Bourbon Barrel-Aged World Wide Stout
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

Bourbon Barrel-Aged World Wide StoutBourbon Barrel-Aged World Wide Stout
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From:
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
 
Delaware, United States
Style:
American Imperial Stout
Ranked #267
ABV:
18.3%
Score:
97
Ranked #644
Avg:
4.39 | pDev: 7.52%
Reviews:
69
Ratings:
235
Status:
Active
Rated:
Mar 04, 2024
Added:
Jan 14, 2013
Wants:
  122
Gots:
  41
Dark, roasty stout aged on bourbon barrels.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by NRo:
Photo of NRo
Rated by NRo from California

4.25/5  rDev -3.2%

May 29, 2014
More User Ratings:
Photo of Treyliff
Reviewed by Treyliff from West Virginia

4.14/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
12oz bottle poured into a snifter
2019 Vintage

A- pours a viscous black color with a razor thin foamy khaki head that reduces to leave nothing behind

S- big oaky bourbon barrel aroma with notes of barrel juice, wet oak, caramel, vanilla & toffee. Malty chocolate and brownie batter, dark berries, leather & a wave of booze close it out

T- booze and malty up front with chocolate and caramel notes that are immediately followed by bold oaky bourbon barrel that gives flavors of caramel & toffee, with undertones of vanilla and coconut. The finish gives more wood and barrel juice, with caramel and chocolate sicking around on a boozy linger

M- medium body with low carbonation leads to a foamy mouthfeel that continues into a booze warming finish that you feel on the throat

O- surprised at how boozy this is even after 5 years. Compared to other breweries like Bruery that are able to mask huge abv in stouts, this one was quite hot.
Mar 04, 2024
 
Rated: 4.5 by archero from Texas

Oct 28, 2023
Photo of stortore
Reviewed by stortore from Illinois

4.37/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
12 ounce bottle into a snifter. Bottled 11/1/19, had 6/11/22.

Pours a dark brown- a little garnet in the light, mostly opaque, with no real head or lacing. Aromas of roasted malt, oak, coffee, caramel, char, some chocolate, light bourbon. Flavors of roasted malt, bourbon, chocolate, some coffee, caramel, raisins, some vanilla. Light alcohol warming. Smooth for the ABV, a very good full body that is slightly thinned by the alcohol, appropriately carbonated.

Boozy and really good. Has a huge roast and is pretty much just like the non- BA version. The barrels are effective but not all that prominent.
Jun 12, 2023
Photo of ryan1788a5
Reviewed by ryan1788a5 from Massachusetts

4.2/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
12oz bottle poured into a snifter.

A: Pitch black. A very aggressive pour produced an eighth of an inch of head that disappeared after about half a minute. No real lacing but a few small specks.

S: Layers of soot and smoke. Blackberry and dark fruit skin, in a reduction sauce or cordial-like sort of way. Big whiff of solvent-y alcohol heat. In time and warmth, bourbon ball candy, chocolate caramel chews, and oak begin to pull through.

T: Baseline soot and char layer from the roasted malt, but it's quickly met with tootsie rolls, fudge, chocolate caramel chews, bourbon, and drying oak. Dark fruit and jammy blackberry flavors pull through briefly. Big hit of spicy alcohol heat lets you know you're drinking a boundary-lushing beer. Barrel flavors return on the finish with a pleasant bourbon ball candy and corny sweet bourbon finish.

M: Full in body. Only a moderate sense of weight relative to the size. Lithe and silky. It glides over the tongue. Ever so slightly coating, but this is a dry beer overall. Assertive carbonation has a fine, aggressive prickle. Big smack of alcohol heat. Slight sense of oak tannin.

O: This is a better beer than the regular worldwide stout. On the nose, it seems set up to be a brawny cordial sort of big beer, but in taste the barrel really shines for all it's worth. It is still a massive, boozy beer though. It would be an excellent candidate for aging, and I think it could potentially hit its sweet spot in 1-5 years but could go much longer if desired. This beer was a ratings-topping whale way back when I started into me beer geekdom. The industry has come a long way since then and the competition these days is bonkers. Would I still consider it a "grail beer"? Not really. Is it still fantastic and worth a drink? Yes. Twice over.
Apr 10, 2023
Photo of Phyl21ca
Reviewed by Phyl21ca from Canada (QC)

4.35/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Bottle: Poured a pitch-black color stout with a dark brown foamy head with light retention and light lacing. Aroma of nice barrel-aged notes with some Bourbon notes with some light vanilla and woody notes, nice black chocolate malt notes with dry woody notes. Taste is also dominated by barrel-aged notes with some Bourbon and vanilla notes with some rich black chocolate notes with woody finish with light residual sugar notes. Body is above average with a nice texture and good carbonation with some apparent alcohol. Solid barrel-aged stout.
Mar 29, 2023
 
Rated: 3.98 by Duncian from Pennsylvania

Feb 01, 2023
Photo of HairyLeggedBiden
Reviewed by HairyLeggedBiden from Minnesota

4.45/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
12oz bottle, born on 11/10/19:

L - dark and oily with some head that stuck around
S - oak and chocolate. hints of caramel and toffee notes
T - Hazelnut, dark baking cacao, sting of the whiskey is nice and mixes perfectly with the beer.
F - minimal carbonation almost like a liqueur but but syrupy
O - excellent dessert beer. boozy and warm.
Dec 26, 2022
 
Rated: 4.25 by KT3418 from Colorado

Nov 15, 2022
Photo of chum_husk
Reviewed by chum_husk from Minnesota

4.85/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
At 18% this tasted very similar to the 10% beer I had earlier in the night. It's very tasty with the bourbon barrel heat and sweet chocolate being the most obvious. Not overly sweet like others, perfect balance
Nov 08, 2022
 
Rated: 4.69 by BeardedWalrus from North Carolina

Aug 26, 2022
Photo of morimech
Reviewed by morimech from Minnesota

3.67/5  rDev -16.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Bottled on 11/01/19. First impression is that this is very woody and boozy. Wet logs in the forest. Hints of bourbon but a lot of booze and alcohol heat. This probably could of sat for several more years in order to mellow out. Mild bourbon flavor with notes of vanilla and licorice. Slightly fruity. Sweet with a ton of unfermented sugars. Besides the alcohol is does not feel like that big of a beer. I much prefer the regular WWS over this. Just like the 16 yo whisky is often not better than the 12 yo.
Jul 23, 2022
Photo of robotic_being
Reviewed by robotic_being from Illinois

4.34/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
2019 vintage, drank on July 2nd, 2022.
Strong bourbon nose, super boozy taste, extra roasty and nice char on the finish. Smooth mouthfeel, nice carbonation still, nice dry finish with tons of warming.
Jul 03, 2022
 
Rated: 3.92 by mjpolzin from Wisconsin

Apr 17, 2022
 
Rated: 4.24 by bschmidt_37 from Illinois

Apr 02, 2022
Photo of Darkmagus82
Reviewed by Darkmagus82 from Texas

4.63/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Bottled on 11/01/19
Poured from a bottle into a snifter
Appearance – The beer pours a super dark brown color with a one finger head of brown colored foam. The thickness of the brew can be appreciated upon pouring, looking thick and robust as it glugs from the bottle. Upon pouring the head has a decent level of retention, fading over time to leave a little bit of foamy lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma is massive of a roasted malt smell with tons of molasses, brown sugar and caramel. There is a huge presence of a nice bourbon smell as well as lots of other sweeter aromas of plum and raisin. Aromas of chocolate and coffee are mixed in as well, enhancing the roastiness nicely. At the same time there are aromas of leather and char as well as some light vanilla and oak. Overall super robust and delicious.
Taste – The taste starts out with a big roasted and toasted malt flavor mixed with tons of caramel, brown sugar, cherry, molasses, toffee and plum. At the same time there is a showing of coffee and cocoa as well as a little bit of a vanilla flavor. The bourbon taste is lighter upfront, but as the taste advances it gets quite a bit more potent. At the same time some dark fruit tastes of plum, cherry, and raisin come onto the scene and mix with the other sweet and roasty flavors nicely. Toward the end the oak and the char that were in the nose, as well as a little bit of the leather, arrive on the scene, combining nicely with the increased boozy and bourbon flavors as well as the sweet to leave one with a nice rich and warming taste to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is slightly thicker and creamier with a carbonation level that is medium to lower. Overall, the feel accentuates nicely the big booze and bourbon flavors without creating something to heavy and thick.
Overall – Fantastic!!! Super flavorful and big on the alcohol, but in a good approachable way. A super good and warming sipper to be enjoyed on a nice cool evening.
Mar 14, 2022
Photo of HoppingMadMonk
Reviewed by HoppingMadMonk from New Jersey

4.65/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Solid black appearance with no head.
Light carbonation with a slick oily feel and an above average body.
Aroma is almost pure bourbon and alcohol upfront. Sweet malt, molasses, wood/oak, with some mocha in the background.
Tadte is sweet syrupy bourbon upfront. Wood/oak, mocha, and malt. On the very end is an almost dry,chalky finish.
Overall its considered world class for a reason.
Feb 17, 2022
Photo of FBarber
Reviewed by FBarber from Illinois

4.26/5  rDev -3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
2019 vintage.

Pours a viscous, black color. Completely opaque. Really weak head forms on the beer for a moment before disappearing.

Aroma is really interesting - at first I get a lot of dark fruits, prunes, raisins, but as it warms up I get more of the oak and vanilla from the bourbon barrel aging. It is also boozy - there is a clear alcohol like aroma on the nose.

Taste really has none of the dark fruit I was getting on the nose. Rather its tons of roasted, charred malts, caramel, vanilla, oak and bourbon. This is "boozy" but it has got some noticeable heat to it and it does come across as a big high ABV stout. What I find kind of interesting is how simple this beer is - I tend to think of these high ABV beers as more complex, but this is relatively straightforward. Lots of roasted barley malt with the notes of the bourbon barrel aging adding just a little variation to it.

Feel is relatively thin compared to other stouts in this category. Smooth, rich, but kind of easy drinking. Moderate but prickly carbonation.

Overall this is a really good "big" stout. The barrel aging is very nicely done. I have not had this fresh, so I cannot compare, but I would say that ~2.5 years in this is holding up excellently.
Feb 08, 2022
Photo of jvgoor3786
Reviewed by jvgoor3786 from Arkansas

4.5/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Pours a deep black with no head.

The smell is vanilla, roasted malts, some oak.

The taste is complex sweet vanilla, dark chocolate, char, bourbon, and oak.

The mouthfeel is thinner than expected for an 18% BA stout and keeps this from being nearly perfect. However, it doesn't detract in any significant way.

Overall, with two years on it, this is outstanding.
Feb 08, 2022
 
Rated: 4.57 by iamKoN

Dec 27, 2021
Bourbon Barrel-Aged World Wide Stout from Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Beer rating: 97 out of 100 with 235 ratings