BJCP 2021 / 16A
Sweet Stout
A sweet, dessert-like stout with the texture of chocolate milk.
- Any age
- standard strength
- dark color
- top fermented
- british isles
Serve: 48 to 54F, Pint or snifter
OG1.120
1.044 to 1.060FG1.030
1.012 to 1.024IBU120
20 to 40SRM40
30 to 40ABV14%
4.0 to 6.0%Taste it in order
Aroma
12 pts- Milk chocolate and coffee with cream
- Caramel or toffee sweetness
- Little to no hop
- Vague
- Roasty
- Better
- Milk chocolate and coffee
- Best
- Moderate milk chocolate and sweet coffee aroma with caramel, very low hop, no roast edge
Appearance
3 pts- Black to very dark brown
- Opaque
- Tan to brown creamy head
- Vague
- Black
- Better
- Black with a tan head
- Best
- Black, opaque, dense tan head that lasts
Flavor
20 pts- Sweet chocolate and coffee
- Roast softens into the sweetness
- Bitterness holds it from cloying; lingering sweet finish
- Vague
- Sweet
- Better
- Chocolate and sweet coffee
- Best
- Moderate milk chocolate and sweet coffee flavor, caramel and toffee, balanced by moderate roast bitterness, sweet finish
Mouthfeel
5 pts- Medium-full to full body
- Low to medium carbonation
- Creamy and smooth
- Vague
- Smooth
- Better
- Full and creamy
- Best
- Medium-full to full body, creamy, low carbonation, silky
Overall Impression
10 ptsLifts it
- Sweetness balanced by roast
Drops it
- Cloying syrup
- Acrid roast
Writing tip
Chart sweetness against roast. Example: 'Milk chocolate and sweet coffee with creamy body. Roast stops it being cloying.'
Pour these
- Milk StoutLeft Hand BrewingMilk chocolate with a creamy finish
- Double Chocolate StoutYoung'sDark chocolate and sweetness
- Mackeson XXX StoutMackesonA classic sweet stout
Often confused with
- 16B Oatmeal StoutOatmeal Stout is drier and silkier
- 15B Irish StoutIrish Stout is dry and more roasty
Fine here
- Diacetyl: A trace of butterscotch can pass in sweet versions
Ruinous here
- Astringent: Harsh roast clashes with sweetness
- Sour/Acidic: Infection
- Oxidized: Sherry and cardboard
Style names, numbers and vital statistics follow the BJCP 2021 beer guidelines. Descriptions and example choices are our own. Check a beer is still made before you hunt for it.