by Peter Bailey
The days are short, the nights are long. We need solace in these dark times. We need dark beer.
With our long, cold, dark winters, stout fits Edmonton well. Stout, a full-bodied, top-fermented dark ale, can thank well-roasted barley for its black colour and rich flavour. Stout is comfort beer, pairing nicely with winter comfort foods like hearty stews. The roasted grains also give stout delicious coffee and chocolate tones, which makes them excellent dessert beers; ideal accompaniment for a cold winter’s night by a fire with the last of the holiday sweets.
Stout’s roots go back to the old sod. It began as a stronger style of porter, which in turn began as a darker, richer version of English mild, brown ale. From the 18th into the early 20th century, porter was the most popular beer style in England and Ireland, and it spread to North America via exports and emigrants. While Arthur Guinness had success exporting porter around the world, through the 1800s, Guinness and other porter brewers developed a stronger porter that came to be known simply as stout. The child outshone the parent, and by the mid-20th century, Guinness Stout served as a gateway beer in North America, helping to sell beer drinkers on dark beer, and prodding craft brewers to develop their own stouts. It took some time in Alberta, but today there are excellent homegrown stouts from many Alberta brewers.
Edmonton’s Omen Brewing makes several excellent stouts, as well as many other dark beers, including Irish red ale, Belgian dark strong ale, English brown ale and black IPA. I popped into Omen’s taproom recently on a classic Edmonton winter day; bitterly cold but sunny. Omen’s brewery and tap room is on 67 Avenue, near the south end of Happy Beer Street. There was a dizzying 20 beers on tap, including three different stouts: their award-winning milk stout, Spilt Milk, the Púca Dry Irish Stout and a special anniversary stout, Black Forest Cake Stout. Omen was founded in 2018 by the three Oswald brothers Rhys, Andrew, Spencer and their father Tony. Spencer Oswald is the head brewer. Right from the start, the Oswalds’ mission was to celebrate and promote the beauty and wonder of dark beer. In light lager-loving Alberta, focussing on dark ales was a nervy choice, but given that Omen celebrated their 7th anniversary in December, they have found their niche.
As Omen shows, there’s a world of stouts beyond Guinness. Milk stout is brewed with lactose (dairy sugar) for a sweet creamy beer. Oatmeal stout is brewed with added oats, which creates a smooth, velvety texture. Imperial stouts are big stouts, brewed bolder and sweeter, to higher alcohol percentages. Blindman’s Ichorous Imperial Stout comes in at 11 per cent alcohol. Oyster stouts may have oysters in the brew, but more commonly it’s simply a stout that pairs well with oysters, like Dandy Brewing’s Dandy in the Underworld Oyster Stout. Stout’s big, roasty flavour lends itself well to the addition of many ingredients, from berries to chocolate to coffee to pastry or even mole sauce, as in Irrational’s Constellation Mole Stout, which has cacao nibs, ancho and guajillo chillies and cinnamon.
So go with the flow and snow and try a pint of stout. The sun is on its way back. Winter will end. Summer will come again. Meanwhile, it’s better to pour a pint of stout than to curse the darkness.
Stout six pack
Find these great Edmonton and area stouts at the breweries or at fine beer shops around town.
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Omen Púca Extra Stout, Edmonton
Púca is an Irish Gaelic word for a mischievous spirit or goblin, which gives you a hint about the nature of this delicious beer. It leads with the classic smooth and dry Irish stout style but follows up with a pleasing and surprising amped up bitterness and bite, including higher alcohol (7 per cent). Try it on nitro tap at Omen if you can!
Leduc Black Knight Oatmeal Stout, Leduc
Founded in 2023, Leduc Brewing aims to unite Leducians and create community through beer. Their tasty, smooth and silky oatmeal stout is named for the Canadair CT-133 Silver Star jet fighter on display in Leduc next to the QE2 highway, which honours the RCAF 414 Black Knights Squadron and Leduc-area veterans.
Endeavour Better Latte than Never Milk Stout, St. Albert
A smooth and creamy stout brewed with Endeavour’s in-house roasted El Salvador single-origin coffee. Rich notes of roasted malt and espresso shine through, balanced by a touch of sweetness from milk sugar. Full-bodied and coffee-forward, this brew delivers the perfect blend of roast, cream, and comfort.
Snake Lake Ice Cutter Vanilla Latte Stout, Sylvan Lake
A richer, sweeter stout brewed with lactose, coffee and vanilla. Named after a historic ice-cutting business which cut blocks of ice from Sylvan Lake in winter, which kept things cool for area residents in the summer, before power came to Sylvan Lake in 1932. Silver, Best in Show and Gold, Spice Beer, 2025 Alberta Beer Awards.
Folding Mountain Jacek Chocolate Covered Cherry Stout, Hinton
Folding Mountain’s 9th annual collaboration with Jacek Chocolate Couture is a rich, velvety Chocolate Cherry Stout. Layered with dark cocoa and tart cherry, it’s brewed to warm up your winter with every sip. Silver, Porter and Stout, 2025 Alberta Beer Awards.
Polyrhythm, The LP Imperial Stout, Edmonton
A big, bold, full-bodied Long Player (LP) Imperial stout made with the frigid Edmonton winter in mind, full of chocolate roasted notes, nutty malt character and layered coffee tones. At 9.5 per cent alcohol, this rich stout will warm you up après ski, après curl, après skate or après walking to the liquor store. Gold, Imperial Strength Beer, 2025 Alberta Beer Awards.
