Stone Farking Wheaton W00tstout

I don't really understand the label which says that this beer is starring Greg Kock, Drew Curtis, and Wil Wheaton. It also says that this is a collaboration, and I'm not reading that crappy, tiny font to read the long and - I have no doubt - boring story. Instead, I trust that Stone will give me another good beer, and I'm moving in for the kill.

Black as the midnight sun, the tan head is pretty minimal, and it dies down to a simple ring with some scattered floating pillows on top. The aroma is sweet malt, maybe some oatmeal, and definitely the Holy Trinity: chocolate and toffee and coffee. I am not exaggerating by saying that I'm really looking forward to this.

First sip is more sour and bitter than I expected. I mean, it's more bitter. I think I tasted sour, but I'm pretty sure it's just bitter masquerading as a sour taste. The chocolate and coffee intermingle with the sweet malt to offer up that whop of bitterness. I don't know why the sweet malt isn't scaling back the bitterness, but it doesn't really seem to be.

Tip-in chocolate, and toffee with a wisp of smoke and that sweet malt. There's little bitterness right here up front, and when the middle arrives, it is downright delicious. The chocolate and smoke and toffee get amplified with the addition of some playful nuttiness, and there is that familiar stout smoothness that takes hold. I'm enthralled, and I don't want it to stop. The finish, however, reminds me of naked coffee bitterness with a bit of that chocolate peeking in, but the bitterness overwhelms.

Bottom Line: A very nice beverage with an inelegant finish.

3.0/5