World Wide Stout - Oak-Aged Vanilla
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

 

*archived rating*

Review: 2368
Name: World Wide Stout Oaked Aged with Vanilla
Brewery: Dogfish Head Brewery
Location: Milton, DE
Style: Barrel Aged Imperial Stout
ABV: 16%
Canned: Unknown
Date: 20 April 2025
I bought this one when I was clamoring for any beer I could cellar. The beer is at least four years old, maybe older. I am using a tulip glass and serving the beer at 50 degrees. The pour created an airy, half-fingered, dark tan head with terrible retention. The fast dissipation left no lacing on the glass. The color is pitch black with dark rusty red hues, charting at SRM 38, and opaque. This beer's appearance is average, considering the high ABV.
Nosing the glass, I smell molasses, vanilla, dark roasted malts, heavy oak, char, raisins, toffee, caramel, dark chocolate, medium-roasted coffee, and earthiness. Smelling the glass again, I noticed tobacco, leather, Maillard, light smoke, floral, and grassy.
Sipping the beer, I taste toasted dark bread, dried cherries, toffee, anise, vanilla, raisins, toffee, caramel, chocolate, Maillard, treacle, flower bouquet, light smokiness, oak, whiskey, char, dark roasted malts, medium-roasted, and earthiness.
The mouthfeel is smooth and chewy, finishing slightly warm. The body is heavy and low in carbonation.
The beer has a lot of malts, which makes it sweeter. The oak is a tad heavy-handed but not overwhelming. The beer's adjunct adds depth to the barrel aging. It's a tasty beer!

 

Black color. Nice, beige head. Sweet aroma of vanilla, coffee, wood, and some alcohol. Sweet, heavy taste with strong roasted bitterness for balance. Great sipper to share with a friend.

A - Opaque warm black body with a short tan head that fades to a wispy cap and a tan rim with some small bubble lacing.

S - Sharp, sharp nose of alcohol, with vanilla barrel notes over a brownie dough chocolate undercurrent.

T - The open is full of vanilla and a big blast of booziness, when the middle blooms with chocolate brownie dough, and a touch of oak that trails in the finish.

M - Mild carbonation, thick and sticky on the tongue, with alcohol warmth and a bit of a building weight as consumed.

O - A big, lush brew that does indeed age well. This one was acquired in 2021, so it has almost 4 years on it. Delicious.

2017 bottle. Pours black with no head. Nose has great blend of vanilla and chocolate notes with a hint of cherry. Taste is amazing bringing out the oak and highlighting the vanilla on the big base with other berry flavors of raspberry, mild strawberry. Body is as big as it gets and is the best of any ale out there. Carbonation is near zero, and that's ok. Age has done this one well at 7 years.

 

 

 

 

12oz bottle poured into a snifter
Bottled 7/6/17

A- pours black in color with a one-finger foamy khaki head that reduces to a ring

S- aroma is dominated by vanilla; vanilla marshmallow, vanilla bean and vanilla cream. Undertones of brownie batter, chocolate, chocolate icing, charred malt, caramel & molasses

T- dark chocolate and charred malt up front, along with sweet notes of caramel. Mid-palate brings out the vanilla, which comes across as a marshmallow note. The finish gives a hint of oak, along with some boozy malt. Lingers of vanilla and chocolate

M- medium-heavy body with moderate carbonation leads to a foamy mouthfeel that turns into a creamy, warming finish

12 ounce bottle poured into a snifter.
Bottled 6/15/17

Blacking out the glass with root beer brown showing around the edges, capped with a thin tan head that was gone in a flash. It leaves a leggy brown slick on the glass when tilted.

The nose lacks the vanilla that I noted in fresher bottles but the malty dark fruit and molasses aromas are strong and inviting. Alcohol aroma and flavor are rather reasonable but it is warming. Sweet and malty up front with some hop and roast bitterness closing it out. Still getting some light vanilla flavor with dark fruit/sugar but the oak character has disappeared. Full bodied and creamy with low carbonation, lower than I had noted.

It seems to me that the sweetness, bitterness and heat have all mellowed while the overall impression has survived. As the bottle states, this "Ages Well". Enjoyable and surprisingly easy to sip. Well done!

Bottle from Whole Foods-Sonoma. Silky, oily black pour, small tan head fades to a tiny ring. Aroma is sweet, molasses and brown sugar, marshmallows. Taste brings some of the roast grain bitterness, more of the vanilla sweetness, and plenty of alcohol heat. Bittersweet and burn, yet smooth.

 

Bottled 2020: Black as night. Thick pour. No head. Intense smell of black cherry, dark chocolate, vanilla (in that order). Luxurious, complex taste profile…coats the mouth with a light, oily sweetness. Licorice, cherry, vanilla, chocolate. Best to sip and enjoy each in its own right.

This beer reminds me of barrel-aged Ten Fiddy. That, my friends is some of my highest praise.