Porters & Stouts and Where to Get the Best

Chilly weather calls for adaptability. Everyone knows the basics: salads turn into soups, that iced latte starts coming out hot, but what about your beer? The world of winter beer is a whole lot larger than a Guinness and pumpkin spice ales, so check out our roundup of some of our favorite styles of weatherproofed beer and a few of our favorite local breweries to drink them at.

Porters

What are they?

Typically full of roasted (or burnt, depending on your palate) notes, porters hail from 18th century England. Porters are made with brown malt, which gives them their brown-black hue, and tend to be more sessionable (or poundable) than other cold-weather beers.

Where to try one?

Visit Fait la Force Brewing’s cozy, French-inspired taproom and try the Admiral of the Narrow Seas Baltic porter. This brew boasts deep toffee and chocolate notes and pairs perfectly with the comfy maximalist design of the space. Pro tip: ask your beertender to help you pair a pizza from Il Forno since you can order from the taproom.

Stouts

What are they?

Stouts were originally no different from porters (save for their relatively higher alcohol content, earning them the name stout porters). Modern stouts come in a variety of styles: try an oat stout (containing a dose of oats in its original mash) for a smoother mouthfeel, or a pastry stout (intentionally sweet) as an unconventional dessert pairing (hello, ice cream).

Where to try one?

Visit New Heights Brewing Co. in Wedgewood Houston and try the Navel Gazer imperial stout side-by-side with its coffee and coconut-infused cousin to get a fun look at what the category has to offer. East Nashville dwellers can stop by Living Waters Brewing to explore even further with their Abzu coffee stout and their Anduin milk stout.

Strong Dark Ales

What are they?

You may have heard of a Belgian dubbel, or maybe its “catch-all” name as a strong dark ale. This style of beer is just that—strong , dark and sweetened with beet sugar. There’s no true origin for the Belgian naming system of
the dubbel, tripel and quadrupel ales that make up the category, but generally, as the number goes up, so does the ABV. Quadrupels are high-octane with notes of plum and cherry that fit right alongside heavy red wines.

Where to try one?

For a strong dark ale, try Fait la Force’s Where The Ghoul’s Dwell to get a touchpoint for the category, then scoot over to Living Waters to try their Meuse Belgian quadrupel (while you’re there, try one of their perfectly sourced and brewed coffees and let your afternoon become a whole lot better).

Barrel-Aged

What are they?

Put simply, barrel aging is the act of, well, aging your beer in a wooden barrel. Doing this has the same effect as it would in whiskey or wine—the beer is allowed to mellow, absorb the wood notes (think cherry and pie spices) and evaporate, creating a heavier, more flavorful version of whatever went in. Trying a barrel-aged beer is the perfect entry point for someone who isn’t quite ready to let go of their traditional lagers, or who wants to take their IPA with them into the cold-weather months.

Where to try one?

Tons of places! Ask the beertender at your favorite brewery about their barrel aging program and see what they’re excited about. For what it’s worth, some of our favorite barrel-aged beers are coming from Barrique Brewing and Blending—go try a Verkohltes Fass whiskey barrel black lager for a fantastic expression of the technique.