Brew Reviews

Dogfish Head World Wide Stout

DISCLAIMER .... DRUNK REVIEW.

Availability: Limited edition (2003 vintage).

Price comparison: About 2½ times the price of everyday beer.

Alcohol percentage by volume: This year's offering is 21%, so, sort of the opposite of 12% Beer.

Cute bottle/label? Standard 12-ounce brown glass with a matte label proclaiming the contents to have been brewed with "a ridiculous amount of barley." Dogfish Head never fails to amuse me.

Appearance: Pours as dark and thick as yesterday's coffee, with a deep beige head that disappated quickly with no lace.

Scent: The first aroma I detected was booze, pure and simple. On closer inspection, I still couldn't decide what it was that I was smelling: sort of like caramel, sort of like banana, sort of like plum-flavored Jelly-Belly^® brand jellybeans.

Flavor: Rum, black grape, and malt, with a more-pronounced alcohol burn than the 120-minute IPA.

Impressions: My first taste of this caused me to take the Lord's name in vain, and subsequent tastings made me commit repeat blasphemy. I don't care what the label says, this isn't stout. It's hardly beer - I think it's more of a barleywine. Not that I care so much.

Will I buy this beer again? Not now. 'Cos I'm, you know, drunk and things. I will buy more as soon as I can, and I so owe Laura a bottle.

But for now I shall just sit quietly and hum to myself.

Rating:

Beyond the cute beer glass. You know what this means, don't you?

5 out of 5 GOLD CHALICES

Dogfish Head 120-Minute I.P.A.

DISCLAIMER .... Extremely drunk review following. Read at your own risk, drink at your own risk, hell, I'm so toasted I don't particularly care. Also, misspellings, typos, and profanity may ensue. No surprises here whatsoever.

Price comparison: Over 6 times the price of everyday beer. And worth Every. Fucking. Penny. I, however, did not pay for this. Laura did. And she wouldn't take any money from me for it. Did I mention I love Laura? I don't actually know her very well, but I think she is a true friend.

Alcohol percentage by volume: A lot. Wait. I have to look it up. Assuming I can read. Just hold on. Um. Yeah. 20%. Need I say more?

To think I used to be impressed by the concept of 12% beer. (Well, diary-wise, I still am. But this India pale ale is off every chart I ever knew existed.)

Cute bottle/label? A standard 12-ounce brown glass, with a beige matte label. Description on the side referring to itself as the "holy grail for hopheads". Awfully vain but, as far as I'm concerned, with good reason.

Appearance: Butterscotch-colored, clear pour. The head didn't impress but the lace did. It left traces all the way down the glass.

Scent: The first whiff was booze, pure and simple. Very sweet and flowery overall.

Flavor: Tasted more like wine than beer. Lots of sweetness. Reminiscent of going out to bars late at night and having a lot of beer, then a lemon drop or a shot of peppermint schnapps, or both, then having a boilermaker, then having more beer.

Impressions: I'm terribly drunk, but in that good way. Aside from its high alcohol content, this I.P.A. is just plain delicious, and I drank it quickly, between gasps of "Oh, my God, this is so good." I'll rate it tonight, to be sure, but I have never drunk a beer of this caliber before and although I'm in love right now, I don't know how I'll feel about it tomorrow. If my mind changes, I'll let you know. I will tell you, however, that I'm pretty sure that calling this "beer" is rather stretching the definition. There's a picture of hops on the label, and a reference to hops on the description, but I couldn't detect much beerlike in either the aroma or the flavor. This is either wine of some sort, or it's ambrosia. (That's how much I feel - sorry. I had a '70's moment.)

Will I buy this beer again? Not now. Can't drive. But it tastes amazing. And I so owe Laura a bottle.

Rating:

I need a new rating. Not higher than 5 cute beer glasses, which is a perfect score ... but, well, unique. This is a beyond-beer experience and calls for a specialized rating system.

5 out of 5 GOLD CHALICES