Dogfish Head World Wide Stout 2002 (23%)

Formerly brewed at Dogfish Head Brewery
Style: Imperial Stout
Milton, Delaware USA

(draught !) Jet-black, slim brown head. Roasted, grilled bacon, BBQ and soy sauce for a nose. Impossible to write or explain, but you can both SMELL sweet and bitter. This is a quite sweet stout tastewise. Saying it's a very strong one is as forcing open doors, but that's the problem. It's got a rosewater flavour, so sweet it's made lopsided. Still a superb beer, but I prefer the 18%. Mouthfeel: well. Liquified coffee-flavoured pudding with a dash of soy sauce. How DOES that feel? OK - there's alcoholburn. Huge.

This pitch black beer exits the bottle in almost a syrupy manner and exhibits virtually no head. The thin ring of dark tan foam clings to the outer rim of the glass. The aroma is alcohol, malts and fruit, topped of with a bit of hops and some more alcohol. The taste is very sweet and thick. Alcohol notes are prominent, along with sweet fruits like grape and plum. It is essentially like a sweet ruby port with a shot of bourbon in it. Since I like each almost as much as I like beer, this is a dream beer to me. The sweet wine notes linger around seemingly forever in the aftertatse, like a good chocolate truffle. I'll have to consider buying a couple more bottles to age. The mouthfeel is thick and luxurious as it coats the tongue. The drinakbility is good considering the ABV of the beer.

Pours almost black, with very little dark tan head. Sweet alcohol aromas, with fruits (grapes.) Very sweet flavor of roast malts and lots of alcohol. Had a grape wine taste to it almost. A bit too much, I need to try the 18%.

Dark brown colur (almost black). No head. Very sweet (too sweet) Complex, long-lasting flavour.

I had the 18% version a few nights ago and I have been anxious to see how this one measures up to it. Pours a pitch black color with no head. Big aroma of malts, chocolate, alcohol, and coffee. Super thick mouthfeel, very heavy body with little carbonation. Smooth and creamy, almost oily. Very sugary tasting, with lots of alcohol in the flavor. Some roasted malt notes with a bit of chocolate. Not nearly as elegant as the 18%. Very port like with its strong alcohol and sugary notes. The 18% was truely great, but this one is just a little over the top. Not bad, but lacks drinkability. Of course, that would be expected with a 23% ABV beer. Decent, but not great. I wouldn't drink this one again, but the 18% version I would definitely have again.

This beer had a dark black color, and more carbination than I'd ever seen. It had a big head to start with, but kept bubbling, and faded away almost instantly, like soda. To start with it was vinous, and the burn of a strong alcohol. Syrupy too. Got better as it warmed though. Not quite as bad as Sam Adams Triple Bock, but it did remind me of it.

Deep black in colour. Aroma is very sweet, of alcohol and extreme amounts of malt. Flavour is very, very sweet, malty, lots of chocolate, small amounts of coffee. Finishes very sweet with lots of alcohol. Not quite as balanced as the 18% but still very well made for such a huge beer. Thanks ciderguy.

Great flavor. High in alcohol content but you really can't notice it. Very smooth beer and flavorful. It has a great color.