The Stout world seems to be confused about size. If you go to your favorite bottleshop or taproom, you’ll see Stouts in 12oz cans, 16oz cans, 19oz cans (BA TENFIDY), 11.2 oz bottles, 12 oz bottles, 16oz bottles, 500ml bottles, 22oz bombers and 750ml bottles, and in rare cases, 1 liter bottles (yes, Rogue I’m talking about Rolling Thunder). Consistent we’re not.
Why is size important? Well, in the Stout world it’s important because the other critical variable is %ABV or how potent the beverage is in terms of alcohol content. While there is a trend toward “session” Stouts, the average Stout weighs in somewhere between 9 and 15% ABV. Now I know there are others on the lower and higher sides, but most are in that ABV window. A 22oz
12% bomber is not only filling, the normal person feels pretty loose after consuming an entire bottle. Some might say that a 22oz bomber is the right size for sharing , but in many situations, sharing isn’t part of the equation. Putting a bottle stopper on and saving it like a wine isn’t really an option, so drinking the entire bottle becomes the task for the day. I really like the strategy that Founder’s Brewing is taking this year with their 2017 release of KBS. They are releasing KBS in both 750ml (25.4oz) bottles and 4 packs of 12 oz bottles! That certainly gives us Stout lovers the option on how we want to enjoy our KBS!
The most recent release I’m not sure I understand (other than it being a novelty) is Rogue’s 2016 release of Rolling Thunder Imperial Stout. As you can see below, it was 
released in a 1 Liter (33.8 oz) bottle which can be restoppered. I’m not sure about you, but I’ve never thought beers really stay the same after they are stoppered. You lose carbonation and once you open it, oxidization starts. That’s why I’m not a fan of 32 or 64oz growlers.
Why all of the different sizes and shapes? There are a few reasons. One is cost.
Depending on the amount of Stout, some brewers choose a larger capacity bottle which means less bottles. That leads me to the next reason – marketing. Scarce supply can create a higher demand for the beer and a heightened interest in the brewery. For me, an example of this is the offerings from Ram Brewing just outside of Chicago (Schaumburg to be exact). To be frank, I never heard of Ram until I read about them on various online boards and just how great their Stouts are. When Ram announced their releases online, lines formed and the trading started. The 2017 version of Chaos is in great demand on the trading boards. Small breweries can make great beer and create quite a buzz through low volumes and high demand!
The other part of marketing is brewery only releases versus distribution. Brewery only releases accomplishes a couple of things: it takes care of your primary customers (those local to the brewery) and allows the brewer to control the distribution. Brewery only releases is a topic better left for another blog post…so stay tuned!
Another decision is can vs. bottle….there is a clear trend toward canning Stouts and there is an economic as well as quality aspect to this. Cans allow no light in (obviously) and therefore the beer has a longer shelf life. Glass allows light in and exposure to light 
over time breaks down the beer. That’s why one of the rules of successfully aging Stouts is to keep them in a dark area.
Back to the size of the Stout….I’d like to see some consistency in approach. If a Stout is 12% or higher ABV, I’d like to have an option for a 12oz. bottle. I really have to commend Founder’s – I’m not sure of the economics, but as a Stout consumer, I really like having the option and in my world, I would opt for the 4 pack of 12oz. bottles. That gives me 4 opportunities to enjoy the Stout, whereas if I bought the similar quantity in 750ml bottles, I would only have 2 chances. I also believe taste sensitivity begins to diminish after 16oz or so (no science behind this, just personal observation) and when quality is more important than quantity, I’d rather have my full complement of taste buds and be left with wanting more!
Marketing, economics, quantity, distribution, even tradition – all these determine the size, shape, and type of vessel for our wonderful Stouts! What do you think about the various bottle/can sizes for Stouts? Do you have a preference? Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts!
Cheers!
glass. I liked my beer cold because that’s what I always was told and frankly, that always how it was served. The colder the better and having a frosted glass was even better.
attention is the actual type of glassware to aid in bringing out the aroma and flavors of a given style of beer. Rogue and Left Hand Brewing actually collaborated with Spiegelau to develop a Stout glass which enables the optimal release of flavors, the ability to warm the Stout through human hand warmth and thin glass walls, and a wide opening for the aromas to escape.
a pair of Stoutwhisperer Stout glasses thanks to Mrs. Stoutwhisperer. They have become my go to Stout glasses and you’ll see them in many of my Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest pictures. Many other posters like to show off their glassware as well – you can usually tell when they use #properglassware as a tag.
intervened and attempted to have the shipment be redirected to me (the last 200 miles) but unfortunately, FedEx decided to ship it all the way back cross-country back to California. Well, the damaged shipment made it safely back to Cali, and what my shipper and trusted trading partner received was quite interesting. It appears that 4 of the 6 bottles were safe; one bottle was 
completely missing and the last bottle was totally shattered in the shipper. Based on the pictures my trading partner sent me, I can only speculate on what happened….either the package was dropped from a high altitude or someone was thirsty, opened the package, took a bottle and proceeded to damage the box so it would be declared “damaged in shipment”. I 
just can’t think of any other options that make any sense! My trading partner is repacking the 4 shaken survivors, adding a couple other bottles and is sending a box back east again!
the technical details of glass making but apparently the etching wasn’t deep enough. Not to be deterred, she went to her Etsy network and found someone who made two Stoutwhisperer glasses for me! I was thrilled to get these logo glasses and you can expect to see them in my photos going forward next to any brewery glassware I’ve procured. The logo looks great with a nice dark Stout as a background! Hope you think so as well!
hour window on your way to the airport heading home”. I used the intelligence I gathered from my friends at Beer Advocate and headed to Knightly Liquors on Orange Blossom Boulevard. Yes, it’s in a sketchy area, but they have a great assortment of Stouts! After talking with them, I found out about their “behind the counter” selection and I was able to bring home a couple of bottles of Funky Buddha’s Maple Bacon Coffee Porter! I’m really excited about cracking open a bottle next weekend and seeing if MBCP lives up to the hype! I also picked up a couple of Stouts from Canada I’ve heard about but haven’t had the chance to taste – Aphrodite and Peche Mortel from Brasserie Dieu du 
Ciel in Quebec. Knightly has a great beer selection….I highly recommend you check them out if you are in Orlando….they are in the SeaWorld area. Friendly knowledgeable people and great selection…what else can you ask for?
released Braxton’s Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip Milk Stout. I reached out to Jonathan Gandolf, chief of marketing for Braxton Brewing, and he gave me the scoop (pun intended) on the collaboration. Both Braxton’s and Graeter’s are family owned companies and while they knew of each other and admired their work from afar, the thought to connect was never raised….until a mutual connection brought them together. From there, the concept was born. According to Gandolf, “The test batching process took place over approximately 6 months and we had three different test batches. We sat down with the Graeter’s family on every batch until we knew what we wanted. It’s been a blast to work with them and we hope it’s the beginning of even more collaboration.”
A&W Root Beer that I used to love and enjoy as a kid. Low ABV and a bit sweeter than your average stout, Big Boss promoted it locally by partnering with a local ice cream vendor and sold Root Beer Stout floats at their taproom! I made a Root Beer Stout float on my own and it was really good!
coconut……all the way to beets, peppermint…and who knows whats next?
Looking forward to the Speedway Stout Cans.
5. I like collecting the glassware to match the brewer or Stout.
into the world of brewing, the partnership with 
wrote about 
roaster collaborations made me realize and appreciate the hard work, passion, and commitment these artisans have for their work….and that we need to patronize these local establishments whenever we can. They put in long hours at odd times to bring us the highest quality brews possible- coffee or beer – and we should show our support by the cup or glass!
bubbles that make up beer foam have incredible aroma when they burst and can enhance the taste of the beer! I bought mine via a Kickstarter campaign just like I did with the Eagle Cap-Off. If you are Shark Tank fans, you may have seen the Fizzics founders on the show….and they received a nice investment from a couple of the Sharks! My Fizzics was delivered the week before Christmas so I put it under the tree and patiently waited to open it.
most of the beer poured, you push the tap handle and the foam gets created using the remainder of the beer and the sound wave technology. It takes a few beers to get the hang of it, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, is it?
Epic Brewing Big Bad Baptist
Bell’s Brewery Black Note Stout
Raleigh Brewing Double BA The Miller’s Toll
Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout
Westbrook Siberian Black Magic Panther
Oskar Blues Java Barrel Aged TENFIDY
Stoutwhisperer 