Dogfish Head World Wide Stout 2001/2003-Present (18%)

Brewed by Dogfish Head Brewery
Style: Imperial Stout
Milton, Delaware USA

Purchased at Once Upon A Vine in Richmond, VA waaay back in 2006 with my pal, Ando. Ah, those were the days... Bottled On: 10/29/05 Appearance: Humble black body with a small (and getting smaller by the second), tan-colored head. Nice legs! Smell: Starting things off are notes of sugary sweet chocolate candy, a half teaspoon of soy sauce, raisin extract, a glass of Harveys’ Bristol Cream, and a distinct note of highly charred sugars. Wafts of punchy alcohol as it begins to warm. Taste: Intensely sweet and crammed to the gills with flavors of chocolate syrup, maple syrup, Coca-Cola syrup, simple syrup, and lets says raisin-flavored syrup. There’s some roast in there, but it came be missed while you’re getting revved up from all that extreme sweetness. Whew! A tiny pinch of anise. More Bristol Cream. More juicy raisins. Maybe even some black cherries (although, with the alcohol starting to kick in, I could be conjuring up all sorts of crazy stuff). A few drops of day-old coffee. Maybe some dark stained wood. While you can definitely feel all the alcohol in here, it’s not coming through too terribly much in the taste, like a dreadful Avery Mephistopheles. Mouthfeel: Medium-full body. Medium-low carbonation. Smooth mouthfeel. All the while it’s warming on the tongue and warming in the belly. Drinkability: Paired rather well with the film Harold & Maude and its soundtrack by Cat Stevens. A unique, high-octane beer that, surprisingly, is sorta somewhat maybe kinda drinkable. It’s hard not to break down laughing really. Don’t drink if you’ve had anything less than a full night’s rest, as it’ll gentle lull you to sleZZZZZZZZZZZ.z.zzZ

2008 bottle, black pour with the faintest head, aroma of cherries and monkey blood, flavors of weak coffee, caramel sugars and prunes

I’ve had this twice. The first time was before my beer rating days, and that beer was one of the greatest in my memory. I had one recently - a bottle at Chumley’s in Lafayette IN, which was nowhere near the glory of the one I had previously. Bottle from Chumley’s Pours a black and thick with almost no head. The aroma is of molasses and mead. Flavor is very sweet, very mead like, with a bit of roastiness, and a whole lot of alcohol. The mouthfeel is sticky coating. This bottle was too sweet without enough complexity. My guess is that this stuff needs at least a year of aging before it’s really good.

Re-rate: With a new tasting comes a new rating, along with more appreciation. On tap at hulmeville inn in PA. Although they only allow you one, one is all you’ll need a great beer to sip on, i wouldn’t recommend chugging it.

Fantastic beer. Amazing how the alcohol is balanced and doesn’t overwhelm the palate at all. Dark, Dark in color. Very little head. Wonderful flavor but cellaring should bring out more of the beer’s complexities. mmmmm

this beer as is advertised does have more incommon with a port. super sweet and thick. as bold as a beer can be, dark toffie and carmell tones.

This beer start to end is nothing but good. with very little head, to the caramel at the beginning and the roasty sweetness at the end. Highly recommended but not for a beginner.

I must say that for a beer with an 18% ABV, this one went down VERY smoothly. It was the perfect way to bring in 2009. It had a nice sweetness that I enjoy. This beer was worth the 9 bucks I spent for it. I highly recommend everyone trying it at least once. It pours very dark with a thin head. The toffee, chocolate, and coffee tastes are noticeable, along with the dark fruit notes. The Dogfish Head Brewery really puts out some extreme beers for extreme people like me. Try some of their beers. You will NOT regret it.