Stout Fest Hosts Its 6th Annual Event at MobCraft Beer

Stout Fest is a celebration of dark beer. Having new beers to bring out to the public, especially for stouts, and whether you are a fan of that type of beer, you can come out and drink new dark drinks. Stouts are known to be dark, and while they are aged beers, they still won’t stop you from having a unique experience of trying a new type of drink. 

The 6th Annual Stout Fest was hosted on Dec 9, 2023; this is the sixth year straight that it has been hosted.

It was hosted at MobCraft Beer: Brewery, Taproom, and Pizza. The event was open to the public, with the restaurant open and outdoor seating even in the cold weather. The kitchen stays open, and with the amount of people that come, they might need more beer. It seems like a dining area inside the restaurant but it also has its own brewery.

The inside was entirely of people, so they had an outside bar and dining room set up with three on-tap beers and drinks that were served in cans.

That still did not stop them from being outside; they even had fire pits around MobCraft. 

“This year, we are releasing our first two-year aged stout; we made a beer in 2021, and it aged until 2023 in the barrels,” said Henry Schwartz (President of MobCraft). This is the first time we have let the beers sit for that long; it is called Padisha 2023 EXXTRA.”

This year, they have twenty different new types of beers, a bourbon barrel type of beer with stouts and porters on tap. They are most known for Padishaa and ugly Christmas sweaters. 

Even if you do not like stouts, it is still great to go out of your comfort zone and try new beers. Porter beers were a go-to item for some eventgoers.

“I have been coming for three years, and while I am not a huge stout fan, I do like porters and getting to try different beers,” said Bryant Beard.

Holidays are right around the corner to stand right next to the fire pits. With the beers warm with the high APV, you won’t be freezing while being in Stout Fest.

While they have new beers, they also see new ugly sweaters every year with the competition they host. 

“The ugly Christmas sweater competition people prey down the catwalk near the barrels with the ugliest ones,” said Henry Schwartz. Usually, the same winners come back every year, and we need new challengers.”

Those are just a few beers that they will be releasing. They also have a Waterford Stillhouse version that was aged in Waterford Stillhouse Bourbon Barrels. We also have a stout Waterford Stillhouse version aged in Waterford Stillhouse Bourbon Barrels. Another stout is Great Lake Distilleries in apple brandy barrels.

With the holidays right around the corner, standing right next to the fire pits with your ugliest sweater is the main reason to celebrate a new stout. 

“It is all about the dark beer, good times, laughs, campfire, and poking,” said Dana St. Louis (bartender at MobCraft).

“Just to come out and enjoy a new stout, I enjoy a dark beer, and winter is a great time to try new drinks,” said Ashley Stinson.

Stout Fest is adding a new item to the beer to make it taste different than the others.

“This year, we are putting a flaming rod and sticking it in the beer, and it caramelizes the residual sugars in the stouts, said Henry Schwartz. We have not tried it before, but it’s going over pretty well.”

Stout Fest has always had a big turnout, especially with the people who come to visit. You get retired adults who love the taste of stouts and the young pups in the neighborhood, too. 

Next year, you can expect two new-aged Padashah and increase the creativity for additions to the barrels.