Highest-rated stouts in Pennsylvania

Written by:
November 2, 2022
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Highest-rated stouts in Pennsylvania

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 Pennsylvania 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.

#17. Black Clouds - Mexican Chocolate

- Rating: 4.34 (31 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 11.0%
- Brewery: Dancing Gnome
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#16. The Russian

- Rating: 4.22 (96 ratings)
- Type: Russian Imperial Stout
- ABV: 9.5%
- Brewery: 2SP Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#15. Gatherer

- Rating: 4.25 (68 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 11.3%
- Brewery: Tired Hands Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#14. Big Black Voodoo Daddy

- Rating: 4.18 (1,258 ratings)
- Type: Russian Imperial Stout
- ABV: 12.0%
- Brewery: Voodoo Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#13. Black Magick

- Rating: 4.20 (324 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 15.0%
- Brewery: Voodoo Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#12. Sunny Side Up - Little Amps! (Bourbon Barrel Aged)

- Rating: 4.25 (172 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 11.0%
- Brewery: Al's of Hampden / Pizza Boy Brewing
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#11. Ralphius - Vanilla

- Rating: 4.42 (32 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 14.4%
- Brewery: Free Will Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#10. Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout

- Rating: 4.39 (48 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 13.9%
- Brewery: Winding Path Brewing Co / Wyndridge Farm Brewing
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#9. Java Cask

- Rating: 4.29 (596 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 14.3%
- Brewery: Victory Brewing Company - Downingtown
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#8. Ralphius

- Rating: 4.36 (206 ratings)
- Type: Russian Imperial Stout
- ABV: 14.4%
- Brewery: Free Will Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#7. Cowbell

- Rating: 4.36 (370 ratings)
- Type: Sweet / Milk Stout
- ABV: 8.5%
- Brewery: Voodoo Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#6. Sunday Morning Stout

- Rating: 4.34 (2,274 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 12.7%
- Brewery: Weyerbacher Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#5. Only Void - Single-Origin Ethiopian Coffee

- Rating: 4.42 (141 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 10.0%
- Brewery: Tired Hands Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#4. Sunny Side Up - Little Amps! (Double Coffee)

- Rating: 4.37 (645 ratings)
- Type: Oatmeal Stout
- ABV: 9.5%
- Brewery: Al's of Hampden / Pizza Boy Brewing
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#3. DoubleMex

- Rating: 4.50 (85 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 9.9%
- Brewery: Brew Gentlemen
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#2. Grande Negro Voodoo Papi - Bourbon Barrel-Aged

- Rating: 4.59 (417 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 12.0%
- Brewery: Voodoo Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#1. Black Magick - Pappy Van Winkle

- Rating: 4.73 (281 ratings)
- Type: American Imperial Stout
- ABV: 13.0%
- Brewery: Voodoo Brewing Co.
- 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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