W00tStout Dilemma

Time won't eliminate the soy sauce flavor. Drink that shit up.

 

There's no dilemma, drink your beer! No reason to age if you haven't had it fresh.

 

Drinking it right now and not sure if age will improve...agree with almost everybody here. Drinking well right now. Great complexity.

 

So I'm definitively NOT of the "drink it now under any circumstances" mindset. To me, it's always a gamble-some beers are better fresh while some are better aged, and this is always a personal preference. If I come across a beer (that I can only get one of) where the reviews or style indicate that I will be more likely to enjoy the beer with age, I'll age it, while if the evidence suggests I'll be more likely to enjoy it fresh, I'll try it fresh. Either way, I'm taking a gamble, but I'll consider the evidence and go with the option that seems most likely to maximize my enjoyment of the beer. Having said that, I've had one bottle of WOOtStout already and was lucky to come across another bottle yesterday. Based on my experience, I'm going to crack my second bottle sooner rather than later. I think this beer is incredibly well balanced as it is. The adjuncts compliment rather than overpower the base beer, and the barrel and spirit character is subtle and well integrated. Put simply, I'm a big fan of this beer and, for my personal tastes, don't see it getting any better with age. It's not too hot, too hoppy, or anything else that I'd like to see scaled back. Furthermore, I suspect the adjuncts and barrel character that are so well balanced now will be obscured with time. Thus, I'd crack this one now, but personal tastes do differ, so YMMV.

 

I had it in a growler and thought it was great, but decided having had it fresh to age my bottles.

 

It's only 25% barrel-aged. That will fade fast. Drink it now.

 

Drink it now, but I thought it was a sub par beer anyways.. I have one to age, and chances are... it'll probably taste no better, and maybe less hot.

 

No guarantee that you will like it better fresh than aged. So compromise, age it for three days then drink it!

 

But it did eliminate it in Bourbon Angel's Share. You never know for sure..

 

I like it around 16 months. The barrel calms down a bit and the wheat really has an opportunity to shine; adding a dimension of vanilla like grain and increased body, this one gets different over time. Besides, if you decide it isn't that good, it's a one-off and you should be able to trade it for something like Hop Slam.

 

I am curious, how did you obtain a 16 month old W00T Stout?

 

At 16 months, there are also hints of "future."

 

This beer is not worth buying, yet alone aging. So fuck me boys, I'm joining the club.

 

Dive right in - thought it was very good off the bat.

 

Agreed. This beer was a hot mess, and I don't think time will do it any favors.

 

Haters gon hate.
I loved it at first and will live it tonight, even it is 90 at my casa.

 

Yeah, I liked it. Not loved it, but I can see with age the bourbon is gonna cool off and the pecans will too...I gotta say tho, the pecan sweet finish was really good. Already had two bottles, gonna store the next 4 for 1/2 year to year by year analysis.

 

Fanboys gon fan?

Anyways, it wasn't a good beer.

 

I thought it was awesome fresh.
Drink it man.

Seems to be a polarizing beer, so give it a try. Worst case scenario, you don't like it.

 

Stop being smart. Just kidding. I didn't think the beer was particularly good, but I dig your line of reasoning.