Back in 1989 (or as I like to say, the year of Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure), there were only 100 craft breweries in the United States. Now, the Brewers Association counts over 7,000 and climbing!

But today’s boozy 12.3% ABV Russian Imperial Stout comes from a brewery that’s been going strong since Keanu Reeves first won audiences over with “whoa!”

Drake’s Brewing doesn’t just ace the California craft game — their 30+ years of experience have helped shape it. Long before today’s neighborhood brewpub trends, Drake’s set up shop in an old car dealership and brewed many draft-only beers in imported grundy tanks. 

Since then, these guys have packed multiple GABF and World Beer Cup medals under their belts and are a staple on California “Best” lists. And both their San Leandro barrel house and full-service Oakland restaurant are now NoCal landmarks! 

Drake’s is also one of the Top 10 UT-Rated Regional Breweries in the state, right alongside giants like Stone, Fieldwork and Russian River! Seeing as Cali has more breweries than anywhere else in the U.S., that’s pretty damn impressive. 

Or in the words of Bill and Ted, “bodacious!”

Aged for 10 months in oak bourbon barrels, today’s limited Upward and Onward Imperial Stout nails all the marks of a booze-soaked chocolate Stout. This excellent adventure of flavor is super chocolatey upfront, giving way to strong bourbon, cardamom spice, and whispers of vanilla and cinnamon. Touches of hazelnut, caramel, and oak murmur from its lingering depths. 

It won’t take long for the layers of flavor and high ABV to get you in a “be excellent to each other” kind of mood. You’ll want to snag an extra bottle for when you really start feeling generous, especially since this is one of only a small handful of Drake’s barrel-aged brews to ever leave the taproom! 

But you’ll have to grab it fast because I only managed to snag 80 cases of this boozy brew. Miss out now, and the only way to get it will be to journey to Cali and fight through that Bay Area traffic to find the brewery that’s been around since the beginning. 

As Bill and Ted would say, snapping up this Stout now on Tavour is much more “non-heinous.” 

Rated 4.21 on Untappd from early ratings

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