Dogfish Head World Wide Stout 2002 (23%)

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

Pours an opaque black colour with no head. Aroma of burnt malt, chocolate and coffee. Heavy body. Thick syrupy mouthfeel with very little, if any, carbonation. Taste is sweet up front but then the rich chocolate and roasted malt flavours come bursting through. Alcohol is noticable but not unpleasent although I did wake up the next day feeling as if I had been on a good bender. I’m glad I tried it but doubt if I’d have another

12 oz bottle. Pours a pitch black body with some light passing thru on the edges, minimal fizzy large bubbled head that completely vanished, Some light visible carbonation. The nose is huge roasty malt and alcohol battling for supremacy. Some oxidation coming out, a little nail polish, espresso, dark fruits, almost a bourbon like quality. The alcohol on this is as big as I remembered, it actually burns my gumline. The malt has mellowed out quite a bit though from when it was fresh. The heavy roast has melted away some into some fruity madeira like oxidation yielding some sweet candied plum fruitiness. Finishes with a little soy and worcestershire sauce and that ever present alcohol. Mouthfeel is as thick and viscous as ever with a mouth coating clingy finish. Big alcohol heat all the way down the chest. Still has nice slightly fizzy carbonation that cuts through the sweetness pretty well. As good as this is, I still have to knock this guy down a few points because it’s still really hard to finish a 12 ounce bottle of this.

12oz bottle, tasted alongside 2001-2006 versions. Pours a dark, reddish-brown color; off-white head that quickly fades. Lots of raisins and nougat and dried fruits in the aroma; quite boozy and sweeter than the 18% variety. Enormously boozy and sweet mouthfeel, almost overwhelming: dense maple syrup and dried dark fruits; alcohol very present. Lengthy, raisin and dried fruit finish. Quite different from the others; significantly sweeter.

Worth a try. A bit much for my palate though. Very heavy. But alcohol content is well hidden although evident after finishing the bottle. Not for the first timer and I wouldn't recommend making it your 3rd or 4th beer of the night. I didn't quite grasp the 23% thing and payed for it.

I'm almost scared to try this brew.It's more alcohol then i'm used to having.I can almost guarantee that i won't get through the whole bottle.Here goes.Dark as the blackest depth's of hell.No head of any kind.The aroma is some what malty,almost smells like a liquoer with that definate get in your face alcohol smell,almost smells like Wild Turkey Bourbon.Now for the taste.Holy shit this stuff is harsh barley wine like feel,malty sweet and bang that alcohol hits you like brick wall.the after taste is wine like with a definate very pronounced alcohol finish that gives you that feeling of downing a straight shot of Wild Turkey.If it wern't for the syrupy feel i could take the alcohol.This is definately a brew to be tried but not something to indulge in to heavily,unless your a total drunk with no self control.you have to damn near force yourself to swallow this stuff,it's that stiff a brew.I have to say i'm glad i have only 1 bottle of this,i don't think i could take much more of this bombardment.This definately takes a special kind of person to enjoy this stuff.

Bottled, thanks hopsrus!!
Black hole black. I guess this is what happens when you're talking this sort of gravity. Calvados-like aroma. Very sweet, very complex and very, very malty. Notes of prunes, pepper and molasses. I think it is not as balanced as the 18% version was.

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.

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).