Dogfish Head World Wide Stout 2002 (23%)

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

With hints of bananas and chocolate, this beer stunned everyone that tried it. A fine combination of flavors finished by a rather strong alcoholic bite.

Draft: Steeped black cherry aroma. Lots of underlying character of tawny port, raisin, prune, vanilla, maple, lightly charred dark honey, and fig. Very soft palate. Flavorful, yet overly cloying and astringent. Port flavors accompanied by assertive notes of prune and vanilla. Long sharp finish of maple and apple. Uncannily similar to some quality ports. Severely lacks drinkability and is one-dimensional. Note: I'm in a smoky taproom with an internet, lots of noise, and little time. I wish I could concentrate better.

This was POTENT among other things. A nice flavor that was a little beaten down by the ABV, but still nice.

HOLY SHIT! Drink this in moderation, one is enough, consume more than that and you could end up on your duff! Very sweet and alcohol is very apparent. Like a port, burntish caramel flavor with a bitter sweet and alcohol after taste. A small almost non-apparent fizzy head that vanishes as quickly as it came. Semi-chocolatey and full body, dark brown to jet black body looking somewhat like motor-oil, this stuff is good!

Color is a little lighter than the 18% (brown, but I can see throught the glass). An off white cola like head. Very port-like in aroma. Lots of preserved fruit, "jammy" aromas and ALCOHOL. Faint notes of chocolate and roast with a bit more rum and vanilla. Concord grape, blackberry jam, and alcohol dominated the scene. The alcohol sneaks up on you, right when you are about to pin down an aroma, it will come through and erase whatever was on your palate (big bully aroma). Very sweet with another amazingly full body (not quite as smooth as the 18%). The beer right now is dominated by alcohol, which is screaming above all the other flavors who are talking in their 6-inch voices. Aging will do this beer wonders I think. Still good stuff though.

Alcohol and dark fruit in the nose, small tan head, pitch black body. Very sweet, indeed sugary, on the first sip, and it burns going down, like whiskey. Some fruitiness; I get a hint of banana, or perhaps prunes. Somewhat vinous but the sweetness overwhelms. Some burnt flavors. I have to say that I am extremely disappointed now that I've finally gotten a chance to try this balleyhooed brew. Granted, the 18% (which I haven't had) gets better ratings, but this beer doesn't impress me at all. Too much alcohol taste, too sugary, not much complexity. Update: Just checked and this is the lowest rating I've given a DFW beer. Talk about disappointment - I gave the Chicory Stout a 4.1 and expected this to be even better! RERATE 11/22/2003: These have been sitting on the shelf at Premier for a while, so I decided to give it a second try. Age seems to have dried it out a bit; it's no longer so sugary. Flavor is still overwhelmed by alcohol, although not in a totally unpleasant way. I get a fair amount of banana over the alcoholic nose. I'll give it a couple more points, but it's still not a 95th %ile beer.

WOW! WOW again! Poured pitched black in the glass. No head to speak of. Not very carbonated. Initial odor is of strong alcohol notes but some sweetness like cotton candy or dark chocolate. There is a slight alcohol burning in the mouthfeel. The finish is silky smooth but ends slightly dry and with an alcohol kick. Can't wait to get this again! HIGHLY recommended! ***Rerate-Just had this again tonight. This is one powerful brew. Strong sugary/alcohol taste. Stiff alcohol notes abound in the aroma. Wonderfully crafted beer. Highly recommended to all.

The pour contained no head in the glass. The aroma was sweet with hints of carmel and berry. Very dark in color. The initial taste was sweet like a port wine. Very fruity in flavor with definite tastes of chocolate. I enjoyed the beer, but will probably limit it to this one time only (unless someone else is buying).