Earlier this year a small brewery in Red Hook, a neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY, made a lot of people in the northeast very happy when they chose to start canning their brew. That brewery? Sixpoint Craft Ales. Up until recently you could only enjoy their fine, and often experimental, beer on tap which meant in the bar or, rarely, from a growler at home. They initially launched 4 options and then began putting out seasonals, starting with Autumnation. Their newest seasonal is one of Sixpoint’s oldest recipes, Diesel, a hoppy stout meant for winter and based on Founder Shane Welch’s homebrew recipe. We’ve been fans of Sixpoint since Devon and I visited the brewery back in 2006 so we were happy when they released cans. It’s with that excitement that I dive into a 16 oz can of Diesel Stout.

Diesel pours just like raw crude, jet black and totally opaque! If you look close and think real hard, you might see some light showing through...but I think that’s just your mind playing with you. A tawny head on top completes the picture of a delicious looking brew. Overall, it’s got what I look for in a stout: it’s black, not highly carbonated (at least it doesn’t seem to be) and it’s in my glass.

While it looks delicious, it smells perhaps even better. Smooth, creamy and super chocolatey. It almost smells like chocolate milk...with hops! Piney hops complement the aroma that once so delighted you as a child and lets you know that you are, in fact, dealing with a beer and not a dessertified milk drink.

Once you sip it you come to find that while stunning looks and a great smell are important, the key to a great beer is the taste. And this one has it to spare, it’s delicious! It’s so smooth on the tongue, which is hard to do given the hop bitterness that Diesel brings. Once you’re passed the hops you get a chocolate-filled, smooth stout that finishes dry and lingers in the back of your throat with a dry cocoa-like finish.

I picked this bottle up at Craft Beer Cellar in Belmont.

With December finally smacking the Northeast with the cold weather we've come to expect in this time of year, we find ourselves reaching more and more for the comfort you can only find in a nice, roasty stout. Sure, you can drink them in the warmest days of summer (in fact Guinness Foreign Export Stout, quite a hearty stout indeed, is produced and sold mainly in tropical regions) but there's a unique satisfaction to be taken from sipping a serious stout on a blustery frigid New England evening from the comfort of your living room while people outside are halfway to frostbite and snow blindness (excuse the hyperbole).

That in mind, to say you like stout is like saying you like food. There's many types of stout, all with their unique merits and characteristics. Some people only like an Irish Dry Stout. Others like an Imperial Stout. Then there are those who like all stout. But you've got to have a favorite, and that's what we want to know!

Vote below then let us know which way you went on Twitter, on Facebook or in the comments below the poll. Cheers!

We're based out of Boston and recently there's been a string of great new craft brew breweries hitting the market. Backlash Brewing, Mystic Brewing, Slumbrew and Idle Hands have all hit the scene here very recently adding to an already impressive lineup of MA breweries. Our question today is when at the bar or your local store do you gravitate to beer made near you? Does it matter to you where your beer is made or do you just drink what you like? Let us know on Twitter, on Facebook or in the comments below the poll. Cheers!

Pilsner Urquel is ingrained into Czech culture in a way I’ve never experienced before. You really can’t compare it to anything in the US. Sure we have regional breweries, but even then people have their favorites. Pilsner Urquel is available everywhere in Prague; I couldn’t find a bar that didn’t serve it. The bars don’t compete on who has the best variety of beer, but rather who has the best Pilsner Urquel. When I arrived in Prague I was determined to experience more than just this beer. This is not to say it isn’t a good beer, my first article from Prague illustrates just how good it can be, but I wanted to experience more.

When I checked in to my hotel I asked where I could go buy some beer. The concierge directed me to the local grocery store so I made my way down the street to the store only to be met with stacks of Pilsner Urquel. Clearly this wasn’t going to be the easiest of endeavors. At this point I took to Twitter, asked all of you where to go, and within 30 minutes I had a list of places I was told I had to check out. I ended up checking out a few places, but the following stuck out for me as places everyone should check out.

U Fleku Brewery

I’m going to start of right away by saying this place is really touristy. As we walked in an older gentlemen started playing American songs on the accordion, it just felt odd. I know I’m not exactly selling the experience right now but it does have some things going for it. First off it’s the oldest brewery in Prague, founded in 1499. Secondly, their dark lager is smooth and malty and worth the trip. I had almost forgotten what dark malts tasted like and this trip saved me. Make it a quick trip though, I’d recommend popping in for a pint and moving on. Sit at the bar if you can; we found getting the check at our table to take an insane amount of time.

Pivavorsky Dum

I actually ended up here by accident. We intended to go to Pivavorsky Klub (more on this bar next) but our taxi driver took us here instead (lost in translation I suppose). We looked at it as a happy accident and rolled with it. It turns out this a a satellite brew-pub of Pivavorsky Klub. As we entered we saw a gorgeous copper brewhouse and what appeared to be mostly local patrons. What we found here was the beginnings of a craft beer culture in Prague. It was clear that this place was not the norm. We got the sampler, which was comprised of eight beers. For my taste there were too many flavored beers; banana, cherry, coffee, and spruce made up half the offerings.The beer itself was secondary in an odd way. It was clear to me that hundreds of years of brewing tradition was evolving here. The basic pilsner was augmented with completely different styles. We really take our craft beer culture for granted in the US and it felt special to experience the beginning of that culture in another country. I’d bet that if I went back to Prague in five years I’d see far more places like this one. For that reason I’d recommend anyone headed to Prague check this place out.

Pivavorsky Klub

This is a must find spot if you’re in Prague. With hundreds of beer in bottles and 6 beers on tap nothing I found even came close to the selection here. There were pages and pages of Czech beers from who knows where, but they were good! There were also imports from all over Europe and the US. Our waiter spoke little English which made it hard to ask too many questions but in short this place a gold mine of good Czech beer. The bar is very brightly lit which made for a slightly odd atmosphere but the sheer selection of beer made it worthwhile.