Dunerbrew Reveiw - 2013 Stone Farking Wheaton W00tstout

Note:  With the 2015 release of the Woot Stout, there is chatter lately revolving around this beer.  If you happened to find it I hope you purchased a bottle or two, as indications are they are/were moving fast off the shelves.  The following review was written in July 2013 when the Woot Stout was initially released.  My friend Anti-Hero V and I decided to each write a review and publish each other's on their sites.  This is the review I wrote two years ago.

What is so special about Wil Wheaton?  And who is he anyway?  And why do any of us care?  And while we are at it, how did he get this gig, doing a collaboration beer with Stone Brewing?  And Farking?

Wheaton played Wesley Crusher on Star Trek, The Next Generation.  Oh, cool.  Yeah I remember now, we used to make fun of him, the whiny kid.  What was his purpose on the show again?  Wow, so a supporting role in a successful sci-fi TV show must make you worthy of brewing a beer.  Turns out he is more than this.  A big internet and social media nerd, he happens to be a homebrewer too.  Ah, the beer connection.  OK.  And I can identify somewhat with the whole social media nerd thing.  I prefer the term geek.

Farking?  The other leg of this tripod collaboration is Drew Curtis, the creator of fark.com.  OK.  I've heard of that site and visited it a few times, I think.  I've never heard of him and still don't know what is so special about Fark or Drew Curtis (that is his name, right?).  Oh, I could do some additional research, but I'm diving into this 13% ABV beer, and research now just seems like to much hard work.

Of course, without Stone Brewing, this beer wouldn't exist.  I wish I could grow my hair and a big beard like Greg Koch, but in all honesty I kinda liked his clean cut look better.  When did the hippy revolution rear it's ugly head in the 21st Century?  I love Stone's stuff, and their story is a great one.  (I love when hard work pays off in the form of success.)  I became excited about this beer only through more social media interaction.

I promise to get into the review...  If the difficulty in obtaining a beer is in direct proportion to the quality and taste of the beer, then this will be one of the best beers in the world (Westvleteren notwithstanding).  Last weekend, the local ABC Fine Wine and Spirits store said they had 4 cases that would go on sale Monday.  Great!  I showed up Monday...no they can't sell them until Thursday. OK.  I stopped by over lunch on Thursday, only to find out that the rumor was true.  It turns out, their cases went to some Mom-n-Pop store in a nearby rural county.  "No sir, this beer is a bit different than Bud Light."

So I called Total Wine.  They had them and would hold two for me.  Great!  I show up to the store on Friday, to find they didn't have them for me and were all sold out.  It turns out I inadvertently called the other store in town, another several miles away. (I blame Siri.)  Ugh.  Off I go to the other location, and like magic they had two bottles with my name on it.  This better be the best beer in the world.

And the beer?

It poured black with a tan leather looking head. (It was so special, I put the video of it on Instagram.)

A little banana on the nose.  Fairly nutty type aroma...perhaps the pecans.  It is quite inviting.

The beer is thick, malty, complex.  I sense raisins, and those other items associated with a dark heavy high alcohol Imperial Stouts.  There is a lot going on.  It is rather clean for a stout.  Alcohol taste is kept in check, and overall it is balanced for the style.  I don't taste the pecans much, or maybe some.  I think that tangy finish is due to the rye.  And the wheat gives some body.  Wheaton...wheat.  I guess it has to be that way.

As it warms, the finish becomes more interesting, with a lifting sensation of sorts.  It's good!  Typical of some of the better Imperial Stouts I've had.  The finish is a little odd, typical for the style.

I ask myself, if Wesley Crusher can make a good beer, how much better would the beer be that Jean-Luc Picard had a hand in?

Collaborations can become gimmicky, and this is a perfect example.  But dang it if they didn't put it out there and everyone was quick to jump on and buy it all up.  And I'm one of the suckers.

If nothing else in brewing, I've learned patience, and in 2-3 years when I pull out my second bottle of W00tstout for a bottle sharing, they will all look at me in amazement and we will all enjoy this beer with age.

STOP THE PRESSES!  My wife just brought me some peanut butter M&Ms.  "Try these then drink the beer."  She discovered an amazement.  WOW!!!  It's the crispiness of the candy coating.  Quite the pairing.  This is a great beer!  This is terrific beer!

We've now discovered the previously unknown secret of Wil Wheaton's success.  It can be found in a little candy which "melts in the mouth, not in the hands."

Darren U
07-27-2013
@galileosbane (Twitter and Instagram)
dunerbrew.com

Guest Review - Stone Farking Wheaton W00tstout

We have a guest reviewer today.  Meet Vinny, aka @AntiHeroV of antiherobrewing.wordpress.com.  A Twitter friend, he and I spoke about doing a joint review and posting on each other's blogs.  You may call it a collaborative effort.  The only thing we needed was the beer to review.  How about a collaborative beer?  And the Stone Farking Wheaton W00tstout was selected.  Here is Vinny's review.

I'm pale, Irish and sweaty. I burn easily and become irritable when hot. Needless to say, I'm not the world's biggest fan of summer. And the month of July in the Northeast has been OPPRESSIVE (CAPS Lock necessary). Then out of nowhere we got hit it with a two-day cold snap. And it has been glorious. I wore a hoodie today; not because I needed to but because I wanted to.

In juxtaposition to my pigmentation, I like my beers like I like my women: thick, dark and aged in bourbon barrels. However, the sticky sweetness and high alcohol booziness of your average Imperial Stout does not lend itself to the summer months and temperatures. So I viewed it as serendipitous when this cold snap aligned with the debut of Stone's latest collaboration beer: Stone Farking Wheaton w00tstout.

If you're not plugged into the Stone Hype Machine, this beer is a collaboration between Stone's founder Greg Koch, Fark.com founder Drew Curtis, and homebrewer/prolific geek Wil Wheaton. You might know Wil from possibly the only funny episode of the Big Bang Theory or as Wesley Crusher from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Or from Family Guy:

Anywho... as a guy who watches pro wrestling, plays MMORPGs, reads fantasy and sci-fi, and makes beer in his kitchen, I have appreciation for Wheaton's passion for all things geeky. And his staunch defense of the term "geek." But can this Triforce of geeks make a great beer?

From Stone:

From the most unlikely yet intensely imaginative trio that is actor and uber-geek champion Wil Wheaton, alternative news website Fark.com creator Drew Curtis and Stone CEO/Co-founder Greg Koch, comes an imperial stout unlike any ever made. Brewed with rye, wheat malt and pecans and partially aged in Bourbon whiskey barrels, this viscous yet silken brew erupts with an oaky, nutty bouquet and rich flavors of vanilla, toast and bitter chocolate. Enjoy now or cellar this celebration of nth degree passion and geekery applied most gracefully to the craft of brewing and collaboration-Drew Curtis/Wil Wheaton/Greg Koch Stone Farking Wheaton w00tstout!
ABV: 13% IBUs: 65

Beer Advocate: 90, N/A
RateBeer: 99, 82
Untappd: 4.20

Appearance: Black as the midnight. Opaque as the... I don't know... lead paint I ate as a child. Look, it's black and you can't see through it, okay? A thin dark brown head of tiny bubbles. I had to pour pretty aggressively to get that much of it to stick around. Minimal to no lacing, which is to be expected with a huge beer like this.

Smell: Boozy solvency is definitely in there mixing with chocolate and coffee. A little bit of licorice-like smell that's not unpleasant (remember: I hate licorice). Brewmaster, Mitch Steele, says there's some "fruity fermentation esters" but I'm not catching much of those. I am getting a little hint of bourbon though.

Taste: Similar to the smell with the chocolate and coffee leading the way. I am getting more of the fruitiness in the taste; almost a cherry flavor? Definitely some boozy warmth to the taste and the bourbon-aged flavor of oaky vanilla. I'm thinking that fruity/cherry-type flavor I'm picking up might be the pecans. But I haven't had a pecan or a cherry in a long time. There is some sweetness on the backend that I would call "nutty," in the way that almond milk is sweet. I'm getting a bit hoppy bitterness at the end as this dries on the tongue.

Mouthfeel: Thick and full-bodied with a lot of alcohol heat (13% ABV, remember?). Almost chewy, but not in a bad way. Silky and creamy, but substantial. This beer finishes dry. Definitely warming.

Final Verdict: 4 out of 5. Buy it.

The w00tstout carries a not-insubstantial price tag of $10, but this is a very solid beer. I'm reminded a lot of Goose Island's Bourbon County Stout as I drink it. I think I might buy another bottle and let that one age a bit and see if some of the flavors mellow and the complexity increases. This isn't a straight 5 out of 5 for me because of hefty booziness factor, that while not bad, is very forward. If you like hefty Imperial Stouts (as I do) you'll enjoy this beer. You might want to wait for a colder time of year, though, and let some aging take place.

RuinTen - another Dunerbrew Review

There is a predisposition in my mind telling me I'm going to like this beer.  I've anticipated the release and put a few bottles on hold at the local ABC Fine Wine and Spirits.  It's a 10.8% West Coast IPA.  And from a great brewery.  Of course, it must be the Stone RuinTen.  Available in the 22oz bomber bottles.

This was their special brew in 2012 for the 10th Anniversary of their Ruination IPA.  So well received, it has become a rerun, of sorts and they have brewed it again in 2013.

It pours a fairly clear golden color, like most of the Imperial IPAs.  A 1.5" head formed as I poured it into the IPA Glass.  (I love my IPA Glass, thanks to friend Vinny with distributor S.R. Perrott.  He'll say I earned it.  I'll say, "if you don't ask you will never receive.")

Aroma is strong.  Almost an odor of wet dishcloth...yeah, do you sense it too?  Bet they didn't anticipate that one!  I had to smell the side of the glass to make sure I dried it with a good towel...not a smelly one.  I think it is just the hops...of course it's the hops.  There are a ton of them in this beer.  When it hits your lips, it is instant love.  Lip licking hoppy goodness is here.  Bright.  Brilliant.  Hop flavor is off the chart.  A smooth mouthfeel, with a warming finish.  Excellent!  Oh, give me another sip!

The aroma remains tough, almost chewy, and then after awhile it does mellow out some.  But once you sip it's like liquid gold.  Intense, delicious, piney.  The finish is just right.  A slight lift on the palette and then you want to lick your lips.  (Yes, this paragraph almost a paraphrase of the previous.  That's OK though, there are plenty of literary examples of such style.  Right?)
 
Let's see, how does this compare to other Imperial IPAs of similar stature?  Hopslam from Bell's Brewing is sweeter.  This carries a bit more pungency to it.  The Hoptimum by Sierra Nevada is another favorite, but more tame than this one.  Hoptimum is maybe more balanced.

Nice clarity after it warms up a little.  Good lacing on the glass, and during the time of this initial writing I've aquired 9 Instagram Hearts already...oops, 10 now.  Yeah, they love my photo.

And what I love most about the beers in the bombers, is that at the end of the first glass there is still another waiting for me.

Of course I'm drinking this bottle, and I still have one to age.  It would be interesting to see how it ages.  Or, perhaps I aught to just drink it fresh.  After all, it's very good.

And perhaps I'm not such a bad reviewer after all, eh?  Go find this beer while you can!