Dogfish Head World Wide Stout 2002 (23%)

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

This just tastes like a holiday ale with a bunch of hard liquor dumped in. Too sweet, too syrupy. I truly believe that the novelty of such an alcoholic ’beer’ has led to its high ranking. That must be it.

Poured a dark brown, with a small tan head that quickly receded. An interesting beer, very different from the norm. aroma was of roasted malt with a hint of alcohol. Taste was very similar to a port, hints of chocolate, plums, with a sweet sticky like finish, alcohol is well hidden, except for a pleasant sweet burn down the throat. Not an everyday beer, but an interesting and welcome treat. i look forward to see how my other bottles age over the next 2-3 years.

intense roasted alcohol aroma, looks like syrup, so sweet and intense, this one is definitely max power, winey as hell, earned instant cult status on campus because of the outrageous alcohol, "one sip gave me a buzz", "that’s disgusting", and "that’s amazing" are all comments I heard throughout the room

I’d rather drink tar and paint thinner. Just down right horrible and a waste of $9.

Thick and virtually no head when this pours. I can smell the aroma without even coming close to the glass. I saved this for a New Year’s treat but it almost ruined my night--THIS IS NOT BEER! I did not buy a port. Vinous and strong. Hops? Malt? All I taste is sugar fermented with champagne yeast and sold for too high price. Dark Lord kicks this beer’s ass. I had a little stuffy nose before drinking but now it is gone. Alcohol way too overwhelming. Although there is some fruit in the finish, alcohol dominates and doesnt allow for other flavors to come through. I will have to take two Prevacid tonight to combat the alcholic domination in this beer...if I can call it beer...nice try, but don’t rate this one high just because others do. Yuk. A lot of alcohol does not make up for a lack of interesting flavor.

Nose is sugary, with hints of chocolate, licorice, and prunes. Clear, dark dark brown with little to no head. Flavor is extremely sweet, but balanced somewhat by some oaky, musty notes, a pleasant dry bitterness, and some vinous flavors. Most impressive, perhaps, is that it masks the alcohol entirely in the flavor--one only finds it in a warming sensation as it goes down (and a marked abandon in coherence after 9 oz. or so). I’m unfortunately driven to compare it to 3Floyds Dark Lord, which, though perhaps very close in the level of sweetness, throws in some more balancing flavors to counteract that sweetness and come off as the more interesting brew. But this is damned fine nonetheless.

Wow is this a BIG beer. Not sure that it is a beer though. Excellent color but with very little (if any head). Maybe I should have poured it at a warmer temperature. Rich aroma with plenty pf alcohol sweetness and licorice. Over the top alcohol content which was stronger than I prefer. My gums were tingling after the second mouthful. Taste is excellent with many flavors hidden under the alcohol. Not as strong of a flavor as some other stouts though. Truely a complex beer. Very good for special occasions but not as a regular. Don’t plan on doing much the rest of the day after drinking this one. A very good stout but the selling point for this beer is the alcohol content and not because of the flavor.

I not sure how to go about rating this bizarre brew, but I can’t rate it very high because I simply don’t like it that much. Pours a golden brown with no head. This beer has surface tension of which the minimal carbonation can barely break through. Dominating the flavor and aroma is intense ethanol. The reason, folks, the alcohol is so well hidden is the massive sugar content. This is essentially the idea behind jungle juice. As far as flavors, the barley tended towards a coffee taste and a slight smoky wisp at the end. I could not detect any hops, although with the massive malt presence, there may still be massive quantities. This is what I imagine malt extract and everclear combined would taste like. I’m very glad I’ve finally experienced this, but I think once is enough. Glad I had another to share the bottle with; one bottle is equivalent to four beers! However, beer is not all about the alcohol (I hope), and this beer, while interesting, isn’t flavorful enough to get me overly excited.