourbon Barrel Aged Siberian Night Imperial Stout

- Rating: 4.25 (1,228 ratings)
- Type: Russian Imperial Stout
- ABV: 10.9%
- Brewery: Thirsty Dog Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#15. Steel Dawn

- Rating: 4.35 (69 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 10.0%
- Brewery: Columbus Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#14. Axis Mundi - Coffee And Vanilla - Barrel-Aged

- Rating: 4.30 (141 ratings)
- Type: Russian Imperial Stout
- ABV: 10.5%
- Brewery: MadTree Brewing
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#13. B.O.R.I.S. The Crusher - Extended Barrel-Aged

- Rating: 4.34 (87 ratings)
- Type: Russian Imperial Stout
- ABV: 9.4%
- Brewery: Hoppin' Frog Brewery
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#12. T.O.R.I.S. The Tyrant - Barrel-Aged

- Rating: 4.36 (80 ratings)
- Type: Russian Imperial Stout
- ABV: 13.8%
- Brewery: Hoppin' Frog Brewery
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#11. BBA Fitness Freak

- Rating: 4.41 (55 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 14.0%
- Brewery: Hoof Hearted Brewing
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#10. Triple Digit Series: Cranium

- Rating: 4.36 (86 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 11.5%
- Brewery: Listermann Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#9. T.O.R.I.S. The Tyrant

- Rating: 4.30 (267 ratings)
- Type: Russian Imperial Stout
- ABV: 13.8%
- Brewery: Hoppin' Frog Brewery
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#8. B.O.R.I.S. Oatmeal Imperial Stout - Barrel-Aged

- Rating: 4.29 (2,505 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 11.4%
- Brewery: Hoppin' Frog Brewery
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#7. Barrel-Aged D.O.R.I.S. The Destroyer

- Rating: 4.33 (473 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 12.7%
- Brewery: Hoppin' Frog Brewery
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#6. Dark Apparition - Double Barrel-Aged

- Rating: 4.51 (54 ratings)
- Type: Russian Imperial Stout
- ABV: 13.0%
- Brewery: Jackie O's Taproom & Brewery
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#5. Blackout Stout - Barrel-Aged

- Rating: 4.35 (1,921 ratings)
- Type: Russian Imperial Stout
- ABV: 12.5%
- Brewery: Great Lakes Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#4. Wood Burner (Bourbon Barrel-Aged)

- Rating: 4.37 (382 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 11.0%
- Brewery: Jackie O's Taproom & Brewery
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#3. Oro Negro

- Rating: 4.41 (968 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 13.7%
- Brewery: Jackie O's Taproom & Brewery
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#2. Bourbon Barrel Oro Negro

- Rating: 4.47 (646 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 12.1%
- Brewery: Jackie O's Taproom & Brewery
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#1. Bourbon Barrel Champion Ground

- Rating: 4.47 (717 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 11.8%
- Brewery: Jackie O's Taproom & 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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