If you’ve got a hankering for a richer, darker style of beer this season, we’ve got you covered.
Guinness is so back. But hey, we’ve covered that hot little story already, taking in our fair share of perfectly poured pints of black gold along the way. If you’re anything like us, though, the Guinness trend feels like it’s only the start of a beautiful love affair with dark beers – especially seeing as the cooler months are on the way.
From crisp and toasty dark lagers to the richest stouts, here are our six of our favourite dark beers (Guinness excluded).
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1. Tooheys Old Dark Ale
Beer is subject to the whims of fashion as much as clothes, music and hairstyles. Much like low-rise jeans, pop punk and mullets that are all coming back (for some trendsetters, all at the same time), old-school beers are cool again – and none more than Tooheys Old, a lighter style of dark ale that’s been around since way back in 1869.
We’re proud Tooheys Old fans here and it shouldn’t be hard to see why. It’s got history, sure, but it’s really all about the flavour, which has everything a dark beer should – hints of chocolate and coffee, a tiny touch of fruitiness and a little roastiness. A treat for anyone looking for a dark beer without the heaviness of stouts and porters.
2. Monteith’s Black Beer
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3. Coopers Best Extra Stout
In a world of small-batch craft brews, Coopers seems to defy logic with flavoursome ales – and none more so than the Best Extra Stout. This is, frankly, one of the best value, best tasting stouts on the market (listen to us gush!) and a worthy constant in any winter dark-beer rotation.
Extra stouts are just normal stouts that have been beefed up a little, and that’s what you’ll find here – a rich, velvety dark beer that is packed with roasty chocolate flavours and rounded out by a decent bitterness. If you like the richer style of Guinness Extra Stout (as opposed to the super smooth Draught) then make the old switcheroo for this fella – you won’t regret it.
4. Boatrocker Stout
Melbourne craft brewery Boatrocker has been doing its thing since 2009, and it’s fair to say that, in that time, they’ve been responsible for some of the best beers Australia has seen. While plenty have been limited editions or adventurous styles, the humble Boatrocker Stout has made a case for simple quality.
Here, rich and toasty English malts do the big lifting, making for a silky smooth stout that is hearty enough without being overly-heavy. Plus, as a rare example of the stout tinnie, this Boatrocker brew is ticking every possible box for us (including for the mythical winter barbecue). A proper winner when the temperature drops outside.
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5. Monsuta Okinawa Dark Premium Lager
6. White Rabbit Dark Ale
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