Highest-rated stouts in Pennsylvania

They're dark, creamy, and may have the consistency of used motor oil鈥攁nd 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鈥擨rish dry stouts can be as low as 4.2% ABV鈥攖he 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 enjoys stouts regularly. That gives America's almost plenty of reason to develop new riffs on the style. With this variety in mind, compiled a list of the best stouts from Pennsylvania using data from 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.

BeerAdvocate

1 / 17

#17. Black Clouds - Mexican Chocolate

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

2 / 17

#16. The Russian

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

3 / 17

#15. Gatherer

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

4 / 17

#14. Big Black Voodoo Daddy

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

5 / 17

#13. Black Magick

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

6 / 17

#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
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BeerAdvocate

7 / 17

#11. Ralphius - Vanilla

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

8 / 17

#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
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BeerAdvocate

9 / 17

#9. Java Cask

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

10 / 17

#8. Ralphius

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

11 / 17

#7. Cowbell

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

12 / 17

#6. Sunday Morning Stout

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

13 / 17

#5. Only Void - Single-Origin Ethiopian Coffee

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

14 / 17

#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
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BeerAdvocate

15 / 17

#3. DoubleMex

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

16 / 17

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

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

17 / 17

#1. Black Magick - Pappy Van Winkle

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