Dogfish Head World Wide Stout 2002 (23%)

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

Serve in Snifter

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12oz. bottle, 2002 vintage, 23% version. Courtesy Cheeseman. The pour yields a dark cola brown body that borders on black at first glance. Just a paper thin, light brown edge of foam shows at the surface. Though there is no lacing, drippy, dense, mead-like legging creeps its way down the glass. The nose displays an intensely sweet, complex, sherry-like profile, showing notes of caramel, stewed apples, and cocoa most prominently. Figs and golden raisins lend further fruity sweetness, while strong vanilla supports the sherry assertion. Boozy anise rounds out the distinct aroma. Flavors show the anise even more prominently, with licorice and vanilla playing a huge role. Caramelized sugars and molasses offer even more sweetness, while a touch of roasty, slightly oxidized grain keeps it from getting out of control. The palate is thick and syrupy, as expected, though it is surprisingly not overly hot. I guess it is the cloying sugars that keep the boozy warmth in check. This has held up well for an 8 year old brew, and I suspect I like it better at this point than I would have fresh, but this is still not for me.

While I appreciate the impressive alcohol content, this one was more bourbon than beer. Some vanilla and dark fruits. Lots of alcohol. Good sipping beer, but I’ve had much better imperials. Rated 2/6/03

In short: An overly sweet and overly boozy black syrupy thing
How: Bottle 12oz. Consumed when about 7 year of age. Graciously given to me by one of my in-person trades at Dark Lord Day 2008.
The look: Black body topped by a small tan ring of foam
In long: Nose is boozy, lots of vanilla, dark fruits, and almost bourbonny. I had a 2006 or 2007 vintage bottle side by side and surprisingly this one was totally different. Dark fruits concentrate, soy sauce and vanilla are the dominant flavours. Alcohol is way too present, it felt twice more boozy than the regular 18% version. This is grossly sweet with a syrupy and somewhat lifeless body. This stuff is not good at all. I like the regular WWS. I don’t know what went wrong in 2002, Dogfish releasing a bad WWS and ’N Sync disbanding. Oh my god what a sad sad year.

UPDATED: JAN 16, 2012 Bottle ah home ... all to myself ... hehehehe ... well ok i did let stella have a little ... deep deep oily black ... short lived fizzed tan head ... rummy toffee roast oily malt nose ... some fizz in mouth feel ... silky rich treacle toffee is the first impression...theres a definit ligth spiritness but not rough ... the alcohols there but in the same way its there in a whisky ... a nice warming feeling ensues ... WOW again ... i dont think this is at the Heights of the UK release i drank about 2 years ago ... but that makes this 3 years older... the mouthfell is totally tip top ... and the flavour is so rich deep and fruity ... figgs ... raisins ... plums .. and the sweet treacle toffee

bottle at home ... soft mellow chocolate roast nose... chocolate malts ... hint of mushroom ... soft soya ... dark toffee roast ... figs and raisins ... sherry ... definite alcohol there... rich treacle and dark fruits ... 4.0

2002 bottle (Vim and Vigor crossed out) courtesy of 2277jf poured into a snifter. Pours dark, dark brown, almost black, with hints of mahogany around the edges. There is a bubble tan head that recedes immediately to nothing and leaves no lacing. The aroma is massively sweet with lots of dark malts and a ton of booze that burns the nose slightly. There is also some sweet dark chocolate, but the aroma is close to that of a liquor with the dominant sweetness and alcohol. The taste follows the aroma and is mainly a big dark roasted malt aroma with dark fruits and chocolate on top. Big and sweet overall, but the finish is something to behold with a burning in the mouth that feels like I’m sipping on whiskey. The mouthfeel is very slick, sticky sweet with little carbonation and, obviously, very boozy. This is the definition of a sipper. It’s got lots of flavor with malts, chocolate and dark fruits all present. However, the massive sweetness and alcohol presence make this one tough to get through with any speed.

Pours dark brown ad flat. Smells and tastes roasty and chocolatey with lots of booziness and some dark fruity hints on the finish. Didn’t notice any difference between this and the 21% version.

Bottle 12.fl.oz. [ Vintage 2002 ].
Clear dark black color with a small to average, fizzy, fair lacing, mostly lasting, off-white head. Aroma is heavy malty, roasted, caramel, chocolate, moderate to heavy raisin, dark fruits, plum, prune, port, brown sugar, moderate whisky - alcohol. Flavor is heavy sweet and bitter with a long duration. Body is full, texture is syrupy, carbonation is flat, finish feel is moderate alcoholic. What a beer, just love it ;o)) [280908]

This is amzing stout. Poured very dark with very modest head. The flavors of chocolate and coffee are evident. It is just too much alcohol for a leisure like drink. I am just more of a lower alcohol beer drinker. Reading the other comments I see that I am not a fan of high alcohol beer.

Black, Dark chocolate, coffee, roasted malts, alcohol, caramel, little dark fruits, molasses.

UPDATED: APR 25, 2009 Pours like used motor oil with no head. Chocolate and coffee along with alcohol in the nose. Goes a bit more port and soy. Viscous mouthfeel and not a lot of alcohol in the flavor, considering.