Avery Vanilla Bean stout is the best I have tried with the use of vanilla bean as the main note in it, but I believe it is a seasonal so could be hard to find now. (drank my last one a month or so ago)
Dogfish Head made a Vanilla World Wide Stout this year but while I liked it better than the regular version it was not worth the coin. (if your interested I might have one in the closet for you)
Deschuttes Black Butte 28th Birthday Reserve I believe had vanilla in it and there Birthday reserve series is fantastic but that was last year's version and is probably nest to impossible to find now.
Breckenridge Vanilla Porter is a decent session porter year round and should be easy to find.
Ballast Point has Victory at Sea and they make good brews all around, should be easily available.
I have tried the Marshal Zhukov but not the vanilla hazelnut version and I thought it was not a good version of an imperial stout, actually not a fan of anything I have tried out of Cigar City Brewing.
As for Scotch Ales, they are not a style I go for often but as recommended above the Founders Backwoods Baztard is pretty good. Everything Founders makes I generally like.
shaun341 wrote:
