Dogfish Head World Wide Stout 2002 (23%)

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

#500. Am i giving this a perfect score because it is #500? ... NO. I am giving this a perfect score because i can find nothing wrong with this beer. All the same outstanding flavors as last years version, and surprisingly no burning feeling from the alcohol. Utterly brilliant. The entire bottle was delicious. My new #1.

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

My first American perfect 5. I agree with Wakie that it is perhaps too intense. I found that a single 12 ounce bottle is meant to be shared with two or three friends, but not drunk by one person at one sitting. Is this beer or hoppy Kaluha? Screams of coffee, choclate, sweet dark roasted malt, kinds of hums about hops, and then slams you with a serious alcohol burn. The alcohol is probably necessary. I bet that it would not be possible to get such complex aromas and flavors to dissolve in a regular beer. I wonder how they kept the yeast from dying? Appearance is jet black, no more head than on a glass of Kaluha, sweet and syrupy thick, with more and more going on the longer it sits on your tongue. Of course if you try to drink the whole bottle you miss all this wonderful activity and end up giving the beer a lower score because it is, indeed, too hard to drink. The only thing you get out of the second half of the bottle is the remaining 333.3 calories. And enough alcohol to have a one-beer hangover.

First tasted this at the Beer Yard in PA - don’t tell anyone.... so I bought a case and after drinking 6 or so the first night (with a friend) I saved the rest for annual celebrations. Mess with the best and die like the rest -- this is a perfect strong ale. What it lacks in sophistication it amply makes up for in character.

Rated this in May, so it’s aged six months since bottling at this point Finally cracked open a bottle to share with my parish priest. Saw a fizzy head that, of course, disappeared quickly, almost like a Coca-Cola. Come to think of it, there could be a touch of cola in the taste. Brownish-black body with distict tastes of roasted coffee, sherry, molasses, maybe even some maple. Beautifully sweet, but not cloying. It’s a good thing we split one bottle between us, as the alcohol just sneaks up and warms you slowly… can you believe Binny’s carries this with none of those little “Staff choice” signs? Oh, well, that’s why it’s not sold out yet; more for me to buy… More? Why certainly…

…And now we rushed into the embraces of the cataract, where a chasm threw itself open to receive us. But there arose in our pathway a shrouded human figure, very far larger in its proportions than any dweller among men. And the hue of the skin of the figure was of the perfect whiteness of the snow.
E.A. Poe

Holy F Batman!! Pours black with no head at all, I every poured it from the bottle 12’ into the glass and no head. Aroma is alcohol and barley and get this ’a fresh magazine’ don’t laugh smell and think Car and Driver. The brew is dark and black and lets no light pass thought it. Taste of port, brandy, banana and blackberry. Syrup and sweetness abound. (this beer has 666 calories in a 12 oz bottle. This in more of a really fine port than a beer. I cant wait to see how this tastes in a couple years. I feel that this ranks as good a Westvleteren 12 and is a little cheaper. Cheers! Rerate 12/14/2002 I had to up the aroma rating on this. As you drink it, the aroma becomes better and better, until there is 1/2’ in the bottom of your glass and you do not know whether to drink it or keep smelling it!

Quite possibly one of the best beers that exist in the world. Amazing in every way.

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.