I’m a big fan of maple syrup….the smell, the taste, the romanticism about tapping a tree and letting the sap drain into a bucket. All in all, it’s quite a wonderful nectar of nature.
Not surprisingly, maple has become the adjunct du jour in the Stout world, and frankly, I’m thrilled. The addition of maple syrup to an Imperial Stout adds taste, complexity, a bit of sweetness and an amazing amount of aroma. It is very complementary to the traditional flavors you find in a Stout – and even complements the other popular adjuncts out there today – vanilla, coffee, cocoa, cinnamon, and even peppers!
Probably the first real maple Stout was the first release of Founders Canadian Breakfast Stout (affectionately known as CBS). CBS was first released in 2011 and 
became a cult classic. Founder’s released it again in 2014 in a very limited release, but reintroduced it this past fall worldwide to incredible fanfare. Another stout that pushed the maple envelope was Toppling Goliath’s Mornin’ Delight. First introduced in 2013, MD was one of the Stouts that has made Decorah, Iowa (home of Toppling Goliath) a must visit destination for any Stout lover. Others have quickly followed…can’t name them all, but maple has become a more frequent addition to the Stout world.
My first exposure to maple was with a brewery out of St. Albans, Vermont named 
14th Star Brewing Co. with their Maple Breakfast Stout using Vermont Maple Syrup. I was impressed with how the maple syrup added to the complexity of the Stout and was hooked. Then I was able to pick up a Maple Bacon Coffee Porter from the good people at Funky Buddha in Florida and I was absolutely floored with 
how much maple was packed into their bottles…not to mention the BA version of MBCP, Morning Wood! Just wonderful! Add Michgan Maple Jesus from Evil Twin Brewing and I was on a maple mission! Fast forward to Mikkeller Maple Vanilla Shake and the maple aroma and taste were simply amazing……next came Maple Bourbon Double Negative from Grimm Artisan 
Ales, then the 2017 vintage of Founders CBS which added to the maple mystique, and then getting a rare opportunity to enjoy a Mornin’ Delight from Toppling Goliath just took my maple journey to another level!
What’s next? My good trading friend from the UK, The Bristolian Stout, sent me an Omnipollo/Buxton collaboration, Original Maple Truffle Ice Cream Waffle Stout and I’m really looking forward to diving into that one! I hear Parish Brewing has a great one called Maple Shade…hoping to find one in a trade! And I would really like to taste a Fayston Maple Imperial Stout from Lawson’s Finest Liquids out of Warren, Vermont….and I hear that Jackie O’s has some very tasty maple Stouts!
What’s your favorite Maple Stout? Let me know…..leave me a comment! I want to find those incredible off the charts Maple Stouts that I should be tasting!
Every once in a while, I get to leave the confines of my office and hit the road. I had to head up to Richmond, VA last week for a couple of days of meetings. Once I locked in my travel plans, I took a look at the numerous Richmond breweries and bottleshops. Richmond is quite a hotbed of craft beer these days, so there were many more places than I could visit during the little free time I would have during my time there. I mapped out the few on my must visit list that appeared to be on the way to north Richmond – Veil, Hardywood, and The Answer. On top of that, fortune was smiling upon me – Veil was releasing a new batch of Oreo Hornswoggler Chocolate Milk Stout on the Tuesday I would be driving up there. I was able to get a couple of cans of Peanut Butter Oreo Horns a few months ago and really enjoyed them. So having a release of Oreo Horns while I’m there was great news.
and out of Veil in 15 minutes with my Oreo Horns. The only downside was that I didn’t get a special token to get a limited edition Hornswoggler glass! (Note to the good people at Veil – I still would like a glass…). Since the visit was so efficient, I decided to head over to Hardywood, which is about a 10 minute drive from Veil. As it was with Veil, Hardywood was busy, but I was able to walk right to the counter and get a bottle of Christmas Morning, a bottle of Rum Barrel Gingerbread Stout and a nice matching Hardwood GBS 
glass. I was hoping to find Kentucky Christmas Morning, but they sold out of bottles a day or two prior…..and although they had KCM on tap, I passed and headed back to meet my dinner commitments.
was the picture on the left. There you see Bell’s Black Note Stout in quantity! Here in Raleigh, Black Note was a hot commodity at release, usually with a 1 per person allocation. Here in Richmond, it sits.
If anyone follows my Instagram or Twitter feeds, you’ll know that The Toll from 
There was food for all participants and everyone from Raleigh Brewing was available to chat – the Owners, the Brewers, and many of the staff.
other Raleigh Brewing brewers. I asked them about their plans for The Toll and where they were looking to take their franchise Stout. Specifically, I asked whether we would see any adjuncts (Coffee, Cinnamon, Vanilla, Coconut, etc.) in any upcoming releases. Scott’s focus on The Toll is to make it the best Stout they know how – no adjuncts. It’s clear that they know what is happening in the Stout world and they have no interest in duplicating what is already in the market. They want to standout and be a leader by focusing on their strengths.
flavor profile. That seemed to be a common theme in my discussions with other attendees.
nectar of barrel aged Stout (Big Bad Baptist), barrel aged coffee, and barrel aged coconut!! Yes, you read that right! Epic put shaved coconut into barrels and let the coconut absorb the flavors that barrels can impart over time. They also added some rum barrels into the aging process and the result is magic.
Next up is the Double Barrel Big Bad Baptist. It’s Big Bad Baptist with the addition of barrel aged coffee……coffee that’s been aged in whiskey barrels. A totally different flavor profile, more boozy and less sweet than Triple Barrel, as you might expect. However, I can taste more of the base stout than I could with the Triple Barrel. I 
suspect that’s what the Epic brewmasters were hoping for…very different flavor profiles across the Baptist family. Just what a family should be…..same stout heritage, but different personalities!
…..and as Mrs. Stoutwhisperer so appropriately asked, “Why is it on a Thursday?” Good question….wouldn’t a celebration of Stout be more appropriate on a Friday or Saturday? As I write this, I’m enjoying a 2016 Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout…..which is a 14.3% ABV Stout. That’s best savored on the weekend, wouldn’t you agree? Well, no matter the day of the week, I think it’s great that the Craft Beer community comes together for one day to salute the Stout and give this amazing style of beer the due that it deserves.
While we’re talking about saluting the Stout, when in the heck are we going to get a Stout emoji? The good people at Guinness have tried to start a movement on social media to influence the emoji makers to create a Stout emoji. Apple just released an update that included 70 new emojis…..but no Stout emoji. Really, how hard is it? Take a tulip glass and put a dark liquid in it….and you have a Stout emoji. C’mon, let’s get a Stout emoji!!!
breweries we visited was Wicked Weed. Actually we visited both WW locations – fortunately, they are within walking distance of each other 🙂 I enjoyed a snifter of Dark Age and also ordered a small taster of Espresso Dark Arts that they had on tap (at left). The sample of Dark Arts was really super sweet and frankly, so cloyingly sweet, I couldn’t taste anything beyond the sweetness. I think my tastebuds went into diabetic shock! Since I knew Dark Arts was a such a sought after Stout with great reviews, I just chalked up my initial experience to a weekend of tasting different beers. I bought a bottle of Dark Arts (and the proper glassware) to bring back home to give it a fair shot. Dark Arts is a strong 15% ABV Rum barrel aged Stout fermented with Brettanomyces. It’s bottled in a 500ml bottle and has a beautiful golden wax dip to show off it’s rarity. I wanted to give it a few months to age a bit and then I would be able to sit back and enjoy this highly acclaimed Stout.
cut back the wax, cracked it open, poured it in the Dark Arts snifter, and took a taste…..and the super sweet taste that I endured in Asheville came back to visit. I couldn’t blame this overly sweet taste on anything, as it was my first Stout of the day. I just wasn’t enjoying it.
Stoutwhisperer 