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

Pours black with a nutty brown head. Aroma is light, with a flutter of nuttiness. Flavor....wow. Full, sweet, rich, creamy. This is a powerful brew. Like eating a big slice of chocolate cake, or a super-rich desert. Blissful.

Bottle from Greenwood Gourmet Grocery in Crozet. Black pour, viscous and with minimal head. Intensely complex aroma... grain, coffee, oak, roasted malt, soy, caramel, alcohol. Taste is very similar but with a more pronounced fruitiness. Thick and full. Alcohol warmth is there, but this is very, very smooth for 18%. Damn good.

Had the 2004 version January 08. Poured nearly black, pretty much no head. Quite a range of flavors going on with this one. Nice malt with roasted coffee, caramel, raspberry or grapes. Not overly thick in the mouth, nice lingering finish that reminds you there’s some alcohol in there. Would not have guessed there was that much in this, nor would I have called this a RIS. Excellent however, the aging for 4 years I’m guessing helped even further.

Talk about boozy. Not a huge fan of port wine so this doesn’t resonate with me as much. Overall a pleasant beverage but overpoweringly strong to an imperial stout. Other present flavors are dominating by the ABV. Pour pitch dark with very little head. Mouthfeel is not as thick as I expected.

The 2004 which i recently tasted was an amazing result of aging. This was a dark, thick,traditional looking Stout that has alot going on . The most balanced and subdued stout that i have had which really stands up the the big boys. Difficult to explain other than the coffee, chocolate, roasty flavors are complimented by the yeast strains on the 2004 portfolio.

Took me awhile to find this one, but it was well worth the wait. Pours like ink, huge tan head. Alcohol very present in the aroma and flavor. Loads of dark chocolate, coffee, roasted/burnt malts, molasses, and some sort of overly ripe fruits. Alcohol hits you hard about 1/2 the way through. Not an everyday beer, but one of the best imperials I’ve ever tried.

Black pour with a cloudy head. Complex aromas of chocolate, molasses, licorice, plum. Falvor is sweet with a hoppy and tangy like finish. Not too dry, yet not too sweet finishing. Just about perfect in my book. This is a very solid beer and one I’ll be sure to pick up next time I’m in Wisconsin.

12oz bottle from d.b.a. in manhattan. black pour with thin tan head. smells of whiskey, leather, tobacco and chocolate. tastes of plum, fig and molasses. didn’t even realize this was 18% alcohol until I went to rate. has a nice creamy, tingly, cola-like taste. sweet dry finish. too sickly sweet for my tastes, but a complex interesting beer no doubt. K-7.5