World Wide Stout
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

Pours jet black with a quickly dissipating head that turns to a little ring which leaves some lacing behind as it works it's way down the snifter.

Aroma is spectacular. Sweetness like a syrup or molasses, chocolate, roasted malt, almost oatmeal like, and a wonderful alcohol that is sort of port, sherry, or brandy in nature.

Taste is impressive too. Not as much as the nose, but the bar was high. Deep dark chocolate or cocoa with some bitterness, deep roasted/slightly burnt malt grains. Defiantly a noticeable alcohol burn (the good kind), also sweetness, some black licorice I believe (which looking back, is noticeable in aroma). I would call this medium bodied for a RIS.

Overall, this is a beast of a beer that despite the high ABV (18-20%), is still quite balanced and drinkable. Your nose suggests that it is barrel aged in some way even though it is not. World Wide is world class. Glad I had the chance to try it, and would recommend that everyone does regardless of cost.

Edit: had a 2010 bottle in Feb of '16. Very strong aroma of brandy or a port wine with a lot of cherry flavor coming through. A bit of sourness. May be slightly oxidized since the carbonation seems to have turned prickly. The alcohol is very, very mellow. Much stronger on the nose than flavor. The roasted malts are a little subdued now, but it works.

Bottle I’ve been sitting on for a couple years. 15.5% abv. Dark pour with smallish head. Lots of cocoa, cinnamon, and bourbon. I coulda sworn this was a special varietal I bought in Rehoboth, but the label is plain. Tasty.

Dark brown brew with no foam at all. Pleasant aroma of cinnamon and coffee. Body is thin yet oily. Hot and bitter are the two sensations. It tastes like old coffee boiled over with a shot of grain alcohol. The spices, for once, make it a little more drinkable. But not actually drinkable. From the 12 oz bottle. My admiration to those with stronger taste buds who like this stuff!

Poured into a Duvel tulip glass. Dark brown, nearly black, with a thin, tan head of fine bubbles. Easy to think it's black because no light will penetrate. Aroma of lightly roasted coffee beans. Flavor of roasted malt. Nice mouthful, not too thick or heavy.
Addendum: Poured this more vigorously into the same Duvel tulip glass and I was rewarded with a one inch thick, creamy, tan head. There was noticeable lacing.

 

L: Pours a dark, black body with a small, tan head with pretty good retention and lacing.
S: sweet, slight roasted coffee aroma with some sweet, alcohol notes.
T: tastes like a very sweet milk stout with a strong alcohol presence; strong alcohol backbone.
F: smooth and full bodied.
O: solid overall, but alcohol presence was too in your face. There are similar, high alcohol beers out there that bring more balance despite the higher alcohol content.

12 oz longneck,Poured on a Pint Glass:

LOOK: Dark chocolate color. Very thin head though somewhat disappointed from such a hyped beer. But the color is looks great
SMELL: Coffee and spice
TASTE: Roasted malt with hints of coffee. Outstanding taste
FEEL: Great carbonation strong opening last all through the end
OVERALL: First time trying it. Wow, taste amazing. I wanted to give a 5-star rating across the board by was disappointed with the very thin head. Although, hell yeah with that 18%ABV! What can I say outstanding Beer.

12oz bottle, finally found a fresher bottle & haven’t had a fresh one of these since 2009
L: cola colored body; thinner khaki head
S: roast & char, dark chocolate, booze, fudge, molasses
T: molasses, roasted barley, fudge, anise, dark baker’s chocolate, earthy hops
F: fuller body, quote boozy at 18% but not as bad as I remember; roasty & astringent finish
O: always a fun one to come back to every once in awhile

World Wide Stout has a thin, beige head and an opaque, very dark-brown appearance, with virtually no lacing. The aroma is of dark bread crust, cocoa, and some coffee, with possible raisin. The flavors are of that, with bold bitter and sweet notes. It has a heavy body and a mostly-dry finish.

RJT

 

 

An excellent imperial stout. Strong but very enjoyable if you are prepared for a complex and high octane brew. Great sipping on a cool evening! Reminds me of Free Will Brewing’s Ralphius at around 15% abv.

 

Black color. Big, beige head. Complex aroma of roasted malt, toffees, raisins, chocolate and coffee. Same notes in rich taste with moderate sweetness. warming alcohol at the end. For 18% ABV, it is superdrinkable.

I know my rating score will generate some heat, but I just had one of the best beers of my life. I just opened a 2002 World Wide Stout, which rang in at 23%. Yes, this baby was 23 years old. Definitely the best stout of my life (if you can call it a stout).

It was not like any beer I have ever had. Yes, it was thick and flat as motor oil. But it was smooth as silk. After all this time, there was not a single off note or flavor. The vanilla notes were through the roof. It got better with every sip. It was spectacular!

And now I am grieving. This was the only bottle I have. I will never experience perfection again. But, I will cherish this memory forever.

not really a fan of this but it was my first stout -- wish i had tried a few then come back around to this. super expensive too at $15 for a bottle, so i might not be returning soon :(

 

L: Pours a thick dark black brown color with really no head and no lacing on the glass. Not the prettiest looking beer.

S: Lots of sweet brown sugar and molasses, a hint of chocolate, followed by a huge note of booze. This one smells super boozy.

T: Extremely boozy, at times seems more like hard alcohol than a beer. Some notes of chocolate and a little bit of molasses and brown sugar but the booze is a little overwhelming here.

F: Body doesn't feel quite as big as I expected, good carbonation

O: This is a very boozy beer and while I don't dislike it, I also think there are better big boozy stouts out there.

Amazing beer. Very high abv. Great sipping beer in the fall / wintertime