Dogfish Head World Wide Stout 2001/2003-Present (18%)

Bottle thanks to HogtownHarry- Deep opaque black, pours a frothy, but short lived mocha cap, that leaves some lace. Huge nose of dark chocolate, lots of fruit, including plum, currant, and concord grape, espresso, some roasted malts. Tastes of sweet dark chocolate, plum, black coffee, quite grapey, with roasty malts and just a bit of bittering hops. Quite well rounded and drinkable considering the strength. A great effort! Thanks for the bottle Harry!

Pours a dark brown with a thinnish head that dissipates quickly. While this beer is somewhat dark, it is not as dark nor as thick as I would have expected. The aroma is somewhat sweet and malty with some fruity scents in the background. The flavor is bittersweet chocolate with a malty finish. While the aroma of fruit fills the mouth, the beer doesn’t have a fruity taste. Kind of amazing that a beer with such a high alcohol content could be so drinkable. It isn’t at all syrupy in the mouth.

2006 bottle, tasted 5/29/09 (one day after the 2002 bottle), and poured into a snifter. Pours nearly black in the glass with light shining through brown in the edges. The head is decent sized and tan, hanging around as a collar and leaving spotty lacing. The aroma is not nearly as sweet as the 2002 bottle and has lots of dark roasted malts with some chocolately sweetness and some alcohol (though much less than the 2002). The taste is complex with the underlying dark malts really carrying things. There is chocolate, vanilla, and more dark fruits in the taste than the aroma. The alcohol is surprisingly understated given the ABV. The mouthfeel is slick and has slightly less than moderate carbonation. Lots of sweet dark malts left lingering on the palate with the slightest alcohol burn. The 2006 bottle is a much more manageable/drinkable beer than the 2002 and I would have guessed a lower ABV than the 18%. It’s a very good stout and the 2002 is definitely a better beer in my eyes.

Bottle at KØ09. Alcoholic aroma, paint thinner. Almost black colour. The flavour is sweet and alcoholic with some raisin. Paint thinner aftertaste. Very sweet and very alcoholic.

2008 bottle from grape & gourmet. pours a very dark brown with flecks of ruby, with a thin, cinnamon brown head and a thin rim of lace. aroma is fantastic and complex with dark chocolate, brown sugar, dried prunes, lovely vinous red fruit, and hints of banana and brown sugar. flavor is spectacular with slightly tart, red fruits initially then a huge hit of roasty malt and smooth chocolate with notes of bourbon, vanilla, rye, plum, fig, raisin cookie, and wood-smoke with a bitter, roasted coffee finish. palate is extremely smooth with alcohol perfectly integrated leaving just a pleasant warmth on the swallow. overall, one hell of a brew.

(Bottled, 2004 vintage, thanks oh6gdx!!!) Very dark brown with a small, beige head and some lace. Strong aroma of alcohol, port, seaweed-salty maltiness, lots of licorice and anise. Strongly salty and licoricey, intensely malty, dried-fruity flavor with some oatmeal sourness, hints of smoke, and moderate bitterness. Alcohol very well hidden in the flavor. Full, sticky and velvety-smooth body with almost no carbonation. Intense, smooth and surprisingly non-alcoholic for the ABV (only some booze in the nose). A true gem, at least when aged for 5 years.

2008 btl. Pours deep dark black. Light head, minimal lacing. Gorgeous nose of dark chocolate, fudge, vanilla bean, mollassas, and oh yeah, alcohol, Palate is similar, loads of coffee. Heat is there, but not overwhelming, nice amd warming though. Amazing its so drinkable at that crazy-ass ABV. Ive had others that are less, and burn more.

2008 bottle. pours a dark, opaque brownish reddish black with a brown head. nose is burnt caramel, dark coffee, leather, dark chocolate, dates, with a touch of brown sugar. taste is dark coffee with sweet brown sugar and dried dark fruits, notes of vanilla, port. complex-o-rama. the flavors aren’t as pronounced as some other (more highly ranked) imperial stouts, but damn is this one good. goes from bitter to sweet to bitter to sweet. alcohol is blended brilliantly (18% abv?? can’t even notice!). thick, creamy mouthfeel with just the right touch of carbonation. leaves a coat of molasses-chocolate on the palate. as with all DFH brews, it’s much ’frutier’ than the competition. i’ve been waiting a while to get my mitts on one of these, and it did not disappoint!