Bourbon Barrel-Aged World Wide Stout
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

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.

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.

 

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.

 

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

 

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.

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.

 

 

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.

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.

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.

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.

 

Used motor oil black with a brief brown colored head that goes away quickly.

Smells incredibly sweet strong molasses scent. Distinctly Boozy. Some vanilla and oak. Mostly this is molasses and Booze.

Starts out savory and sweet. Molasses and Booze! I get the sensation I am drinking Molasses Schnapps. Boozy but not particularly flavorful.

Mouthfeel is thick.

Overall it seems to sacrifice too much for the Alcohol Level

12 oz bottle, born on 11/10/19, poured into a taster glass at 55 degrees F. Side by Side tasting with Dogfish Head 120 minute IPA, and ultimately will be combining them to create 'Heaven and Hell':
L - dark with a dark hazelnut head that quickly disappeared
S - molasses, roasted malt
T - bourbon, molasses, a bit of roasted malt
F - thick mouthfeel with minimal carbonation
O - very good, quite robust, bourbon on the finish

 

Poured a minimal khaki head that quickly died on top of a motor-oil black body. The aroma is boozy, woody, and mostly chocolate is what I'm getting although the booze is not really strong considering the ABV. Opposite of the aroma, somewhat, I found the beer to be very boozy with chocolate stickiness in a full bodied-beer that also has hints of dark fruits. Woodiness of beer makes it somewhat easy to drink, but it's not slick thanks both to booze and the sticky feel of the beer.

Pours our dark brown almost black. A line of dark khaki/caramel colored foam forms and disappears on an aggressive pour.

Nose is a huge waft of candied dark fruit right out of the gate. Searching deeper, you get that classic bourbon presence. Saturated oak wood and vanilla. Dark chocolate dances around in your peripheral, but if you look for it, it's hard to spot. The bourbon soaked, brown sugar covered dark fruit dominates. It reminds me quite a bit of Belgians and Strong Ales.

The taste is where it reminds you of a stout. The bourbon, oak, and dark fruit show up, but are also joined by a roasty, almost spicy quality. The time on this one has definitely brought out that amazing brown sugar flavor that heavily malted stouts usually tend to evolve into.

Mouthfeel is full-bodied with mild carbonation and a strong drying quality on the back end. It's not super dense and thick like some stouts. Not cloying or sticky which is astounding considering the percent.

Overall a great DFH brew to finish the week with. A stout that has unraveled into what almost seems like a Belgian Strong. I love that. I sat and sipped this happily while I watched NileRed turn cotton balls into cotton candy.

 

bottled 11/01/2019 - drank 07/10/2021
Pour is deep brown / black with a thin, fizzy deep khaki head that fades quickly to nothing. Not unusual for such a high ABV beer.
Nose is soft bourbon, fudge, marshmallow.
Taste is soft bourbon, oaky vanilla, finishes with fudge, chocolate. Medium light alcohol burn on the finish.
body is a bit thin.

Poured chilled from the growler into a goblet

The colour is opaque black as pitch with medium brown head with fine bead. The rate is very good with lace sticking to the glass

The smell is very good with devils food aroma of cocoa an vanilla with mild wood and subtle scent of dried fruit.
The feel is excellent with a rich malty sweetness and roast with moderately carbonated and mild alcohol in a semi dry finish
The flavor is excellent with intense cocoa truffle and mild woodineess with slight smoky coffee like french roast and mild raisin quality in the yeast yet a mellow plum and dark currant is present with a light caramel in the back. The stout is intensely malty yet the wood in the barrel aging comes through with subtle vanilla and nutty flavor

The overall enjoyment from this barrel aged stout is very high, the flavor is great with rich mouthfeel and pleasant aromatics this deserves the high ratings. I held on to this from 2018 and it has almost no alcohol presence which I appreciate the base stout is great but this is just a 'whole 'nother level'

On tap at Dominion Wine & Beer. Not too sweet but a bit too hot for me. Very warming. Vanilla, spices, roastiness closing in on burnt, spirits. Aroma is sweeter than the taste. The 18.3% is in your face.

12 oz. bottle. Black, but slightly transparent. Smells of bourbon, alcohol, roasted malt,light fruitiness ,chocolate. Tastes of bourbon, oak, chocolate, lots of alcohol, roasted malt. Never too sweet, but quite alcoholic. Surprisingly good.

On tap at Dogfish Head Brewings and Eats in Rehoboth Beach, DE. 2019 batch.

This one pours a very dark black color, with a small head, and no lacing.

This smells like dark fruit, rich and intense char, bourbon, oak, smoke, deep dark chocolate, and vanilla.

World Wide is one of the few high octane gasoline-style beers from DFH that I do like, and this really does improve it. Some of that booze is tempered by the barrel-aging, giving the impression that this beer already has had five years on it. That boozy character has subsided, leaving an intense charred oak and bourbon character, big roast character, port, raisins, and vanilla.

This is thick, and creamy, and definitely a slow sipper, as you can feel the heft on this one.

This brings me back to why I used to love Dogfish Head when I first was getting into beer - the barrel aging process has really improved this (already pretty solid) stout.

 

 

L-Pours jet black with little head. leaves a creamy ring of tan head on the edge of the glass

S- RAISINS. fruity, nutty, sweet, toffee. Almost reminiscent of a port wine.

T- A delicate balance of sweet, sour and bitter. You get a bit of coffee notes, alcohol notes, and some subtle fruitiness. This is all rounded out by the bourbon in the back ground.

F- Round medium body. Leave behind some stickiness.

O- This is a very tasty and incredibly complex imperial stout. The aroma is fantastic and might be my favorite part.

 

 

BBA World Wide Stout from Dogfish Head. Purchased on 27/1/21 for $ 9.00 (Including tax) for a 12 oz bottle ($ 0.750/oz) from Franklin Beer, Franklin, PA. On the room temperature shelf at store and stored at home at 42 degrees. Reviewed 16/2/21. (Note: I use DD/MM/YY protocol.)
Stamped on neck in green ink “BOTTLED ON 11/01/19”. Served at 48.7 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. Final temperature 59.5 degrees.
Appearance – 3.5. Basically, looks like every other Imperial stout, sans head.
First pour – Brown (SRM 20), clear.
Body – Brown (SRM 20), opaque. When rear-lite, light penetration occurs around the brown edges.
Head – Small (Maximum 0.5 cm, aggressive center pour), bronze, low density and fizzy, gone in seconds, creating an irregular ring of ever-renewing bubbles heavily fed by effervescence, and no cap.
Lacing – None, as expected at 18.3% ABV.
Aroma – 3.5– Begins with bourbon and a bit of brown sugar, no hops, no yeast.
Flavor – 3.75 – Begins with a moderate bourbon-malt sweetness which slowly leaves a bitter aftertaste. No hops, no yeast. No alcohol (18.3 % ABV, according to BA, NOT marked on the container) flavor or aroma. A molten bolus passes down my esophagus and collects in my stomach where it eventually burns itself out.
Palate – 3.75 – Full, syrupy, soft carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 3.75 The best term to describe this is “Raw”, although it does slightly mellow as it warms. I was expecting a bit of roasted malt or at least a touch of graininess since this is “A very dark ale with a ridiculous amount of barley”. Nope – straight bourbon extract. I suspect this needs to age another few years before consumption – may be a good choice for Extreme Beer Fest 2031.

owch. Look out Bourbon County... objects in mirror may be closer than they appear...

very minimal and quickly-diminishing top, smell of the nuts, fruits, the malts, and.... definitely the booze. no point in being polite here. taste is roast, char, vanilla, coffee, dark chocolate, bitter, but with these sweet, fruity and syrupy notes hovering overhead (impressive for no admitted adjuncts). swallow is thick, potent, perfume-y for sure. and in its lingering is a complex bitter-sweetness. Real back-of-the-throat aftertaste. Leaves one pondering for words, indeed. Might prove a fitting temporary relief from a toothache too, not to get all homeopathic about it...

It goes down and gets in intoxicating-ly and lovely.

and to think i just scooped up a case of this on a lucky find... think it's gonna be the lifetime supply. Profound stuff, and milestone occasion stuff.

 

 

Bottled 11/1/19
tasted on 2021/1/12

look: very deep amber, 85% black, mocha head, bubbly

smell: bourbon, raisin, cookie, vanilla

taste: condensed soy sauce, smoky, coffee, raisin, date, nut

feel: boozy, warm, balanced on bitterness and sweetness, medium body,

overall: a great beer, $10 a bottle for 12oz, cheers!

Wood and bourbon/alcohol/heat on nose. Not a whole lot otherwise.

Taste is a lot more chocolate than nose would suggest. Some bourbon as well. But lots of heat.

Feel is smooth an lightly carbonated.

Overall. Just a little too much heat.

Bottled 11/1/19

Merry Christmas BA. My first beer to celebrate the holiday. Things are real weird this year, so I figured I'd crack open something special to celebrate. Here we just have a straight up barrel aged stout, no added bullshit. I have high expectations here

Pours a very dark brown bordering on black with less than a finger of tan head that quickly dissipates to a thin ring and leaves no lacing but has nice legs given the high abv

The aroma here is quite simple really, the dark roasted malt leads with supporting notes of oaky bourbon, vanilla, dates, and light bodied coffee

The flavor expands upon the nose a bit, starting off with notes of chewy but light malt, milk chocolate, and slightly astringent coffee, really starts light for what it is. The swallow suggests the higher abv that it truly is, bringing notes of straight up bourbon, molasses, dates, raisins, and bittersweet chocolate

The body is interesting here. Definitely full and silky, but it starts off feeling very light. Like, sub 6% light, which is wild when you think about it. After a while the mild carbonation and the swallow reveal a much heavier beer, which is thick and dessert-like without being overly sweet

This was a wonderful imperial stout. The holidays can be a hard time for me, especially given the circumstances this year. I'm thankful for this community as I drink this wonderful beer. Cheers BA, merry Christmas and happy holidays

Pours black, not particularly thick appearing, some translucent brown on the edges, small light tan head dissipates very quickly. Aroma is super huge chocolate fudge and nice balancing booze. Huge barrel notes with wonderful smooth bourbony vanilla and charred oak. Dark fruits, roasted malt and subtle fine coffee round out this phenomenal nose. Taste is very good but not quite the voluptuousness of the aroma. Notably less sweet fudge notes, huge roastiness, surprising amount of bitterness, some
black coffee, subtly syrup like sweetness. Big barrel notes with charred oak being the most notable bourbon character. Mouthfeel is actually pretty smooth with a really impressively masked ABV and dangerous drinkability. Overall an excellent beer, I am a big fan of the DFH extreme ABV series and this is no exception. Very well done.


4/4.75/4.25/4.75/4.5