Dogfish Head World Wide Stout 2002 (23%)

There is a black hole in my glass, completely opaque (at least with my lighting). Very oily body produce clear liquid lacing on the glass. The smell was almost the same as the 18 ABV but the alcohol is a bit more noticeable. Very sweet (fig and eiswine) and pungent taste, unlike the 18, this was too much and just overpowered my palate. Someone get me a tongue depressor since my mouth is glued shut by the syrupy sticky liquid. The alcohol burn caused my diaphragm to go into shock. I liked the 18 but I honestly can not give this a great rating. Maybe they can go the opposite direction and produce an 15 ABV stout (unlike the barleywine). Be afraid, be very afraid.

Jet black with no head. The beer itself is causing lacing because it is so thick and syrupy.
Smells of bittersweet chocolate, roasted malt, alcohol, plums and lots of stuff. The smell is intoxicating, literally. The alcohol aromas are very potent. Keep away from paint.
This tastes like it was conditioned on roasted plums and grapes. Alcohol quickly becoming apparent. Becomes more and more port-like in both aroma and taste as it warms. It almost has triple bock qualities too. This is a difficult beer to corner on flavor.
Palate is surprisingly smooth. It will still be difficult to get down 6 oz., let alone finish this rating.
My palate must be shot for the night because I'm having trouble with this beer. Time to break out a Samichlaus for comparison.

Very little dark coppor colored head that dissapates within moments. Beer is 100% opaque even when held up to light, a very dark beer. Very strong alcohol aroma masking a sweet fruit boquette. Feels good in the mouth but at 23% aldohol, makes one cringe going down. The beer makes the lips sticky. Outside of the noticable alcohol content, this beer has the taste of plum, raisin, apricot, burned wood, and molasses. The 23% kills all else. Very difficult to drink or enjoy. Sampled at just above 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

very dark brown colour, almost no foam, roasted black chocolate aroma, strong notes of portwine, nougat, gingerbread and wood; incredibly oily and very sweet, some finishing bitterness, explosive and deeply warming alcohol finish, long dry and very sugary aftertaste - The alcohol is so present that I would believe it if the label would say: 35% - confusing and unbalanced, the 18% version was much better; interesting experience anyway

Black. Brown head. Very potent aroma of wine, bourbon, cherries and wood. Rich flavors, very thick drink. Alcohol is covered suprisingly well, but this one is just too rich to drink the whole 12oz bottle in one sitting. RE-RATE: I must up the flavor and overall points. I "aged" this one quickly... basically let it sit out on my desk for 2 months... and holy crap did the flavors improve... rich, chocolatey coffee flavor and amazingly smooth.

As dark as any beer ever made. Pours with no head. Aroma of vanilla, dates and alcohol. The abv actually burns your nose. A consistency of Kahlua makes it much less drinkable than the last vintage. While this is still good, it is far less balanced and much less like beer and far more like schnaaps. Made me sick after drinking the whole thing. Would recommend a partner when you open the bottle.

Black, with no head to speak of. The alcohol aroma is pungent. The flavor is dominated by alcohol, but there are strong, sweet, fig-like, and cocoa flavors as well. A bit too extreme in my opinion.

Beer pours pitch black not allowing any light to penetrate. Just a beautiful ebony colour with no visible head, yet small amounts of bubbles continuously percolate to the surface. It’s a distinctly beautiful beer. Smells like dark fruits (plums, raisins, etc.), barley, coffee, malt and of course, alcohol. The flavour is extremely complex, its best to drink this where your other senses will not be distracted. The beer appears thick but it is not. It wraps a thin coating of sweetness around the tongue along with massive amounts of barley, malt and chocolate and lesser amounts of coffee and caramel. Finishes like a dessert wine with a lingering aftertaste of sweetness and alcohol. Overall, a thoughtfully crafted brew but a little too syrupy sweet for my liking. I poured the 12oz. into a glass and wanted no more than half. I’d recommend enjoying this in 3-4 oz. portions, perhaps sharing it with some friends. There’s definitely enough alcohol for 2 or 3 people.