Dogfish Head World Wide Stout 2002 (23%)
This listing encompasses the November, 2002 release (23% abv). This release can be identified by the use of black ink to cross out the words "Vim and Vigor" printed on the label.
3.9
380 reviews
Milton, United States
Community reviews
Bottle at USA comes to Skövde. Pitch black beer, almost no head. Malty boozy aroma, chocolate, caramel, salt, leather, figs, dades, vinous, roasted, sweet, cocoa. Sweet raisin flavor, dades, salt, syrup, vinous, caramel, leather, salt, cocoa, chocolate. Boozy of course, but with quite a lot of other flavors.
Sampled at USSkovde
Very darks brown. No head.
Very vinous; sweet fruits, chocolate,
The flavour Is sweet.; very sweet.
Chocolate, leather, figs, dates.
Sampled at UCTS testing. Pours dark brown with no real head. Smell roasted candy malty, abit raisins. Tastes arrack, raisins roasted malt and very sweet and alot alcohol.
Bottle @ rlgk’s tasting. Pours clear brown mahogany with red tones no head. Aroma is vinous alcohol fruity raisiny vanilla fidges sweet grapes. Flavor is sweet fruity malty slightly toasted bitter raisiny phenolic boozy. Finishes bitter sweet malty.
The second perfect beer I’ve ever had, and is currently my Holy Grail of Brews....The only gripe I could make is lack of availability world wide.....Love it Love it Love it...
Bottle graciously shared by Keith at STL RB gathering, thanks! This was a great treat. Pour is dusty dark brown with no head at all. Aroma goes on for days and is accented by notes of cocoa powder, light fruitiness, faint roasted maltiness, and a lightly dusty note. This aroma is incredible. Flavor is quite sweet. Notes of roasted malt poking through with hints of dark fruit and burnt brown sugar. This beer is very brandy-like at this point. Quite sweet but hides its alcohol so well. A real treat, I loved it. the 1-1.5 oz serving I had was plenty though. A sipper for sure.
Bottle shared by kwoeltje- thanks a ton, Keith! Pours a murky, dark, deep brown color with no head. Looks dangerous. Aroma of huge dark fruity notes (dates, figs, raisins), molasses, soy, and some booze- tannins really coming through. Flavor of molasses, brown sugar, roasted malts, syrup, ash, and dark fruits. Full-bodied, with a smooth, thick, sweet, chewy mouthfeel and low carbonation. Sweet and rich. Doesn’t seem like 23% ABV, but feels "big" in every way. I liked it just a tad more than the 2009 we had next to it.
Sampled at the StL RB gathering. It poured a dark color with a little head. The aroma was of syrup, berries and a scent of alcohol. The flavor was present but hidden by the sweetness and flavors of raisons. A very good Imperial Stout.
Tasted at 2nd STL Ratebeer Gathering, thanks for sharing a remarkably rare offering! Poured an opaque black color with no head whatsoever. Alcoholic perfume aroma. Profoundly sweet flavor, like a sack mead. I just don’t understand how there is so much sweetness left after the yeast digested up to 23% alcohol. Subtle hints of dark fruit, toffee, burnt toast. Very heavy body, syrupy mouthfeel, medicinal aftertaste. Gave me shivers just like strong liquor. I feel bad looking this gift horse in the mouth. I know it took a feat in brewing science, and is highly sought-after, but it really wasn’t very pleasant. I am nonetheless grateful I got to try it ten years after release.
Sampled at STL RB Gathering - Pours very dark brown with no head. The aroma is very roasty with soy sauce, alcohol, figs, dates, raisins and dark berries. Full / thick body that’s rich and slick with almost no carbonation remaining. The flavor starts off with ltos of molasses sweetness, smooth roast, oiliness, lots of dark fruits from the aroma and brown sugar. The finish keeps the sweetness going. Interesting beer. Didn’t think I’d get to have this version - big thanks to the RBer that shared this.
Sample courtesy of cgarvieuk. Thank you! Reddish black pour. Massive nose, rich sherry fruit, chocolate, booze, oak. Amazingly powerful. Similar flavours, overwhelmingly sweet sherry front, treacle, molasses even, slight roast chocolate malt flavours and a huge boozy warm finish. Wow. Need more of this!
[12floz bottle, courtesy of cgarvieuk] [2002 vintage] Pours brownish/black, no real head to speak of. Thin bubbled lacing. Pure barrel-aged alcohol aroma. Viscous, super sweet, smooth syrupy on the palate. Some barrel oakyness on the flavour. Sweet sherry – it’s like drinking a pillow. Smooth. Figs and more marzipan – really amazing considering how old the beer is, it’s retained all of it’s punch over the years [13012012]
From bottle. Thanks Craig. Pours black with no head. Aroma has huge whiff of alcohol, chocolate. Taste has chocolate and licorice, roasty, dark fruits, fruity alcohol notes. Sweet with an alcohol finish. Could do with being reigned in a bit but very tasty
2002 bottle. Pours a very dark brown colour with a lacy tan head. Lots of alcohol aroma, a little fishy smoke with roasty malt, dark chocolate, caramel and a sake yeast character. Similar flavours with alcohol quite prominent, raisins, figs, roasty malt, chocolate and caramel again. A woody, sherry character also. Mild carbonation and an oily mouth-feel. Nice.
This 2002 vintage is courtesy of the tasting host and now father of two, Douglas. Thanks for this amazing treat and congratulations. It pours super dark void with thin mocha head and some legginess. The aroma is pulsing yumminess with sweet caramel candy, molasses, chocolate, more molasses and smooth sweet chewy maltiness. The taste is smooth yummy sweetness with molasses, sweet maple nectar and some rich maple pancake syrup. It then picks up rich sweet prune juice reduction and chewy rich smooth sweet maltiness. This seems it can’t get much better than this with additional aging. It seems near perfect today. Wow!
I got this bottle many years ago, perhaps 4 in a trade. Thanks to someone. Pours out a black sticky mess with legs and no head. The aroma is sweet nutty and boozy notes. A hot dark flavor with roast and dark juicy fruits, loads of heat, nutty and some coffee. Very good, this could age forever. Nine years has not mellowed it at all.
12oz bottle (11/2002) shared by Doug, thanks man and congratulations!
Appearance: Dark brown with a small white head, no lacing but good legs
Aroma: Roasted malts, dark fruit, chocolate and some hot alcohols
Taste: Roasted malts, dark fruit and chocolate
Great, smooth. This held up great for being 10 years old, probably has many years left.
2002 Vintage 23% ABV "Made With Vim and Vigor" is crossed out with a black magic marker. A big thanks to dickensonbeer on RB for tossing this legendary brew in as one of many extras on a great trade!!! Paul you are a trading/brewing god amongst men!
Bottle gave a faint carbonation hiss when the cap was opened.
Appearance: Pours black as night with a minimal brown crown that shows no retention or lace.
Smell: Deep roasted malt, hints of soy, umami, raisins, molasses, and a hint of salt!
Taste: WOW this is interesting! Very intense and full flavored! Fair amount of sugary malt sweetness as well as that saltiness up front, roast underneath, raisins, prunes, a hint of sherry, and some alcohol on the tale end.
Mouthfeel: Thick, thick, thick!
Overall: Not a session beer but a flavor explosion none the less!
Serving type: bottle
Reviewed on: 07-30-2011 01:10:29
Sehr alkohlischer, teilweise auch medizinischer Geruch. Starker Alkoholeinfluss bereits im Antrunk, dennoch stimmig. Weiter malzig mit leicht alkoholischer Süße, extrem voluminös, würziges Ende mit weiterhin alkoholischem Einfluss. Sehr spezielles Bier!
Test vom 12.8.2007, Gebinde: Glasflasche Noten: 12,14,12,13,10,14 - 13,15
Bottle, courtesy of DickinsonBeer, thanks! An almost opaque black beer, with virtaully no head, just a small ring that quickly disappears. The aroma is moderately malty and lightly yeasty. There are notes of port, sherry, molasses, dark fruits, alcohol, some roasted grain, hint of soy sauce. The flavour is "wildly" sweet, lightly sour. Full body, syrupy texture, flat/soft carbonation, long finish with a hint of bitterness, heavily alcoholic, sticky. It still tastes pretty good after all these years, but not my cup of tea, sticky, excessively sweet, syrupy and alcoholic. Anyway I’m happy to have tasted it.
2nd May 2009
Black obsidian stout with dark brown edges. No head whatsoever. Somewhat oily in appearance. Thin (thin?!!) semi dry palate. Astoninshing flavour. Rich port wine like red fruits well belnded with coffee and licorice. A little brandy in the finish which has a mild carbonated bite. As rich and as rewarding as proper (ie not yer £20 supermarkert Quinta) Vintage Port and just as complex! Never thought I would get to try this and without Ratebeer I would not have. Thanks RB!
12 oz bottle, courtesy Cheeseman. This one pours a dark mahogany brown color and topped by a small, fleeting head of tan colored foam. The aroma is complex and sweet showing notes of cocoa, rich caramel, dark fruits, and licorice. Figs and raisins add further sweetness to go with some vanilla and booze from the alcohol. The flavor follows with even more licorice and vanilla to go with the sugary sweet caramel, molasses, and stewed dark fruits. There is plenty of depth, but the booze and sweetness reign supreme. the body is thick and syrupy as you would expect with plenty of booze and a lengthy warming finish. This has certainly smoothed out some from the 8 years of age, as I am sure I wouldn’t have liked this fresh. Still it is just too over the top for me.
Tasted side by side with the 21% 2003 CA release. Mostly the same: Pours black as motor oil, minimal head that quickly vanished, never to be seen again. Boozy, dark fruit and coffee aromas. Dark chocolate and raisin flavors predominate, the alcohol is predominant.
Not quite as good as the 2003 that we had with it, it’s a little too overpowering and the carbonation isn’t there. Very port-like.
shared by Cheeseman. Licorice and alcohol are strong in the aroma. Pours a very dark brown black. Sweet licorice with sherry flavors and molasses with a creamy feeling. Very nice.
12oz bottle thanks to CheeseMan. Pours out thick and black. Nose is boozy, sweet malts, toffee, slight brown sugar. Flavor is same as the nose with the brown sugar, toffee, and sweetness with the booze showing up. Also get some roasted malts. Definitely can tell the high alcohol in this beer but I dig it.
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.
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.