Stone Brewing’s Stone Farking Wheaton w00tstout 2015, a 13% ABV Barrel Aged Imperial Stout
| Appearance | Dark and completely opaque, tan head. |
| Aroma | Sweet bourbon and dark chocolate. |
| Taste | Bourbon first, pronounced but pleasant, follows with dark chocolate, slight sweetness then cleaning mildly bitter finish. |
| Mouthfeel | Smooth, silky medium body. |
| Overall | Just as delicious as each past iteration. Great bourbon flavor without being overly hot and harsh. The chocolate makes this great stout even more smooth and satisfying. |
This week, Wayne is pinch-hitting for Steph to geek out about one of his favorite beers.
Since the first batch of w00tstout was brewed in 2013 – a collaboration between Stone CEO and Co-founder Greg Koch, creator of Fark.com and craft-beer fan Drew Curtis, and Wil Wheaton (if you are not familiar with Mr. Wheaton, shame on you) – this complex, nuanced and beautifully crafted stout has become a celebrated and sought after gem.
For the first batch of the w00t (which is what the cool kids call it, I’ve just decided), one quarter of the batch was aged in bourbon barrels then blended back with the rest. The three collaborators each brought a personal touch to the recipe, which you can read about by hopping in the Beer Busters Way-Back Machine and checking out one of our earliest articles.
Last year, for the 2.0 version, actress Aisha Tyler, best known as Lana from the animated awesomeness that is Archer and heir to Drew Carey on the resurrected Whose Line is it, Anyway?, was brought into the fold. Plus, chocolate. Stone-ground chocolate. Chocolate.
Now, the third iteration of w00tstout has graced our mortal plane. This time around, it’s back to the original trio but the beer continues to evolve. For 2015, a version of last year’s vintage was aged for a year in bourbon barrels and added into the mix. The creators say it will cellar beautifully, and of that I have no doubt. Though, I have yet to be able to resist a bottle of w00tstout long enough.
The w00t tradition has also included well-known comic book artists inking up the bottle labels. This year, Eisner Award-winning comic book cover artist Dave “The Reverend” Johnson created the bottle art in exchange for a donation from Stone to the Hero Initiative. The charity provides retirement funds for golden-age comic book artists.
If you would like to live vicariously through us, you can listen to us try this brew on podcast Episode 66: Dude, Where’s the Lemon? with Tom Sheridan at Do Good Brewing.
Wanna pick this one up? Unlike last year’s limited distribution, 2015 w00tstout is available in 40 states (including PA) plus DC and Puerto Rico, as well as Australia; Alberta and British Columbia, Canada; Japan; and Singapore. So you have no excuse.
Check out… this video from Stone with Aisha Tyler who was brought back to brew the Chocolate Orange Black IPA she’s been dreaming of. It was released at Hop-Con 3.0 on July 8th, 2015.
If you have a beer you think we should review, let us know!
And as always, toast our check-in on Untappd, and let us know what YOU think!
