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The 10 Best Stouts Available in Most Stores Right Now
Find these stouts on shelves near you.
Photography courtesy of John A. Paradiso
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Updated on November 4, 2024
When we talk about stouts, it’s usually because we’re recommending a highly touted release or barrel-aged beauty. These are genuinely some of the greatest examples of the art of modern craft beer. However, you can also find simple, superb versions of stouts available in most stores right now.
Below, you’ll find a list of our favorite stouts that are widely available across the country. Mostly, these aren’t going to be two-year Heaven Hill whiskey barrel-aged behemoths. But rather perfectly executed versions that are easy to find and satisfy our stout cravings.
Let’s be honest that #linelife is kind of a thing of the past (except for maybe some very rare occasions), and thanks to a slew of “The Best Places to Buy Beer Online,” we now more than ever have greater access to getting beer send right to our door. For example, did you know that you can buy beer on Untappd? Yup, the world’s largest social media platform for beer can also send you beer. You’ve checked in many beers…now you can check them out! Oh, see what we did there?
We put together a list of the best stouts that you can find available in most stores right now and even added links if you can find them online in the Untappd Shop. Without a doubt, this is your guide to getting the most widely available stouts. You’re welcome.
Hop Culture’s 10 Best Widely Available Stouts
Speedway Stout – AleSmith Brewing Company
San Diego, CA
Can image courtesy of AleSmith Brewing Company
Imperial / Double Coffee Stout – AleSmith’s first ever barrel-aged release, the now-revered Speedway Stout, hit shelves in large 750ml bottles in 2003. But in 2017, AleSmith packaged Speedway Stout into cans for the first time, delivering this iconic beer in a new handy format to its twenty-one-state footprint (AZ, CA, CT, IL, MA, ME, MI, MN, NC, NH, NJ, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, RI, TX, VA, VT, and WA).
Speedway Stout has everything we’ve come to love in a stout. Mainly robust roasted malt, chocolate, coffee, and vanilla notes. Plus, you can find this globally respected beer in most stores near you right now.
Kalamazoo Stout – Bell’s Brewery
Comstock, MI
Bottle image courtesy of Bell’s Brewery
American Stout – An American stout from one of America’s most revered breweries, Kalamazoo Stout, takes us back to the city where it all began for Bell’s: Kalamazoo, MI. One of the brewery’s most classic recipes offers freshly ground coffee and rich dark chocolate notes for a true-to-style representation of a stout.
Last fall, Bell’s announced that it expanded distribution to Hawaii, meaning all fifty states plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico now fall into its footprint. Use Bell’s Beer Finder to locate a Bell’s Kalamazoo Stout near you.
Or just buy this beer in the Untappd Shop to get it delivered right to your door!
Black Chocolate Stout – Brooklyn Brewery
Brooklyn, NY
Bottle image courtesy of Brooklyn Brewery
Russian Imperial Stout – While Brooklyn Brewery doesn’t actually add any chocolate into this beer, they achieve uber confectionary goodness simply from the grain bill. The recipe includes American two-row pale malt, caramel malted wheat, and a blend of American roasted malts and barleys.
Brooklyn Brewery Brewmaster Garrett Oliver considers Black Chocolate Stout his “resume beer,” so we’re adding it to the list even though it’s technically a limited seasonal release only available from October to March.
As the eighth largest independent craft brewer in the United States, Brooklyn Brewery has a hefty distribution footprint. Today, Brooklyn Brewery distributes in thirty-four states, including AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, NC, NH, NJ, NV, NY, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, and VT, and over thirty countries. To find a Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout near you, use the Brooklyn Brewery Beer Finder. Remember: This seasonal beer is only available from October through March, so get it while you can.
World Wide Stout – Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Milton, DE
Bottle image courtesy of Dogfish Head
Imperial Stout – Okay, so we managed to sneak a barrel-aged behemoth in here, but only because this is truly an iconic beer.
When debuting in 1999, World Wide Stout’s 15 to 20% ABV made it the most potent beer on the planet. Of course, that’s not the case anymore. But, this is still a very noteworthy beer from Dogfish Head. An enormous amount of barley helps contribute to the boozy body.
Per Dogfish Head’s website, to spread the “Dogfish love,” they work with a network of more than one hundred wholesale partners, aka distributors, nationwide. Meaning you can find its beer in all fifty states plus Washington, D.C. Use Dogfish Head’s Fish Finder to track down a World Wide Stout near you.
Milk Stout Nitro – Left Hand Brewing Company
Longmont, CO
Bottle and can image courtesy of Left Hand Brewing Co.
Milk Stout – A pioneer in nitro beer, Left Hand Brewing Company has mastered the art of super creamy beer. And there’s no better beer to drink on nitro than a stout. The brewery’s classic Milk Stout Nitro comes in both 12oz bottles and 13.65oz cans.
When you crack the bottle open, turn it over and pour it hard to activate the nitro inside. You’ll experience a beautiful, upside-down cascade of tiny bubbles. For the can, you just need to crack it, and the widget inside will do the rest. Regardless, you can expect a luxurious sip full of molasses, vanilla bean, and milk chocolate, all capped off by a creamy, frothy head.
Left Hand currently has a “handprint” in forty-three states and Washington, D.C. As a year-rounder, Milk Stout Nitro can most likely be found at your favorite local beer store. Use Left Hand’s Beer Finder to snag this one.
Or just buy this beer in the Untappd Shop to get it delivered right to your door!
Dragon’s Milk – New Holland Brewing
Holland, MI
Bottle image courtesy of New Holland Brewing Company
Imperial Stout – Several years ago, New Holland took up the mantle as Michigan’s largest independent craft brewer (thanks to the sale of Bell’s Brewery to Australasian beer company Lion). It was a significant achievement for co-founders Brett VanderKamp and Jason Spaulding (now with Brewery Vivant), who turned their homebrewing hobby into a profession in 1997.
Perhaps the brewery’s most well-known creation, the Dragon’s Milk series earned a cult-like status for its decadent versions of a stout. First hitting shelves in 2001, this bourbon barrel-aged stout series legend started “as a single-barrel experiment slumbered in the back of the New Holland cellar,” writes New Holland on Dragon’s Milk’s own website.
That’s right—Dragon’s Milk became so popular over the years that the brewery made its own website just for this brand. New Holland annually releases creative variations such as Dragon’s Milk Reserve Orange Chocolate or a limited Dragon’s Milk x DUNGEONS & DRAGONS D20 Brew Bourbon Barrel-Aged Stout to celebrate D&D’s fiftieth anniversary. But we’re sticking with the original here. Mostly because the variations are often limited runs with less availability. In comparison, you can always get the OG!
Over the years, the original Dragon’s Milk has become one of the most recognizable barrel-aged stouts in the country. With distribution in forty-four states, it’s also one of the most accessible.
New Holland currently distributes to forty-seven states, so you can probably find the legendary OG Dragon’s Milk at a store near you. Please note, though, that not all Dragon’s Milk variations are available in all markets. The best way to find out if a variant is hitting a market near you is to check New Holland’s Dragon’s Milk beer finder here.
Organic Chocolate Stout – Samuel Smith
Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England
Bottle image courtesy of Samuel Smith
Stout – Established in 1758, Yorkshire, England’s oldest brewery, still uses water from an original well at Old Brewery to brew its iconic Oatmeal Stout. Plus, the brewery ferments with the same yeast strain it has used since the 1800s. As a result, drinking this stout is a historical experience.
Samuel Smith’s Organic Chocolate Stout pours a murky brown and delivers a medium-roasted bitterness balanced by a silky bittersweet chocolate finish. While we don’t have a current update on the beer’s exact distribution footprint, anecdotally, we come across this bottle all the time when we’re out buying beer. So, chances are you can also find it at your local beer shop. If not, you can always buy this beer in the Untappd Shop.
2X Stout – Southern Tier Brewing Company
Lakewood, NY
Bottle image courtesy of Southern Tier Brewing Company
Double Milk Stout – Milk stouts: They’re udder-ly creamy (sorry that we couldn’t refrain from a silly cow pun here) thanks to an addition of lactose, an unfermentable sugar, that provides a red carpet experience for your tongue. Southern Tier’s double version has two times the creaminess and two times the deliciousness. Reaching 7.5% ABV, 2X Stout stays light in the body, finishing with notes of a malted milk ball and a chocolate milkshake.
With beer available in over thirty states, Southern Tier has a reasonably wide distribution footprint, making this stout a perfect pick-up at your favorite store. Check out Southern Tier’s Beer Finder to find a 2X Stout near you.
Stone Xocoveza – Stone Brewing Company
Escondido, CA
Bottle and can image courtesy of Stone Brewing
Imperial Milk Stout – Stone Brewing’s Xocoveza plays off Mexican hot cocoa to offer notes of chocolate, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a slight pepper kick. It’s a warming beer that is probably best enjoyed during the winter. But no matter the season, it’s available almost everywhere!
Stone, the twelfth-largest craft brewery in the country, currently has a footprint in all fifty states and Washington, D.C., meaning you can most likely find Xocoveza near you. Check out Stone Brewing’s Beer & Events Finder to find one close to you.
Espressway Cold Brew Coffee Stout – Two Roads Brewing Company
Stamford, CT
Can image courtesy of Two Roads Brewing Company
Coffee Stout – This might be our wild-card pick. Blending locally roasted Ethiopian/Sumatran beans with a rich oatmeal stout base, Espressway offers decadent mocha notes. The brewery uses a German-built “Brewnik” device to pressure this beer, much like a barista would make espresso, but without the steam. Plus, the beer steeps for several days to create a true cold-brewed coffee stout.
We love Espressway because of its huge emphasis on coffee. As caffeine addicts, we really appreciate its intense cold brew character, which pairs with a perfect dry bitterness you often find in a stout or the bottom of your coffee cup.
After expanding into Southern California in 2020, Two Roads now counts sixteen states and Washington, D.C., as a part of its distribution map. Even though its footprint is slightly smaller than other breweries mentioned here, Two Roads Espressway impressed us so much that we couldn’t leave it off this list.
About The Author
Grace Lee-Weitz
Currently Drinking:
Fort Point Beer Co. KSA
Grace is the Senior Content Editor for Hop Culture and Untappd. She also organizes and produces the largest weeklong women, femme-identifying, and non-binary folx in craft beer festival in the country, Beers With(out) Beards, and the first-ever festival celebrating the colorful, vibrant voices in the queer community in craft beer, Queer Beer. An avid craft beer nerd Grace always found a way to work with beer. After graduating with a journalism degree from Northwestern University, she attended culinary school before working in restaurant management. She moonlighted as a brand ambassador at 3 Sheeps Brewing Co. on the weekends before moving into the beer industry full-time as an account coordinator at 5 Rabbit Cerveceria. Grace holds her Masters degree in the Food Studies program at NYU.
