We Taste-Tested 8 Dark Beers — Our Final Ranking Surprised Even Guinness Fans

Here’s what came out on top, and why.

*Credit: Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Christina Daley*

Guinness is proof that you can’t judge a beer by its color. The nearly black stout with its creamy white head is recognizable, but it tastes so much lighter than it looks. And with Guinness Draught at just 4.2% ABV, the dark beer is nearly as crushable as a lager.

Dark beer is a broad category, with porters and stouts among its most popular styles. Much of their color and roasted flavor comes from malt — grain, usually barley, that is sprouted and then dried or roasted. That process can create toasted, caramel, chocolate, and coffee notes, and hops are used to balance malt’s sweetness, not as a flavoring agent as in an IPA.

Porters generally drink a little lighter and lean chocolatey and toasty, while stouts tend to be fuller, roastier, and more coffee-like. But the distinction isn’t one-size-fits-all: Guinness is a dry stout that drinks lighter than many porters.

Over the past 20 years, American craft beer has favored bigger flavors, from bold IPAs to imperial stouts. Guinness’s recent growth — U.S. volume rose 5% to 12.4 million cases in 2024 — suggests drinkers may be ready for more balance. To find dark beers that balance flavor and drinkability, we tasted eight widely available porters and stouts side by side.

How we selected the dark beers

For this taste test, we selected eight popular dark beers that are widely available in the United States. The tasting included a mix of domestic and imported beers: five domestic and three imported from Ireland and England. We tasted five stouts and three porters — while these are slightly different styles, they both fall under the dark beer category and share similar flavor profiles and drinking experiences.

The beers ranged from 4.0% ABV to 6.5% ABV, a moderate range for beer overall. We did not include imperial porters or barrel-aged stouts, which can clock in at 8% to 12% ABV.

How we tested

Seven Food & Wine editors participated in a tasting of dark beers. All of the beers were tasted one after the other, with no knowledge of the brands. The beers were chilled for multiple days in the refrigerator before tasting. To ensure the brands were concealed — and because some cans and bottles have distinctive looks even when covered with paper — the beers were poured into cups for tasting. While pouring the beers from the original containers may contribute to a flatter (less bubbly) drinking experience, it was consistent across all samples.

We asked our editors to score each beer based on the following criteria: aroma (we looked for inviting roasted notes and overall freshness) and flavor (a balanced, complex sip with a satisfying texture and finish). Flavor, though, was paramount since dark beers can easily lean overly sweet, harshly roasted, or bitter.

Best overall: Bell’s Porter

Bell’s Porter rose to the top of our tasting for its balance of flavor and drinkability. It was light and refreshing, with just enough toastiness to give it depth. “Balanced, baby,” said editor Amelia Schwartz, who called it “exactly what you’d expect from a dark beer” and “the Platonic ideal.” Its approachable flavor also made it feel like a crowd-pleaser, even for many of our editors who don’t typically reach for darker beers. As associate social media editor Hannah Miller put it, “It’s good! Tame and drinkable.”

The year-round, 5.6% ABV robust porter comes from the Michigan brewery behind its bestselling Two Hearted IPA and iconic Oberon Ale. First brewed in 1987, it bridges the gap between malty brown ales and heavily roasted stouts, pairing notes of chocolate, coffee, and roasted barley with gentle hop bitterness.

Most flavorful: Founders Porter

Malt gives a porter its color, body, and core flavors, and this year-round beer from Grand Rapids, Michigan–based Founders Brewing Co. layers seven varieties of malt — including chocolate and Munich malts — to build depth through varying degrees of sweetness, toast, and roast. At 6.5% ABV, it was the strongest of our top three, but its richness and bitterness worked together rather than competing.

Founders Porter delivered the boldest flavor of the tasting, with deep maltiness and roasty notes that reminded Schwartz of rye bread. “Great for fall drinking,” she said. “I want this at a pumpkin patch.” Despite its weight and depth, the beer didn’t veer too sweet, either. Editorial Director Dylan Garret praised the way its bitterness cleared the palate, calling it “a beer that’s all about the sum of its parts.”

Easiest drinking: Deschutes Black Butte Porter

Black Butte Porter is the beer that started it all for Deschutes Brewery, which opened in Bend, Oregon, in 1988. The year-round porter clocks in at a moderate 5.5% ABV and is brewed with dark chocolate malt and a combination of Cascade and Tettnang hops.

It stood out in our tasting for its light, foamy texture and subtle roasted flavor. Alexa Rockwell picked up notes of coffee and cocoa and called it “pretty balanced,” while Assistant Special Projects Editor Emma Gehris found it “foamy and light” with “a hint of chocolate.” Those flavors never overwhelmed the beer’s refreshing character, making it the dark beer we’d most readily reach for when we wanted another round.

The full list of contenders, ranked from highest to lowest

Bell’s Porter
Founders Porter
Deschutes Black Butte Porter
Samuel Smith’s Oatmeal Stout
Bell’s Kalamazoo Stout
Guinness Draught
Murphy’s Stout
Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro

* This article was originally published here

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