Dogfish Head World Wide Stout 2002 (23%)

pales in comparison to the 2003 (21%), tastes more like a port than a beer, and the taste of alcohol is almost overpowering. though a solid beer through and through.

strong beer tasting '04: black, small ring of bubbles. vinous aroma with red liquorice and chocolate notes. flavour holds fruity plums and raisins with some molasses and chocolate. sweet and boozy finish. nice.

Very thick, very dark beer. The beer tasted like a thick liquor with hints of molasses, chocolate, and roasted barley. This beer must be sipped. The sweetness and the bitterness is not enough to calm the alcohol. A little too over the edge for me.

Alcohol, candy, plums, mollasses, brown sugar, very sweet. Nose of port wine also. It couldn't really be any blacker, completely black with an initial head. absolute loads of hops up front, chocolate and alcohol continues light roast hidden in the sweet kick. Lots of a red wine flavor thats great.

This one pours black and oily, with very little head, tiny and tan, leaving just a foamy ring around the top of the glass. The aroma is full of cherries and brownies. Alchohol is slightly present in the aroma, but not as much as I expected. A big full-bodied taste with a very present alchohol burn in the aftertaste. Dark chocolate, maltballs, fudge, some dark fruit tastes are also present. Very sweet on the lips with a style that is much more akin to a barleywine or a belgian strong ale. Candy and sugar tastes in the finish. Definitely something to be experienced, and to try with a friend, but a little to over the top for my tastes.

Totally thick black color, no head at all. Aroma is slightly sweet, coffee notes, dark fruit (raisens, red grapes), with a strong alcohol base underlying the other aspects. Flavor is pretty sweet, with the strong alcohol present throughout the flavor. Palate is crazy thick. Although the alcohol is very present in this brew, I still say it hides it pretty well, considering how high ABV it is. I liked it, and I reallly think the people who said that this was more like liquor than beer are just wrong. This may be beer on steroids, but it is still beer through and through.

Original Sampling: 01/16/2004
Very dark brown/black color with extremely little head. Aroma is light, but in it I detect some light coffee malt, port, and a general dark fruit covered by alcohol. The flavor is unbelievable. Though it is masked a bit by its alcohol content, I pick up a rich palate starting with a powerful sweet syrupy start, a port middle, and a very late and long coffee finish. I was afraid of this beer because of the ABV, but it is still very good because of its complexity. 7 / 2 / 10 / 4 / 20
Rating 2/5/2005
What I find attractive has obviously changed. Rating updated as such. Looks the same. Now that I have had the 2001, I notice that alcohol covers sherry, grape and cherry fruitiness, an odd yeasty cheese thing, and peaty scotch notes. Taste is sweet... has port/sherry, malt whisky, grapes, maple syrup. Very sweet and dessert wine-like beer.... some may say too sweet, but is that rating by style? I like it. (8 / 5 / 8 / 4 / 17)

[bottle] Pours as dark as the night sky. It actually seemed to absorb the light when I held it up to a lamp to see the color. Not much head on it though. Rich and flavorful aroma, very sweet and malty. At the start, a very sweet roasted taste, giving way to a smooth molasses-y finish. Has a thick, sticky mouth feel and lots of flavor. Warms on the way down and hides the high ABV well. Absolutely impressive.