Young's Double Chocolate Stout
This British tipple is an outstanding example of a sweet stout. Dark and well-roasted with hints of malt sweetness and a deep, velvety creaminess, this is a great beer on a cold day. There's some chocolate flavor, but it's overtaken by a lot of sweet vanilla, raisin, and a curious smoothness (think Guinness, but with a lot more depth). If it weren't so cold outside, this might go well with a scoop of vanilla ice cream floated in it.

New Holland Dragon's Milk
I'm not convinced that New Holland didn't add Bailey's Irish Cream to this beer, since all I tasted here was vanilla, raisin, and caramel. It certainly wasn't unpleasant, but it got really syrupy and cloying toward the end of the beer. It had all of the traditional silky smooth drinkability of a good, deep stout, but with the alcohol content of something a little less friendly. New Holland also makes "The Poet," a deep black oatmeal stout that attempts to channel Poe's Raven. Tastes wet and vegetal, like rosemary and lemon. Skip it.

Founder's Dirty Bastard Ale
If sweet isn't really your thing, go for a nice Dirty Bastard. It's brewed in a Scottish bitter tradition that's supposed to invoke the cold Scottish highlands and the rough complexity of Scottish cuisine. This would be a lovely accompaniment to haggis, either the regular or the vegetarian version (I swear that such a beast exists!), perhaps either to complement it or, if you drink enough Dirty Bastard, make you forget it. There's a strange chewiness to this - it's thick and syrupy, with a subtle malt sweetness and a deep burnt caramel character. At 8.2% ABV, handle with care.

Meantime London Stout
This beer has a great dark smoothness, with a malty sweet center and an oddly salty finish. It's earthy (some flavor of mushroom), with the taste of coffee and vanilla right in the middle of the sip. It feels warmer than it should, probably because of the aggressive carbonation, since a 4.5% ABV shouldn't do that on its own. It's a delicious, if filling, beer; though further down the pint, it started to feel thinner than at the beginning.

And the winner...
Founder's Breakfast Stout
Sadly, this beer does not taste like bacon, the true breakfast of champions. It does, however, exhibit wonderful morning coffee aromas and lovely mocha flavors that teeter precariously between malt sweetness and a touch of balsamic vinegar sourness. It's made with oats (like a good breakfast), sits a little heavy in the stomach (like a good breakfast), and it's 8.3% ABV (also like a good breakfast). Delicious, thick, and creamy. This is honestly my favorite beer from this brewery, and a glass of this would be a fantastic way to start a day. Be careful about that 8 A.M. class though.

Bonus beer:
Ale to the Chief - Avery Brewing Company
I tried this one on the anniversary of the Obama Inauguration. But I bought it at Busch's where it was 20% off. Sometimes the political jokes kind of write themselves. Here's the deal - this smells really wonderful, with great hops and malt notes on the nose. It looks gorgeous, with a thick creamy head and a cloudy amber tint. Promising, promising indeed. But sip it, and it smacks you in the face with an unbalanced alcohol flavor that obliterates everything else. Where did that great hop aroma go? The sweetness is still there--thank goodness--but against the booze it tastes almost cloying. What the aroma had promised, the flavor couldn't deliver. Just when I was thinking IPAs were back...