Dogfish Head World Wide Stout 2002 (23%)

I actually found the DHB I had in DC was the 23% variety - now I understand my pain....Tasted in DC from Cairo. This beer is evil and not in a good sense. I like stout. I like bold imperial stout. Stouts that get in your face and say: I ain't going away until this glass is drained. You man enough for this? hugh..punk. Sickly sweet scent. Too much of everything - too much malt, too much hops. Thick and syrupy. No head. Smells like a liquor. My god, over the top. Tone it down boys.

Bottle: GOOD LORD!! A big shout out to Austin Powers for adding this to an already more than lopsided (to my favor) trade. I had no idea what I was getting myself into when opening this beer. I purposely didn't read about it as to remain unbiased. I Chose a nice stout as a nightcap , you know, a stout, nourishing, mellow easy to drink. HELLO! my notes are as follows: not much head, had to pour vigorously to get a head cap. Strong aroma of malted barley. Initial taste is overwhelming sweetness and alcohol warming (duh, now I see)and licorice with massive waves of barley and did I mention Alcohol? As it warmed up it became winey,(now I know why) and Cloyingly sweet. I have made export stout at home and this blew the freaking doors off mine. What kept coming to mind was this is the "Arrogant Bastard" of stouts. And once again my intincts served me well.

Bought this last weekend for cival war game, U of O vs O state. I wanted a strong and tasty beer to sneak into the game and sip on. Sure glad they had WWS '02 at the local store!

Rating 50, halfway to my crown. Nearly black with mahongany highlights. The head - if I can even call it that - is merely a thin tan ring around the edge of the glass. Aroma of raisins, roast, molasses, and alcohol (although to the whisky drinker in me it doesn't seem overpowering). Very thick syrupy palate, almost without carbonation, a definite alcohol burn - but it never gets in the way. Flavor is extremely sweet and is dominated by plum, cherry and raisin notes, but also has some roast, licorice and molasses. An excellent beer, but I agree with the criticism of it being overly sweet. It is almost like a plum/raisin version of Heering cherry liqueur. It may be hard to finish the entire bottle, and at 23% I am in for a ride.

OK, I've heard so much about this beer and have had a couple bottles in my cellar for almost a year now. Tonight's the night to finally break one out...Pours not quite black, but very dark with some mahogony highlights. No head whatsoever, but hey, it's 23%abv! Aroma is pretty mulch alcohol and not much else. Maybe a little molasses, but when I take a whiff, it brings me back to college and the old Mad Dog 2020. Extremely viscous mouthfeel. Overtly sweet, extremely alcoholic. This is a sweet, complex beer, but it's nuances are so dominated by the alcohol, that it's hard to notice anything else. An impressive feat in beer making, to be sure. But would I want to drink another one of these? I'm not sure I'll be able to finish the beer I just poured!

Aroma is dominated by the alcohol although does have a nice touch of dark fruits and malt. Flavor is malty with some roasted barley maybe and finishing very sweet with lots of body. Nice beer to sip by a fire on a cold day/evening but a little to high in alcohol and too expensive for my taste.

Opaque black beer. Aroma is filled with higher alcohols and fruit. The flavour is sweet with fruit tones. It´s extremely dominated alcoholic. Sweet finish. My comment must be "so what !". It is strong and dark and totally without class. A bit like Mike Tyson.

This is not really a stout. Grapes, sweet dark malts, and alcohol dominate the aroma. Pours an opaque dark brown, with tan-bubbled carbonation on the pour which quickly dissipates. Flavor is extremely sweet and molasses-like, with a touch of coffee. Not very complex, as the sweetness overwhelms any subtleties. Alcohol is surprisingly subdued, especially considering its harshness in other similar ABV beers I've tried (think Sam Adams). An interesting offering, indeed, but World Wide Stout has none of the roastiness I expect from a stout, and does not fit the stout bill IMO.