 Ernest (4197), Boulder, Colorado, USA
May 8, 2002 Updated: Dec 6, 2007
2007 bottle. Head is initially small, frothy, brown, fully diminishing. Body is black. Aroma is moderately malty (chocolate, nut shells, roasted grain), with notes of alcohol, vanilla, soy sauce. Flavor is heavily sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, moderately bitter. Medium to full body, watery/syrupy texture, lively carbonation, heavily alcoholic. Ugh. What happened? Boring boozy / soy saucy aroma, harsh alcohol, fatiguing sweetness. What a huge downer compared to 2004 and earlier vintages (which were around 4.2). All good things must come to an end, I suppose. Sigh.
Vas19 (211), Maryland, USA
Aug 16, 2008 2007 bottle. Pours black with a thin brown head. Aroma of dark fruit, chocolate, and molasses. Flavor starts with molasses, very sugary, and finishes with coffee. A touch of plum in there as well. Alcohol is amazingly well hidden. A very nice beer.
highlandlad (1184), Sydney, Australia
Aug 13, 2008 Geez, the average RB rater must have a sweet tooth. I love strong beers, but the famous World Wide Stout had me wondering if I would have any teeth left when I finished drinking. There’s a lot to like here, but the residual sugars overwhelmed this palate. Looks great, smells great, tastes pretty good until the sugar tsunami breaks. Rich aroma of bitter chocolate and dark rummy fusels. Oily body. Challenging flavours of turpentine, blackcurrant and cocoa beans. Warming finish. Just too damn sweet. Fetch me a toothbrush - I can’t afford to lose any more gnashers. (Bottle courtesy of Linc at Sully’s Sydney RB Xmas 07 gathering)
Avengedpoet (21), Arizona, USA
Aug 13, 2008 Pours a color like engine oil, but definitely not the same viscosity. Most likely due to the high levels of sugar added to reach the ABV. Aroma is heavy booze and roastiness. Booze smell take a lot away from what I suspect would be a lot more subtle aromas. Same can be said for the taste. This one is exceptionally boozy to the point of seeming uncomplex. The more you drink it, the more you can see where there could have been a more interesting beer behind all of the alcohol. I’m glad that it has been toned down; I can’t imagine this at 23% alcohol (black lighter fluid?). A beer with great potential and a lot of hype that was somewhat of a disappointment. I think that it has the potential to be set down for a number of years and enjoyed on a snowy day for a higher rating one day.
BrotherGrendel (47), San Diego, California, USA
Aug 12, 2008 2007 vintage. Murky dense brown with a modest layer of brown foam that dissipates quickly. Aroma is bittersweet dark chocolate malts, dark fruits, alcohol, a touch of smoke and molasses. Texture is very heavy and thick with ample carbonation. Initial taste is dark fruits on an alcohol booze bomb that permeates the palate, eventual transition to bitter chocolate and hints of sour milk and dark fruits, finishes sickly sweet and boozy. This is the second WWS I have been disappointed with, the sourness really wrecks the existing malts and fruits, I don’t know what’s going on with this beer.
NomDeBeer (129), Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Aug 11, 2008 I can’t get into this one at all. Disgustingly sweet + scorching 18% ABV = drain pour.
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