Drink a Stout on International Stout Day, Earn a New Badge

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Team Untappd

Thu, 03 Nov 2022 15:00:06 +0000

It's the most wonderful time of the year! When we all pull up an armchair around the fire, listen to the crackle of the wood, and sip on a decadent, indulgent stout.

Something we'll be doing this Thursday, Nov. 3rd, 2022, to celebrate International Stout Day. a holiday that honors the stout in all its glorious forms, from the humble dry Irish stout to the over-the-top imperial/double pastry stouts.

A Quick History of International Stout Day

Founded by Erin Peters, known as The Beer Goddess, in Southern California in 2011, International Stout Day has grown into a worldwide phenomenon.

An award-winning journalist who covered the travel and the beer scene on her website thebeergoddess.com and through publications such as Good Sam and RV Magazine, Peters passed away from ovarian cancer earlier this year.

Her legacy will live on in International Stout Day. So this year especially, let's raise a glass and toast to the very person who started this iconic holiday celebrating one of our favorite styles in all its glorious forms: the stout.

Drink a Stout, Earn a Badge

Of course, at Untappd we're giving you the opportunity to earn a unique badge.

To earn this year's "Stout Day (2022)" badge: Drink and check-in any one (1) beer in the beer style/category: stout from Nov. 3rd, 2022 - Nov. 6th, 2022 (Note: Extended this date to Nov 6 because of our weekend downtime). This includes: Stout - Oatmeal, Stout - Russian Imperial, Stout - Other, Stout - Imperial / Double Oatmeal, Stout - Irish Dry, Stout - American, Stout - Oyster, Stout - Foreign / Export, Stout - Milk / Sweet, Stout - Imperial / Double, Stout - Imperial / Double Milk, Stout - Coffee, Stout - White, Stout - Imperial / Double White, Stout - English, Stout - Pastry, Stout - Imperial / Double Coffee, and Stout - Imperial / Double Pastry.

If you're not sure where to start, take a look at some of the highest-rated versions on Untappd this year.

1. 15 Best Pastry Stouts of 2022

2. 10 Best Imperial / Double Stouts of 2022

3. The 17 Best Irish Stouts of 2022

4. The 10 Best Imperial / Double Pastry Stouts of 2022

5. The 10 Best Coffee and Double/Imperial Coffee Stouts of 2022

BONUS: Untappd's 13 Best Russian Imperial Stouts of 2022

For our part this year, we'll be celebrating International Stout Day with a stout stuffed with history. If we trace its roots all the way back, the Russian imperial stout actually began in England.

For a decadent style, the stout has surprisingly modest roots. Originating from porters in 18th century London, stouts were considered a premium version of its roasty, toasty cousin.

In early English brewing culture, premium beers were equated with a higher ABV. For instance, a brewery would've brewed a lower-ABV pale ale alongside a premium pale clocking in at 8% or 9% ABV. Brewers did the same with darker beers, with the higher-ABV version of their porters eventually becoming known as "stout porter."

Eventually, the beer style grew beyond England to the Baltic countries and Russia. These exporter versions earn the name "extra stout" porter. As the story goes, Czarina Catherine the Great, the Empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796 (and the country's longest-ruling female leader), thoroughly enjoyed the style and helped it gain popularity.

Today, the style is known for a darker, higher-alcohol stout that also has a higher presence of hops (generally 50 to 90 IBUs), according to the BJCP guidelines for the style. Common flavor notes include chocolate, coffee, and dark, dried fruit. These are heftier beers with a chewier mouthfeel and often boozier undertone carrying through the sip.

After all, it only makes sense that we celebrate International Stout Day with a stout sturdy enough to stand up to the holiday.

Here are Untappd's 13 highest-rated Russian Imperial Stouts of 2022: