Rating: 6/6

2017 Oak-Aged Vanilla World Wide Stout by Dogfish Head is a 16% ABV Imperial Stout brewed with Vanilla beans and aged in oak.

Label:

Stout aged in oak on vanilla beans

Commercial Description:

Brewed with a ridiculous amount of barley, we’ve now taken this Dogfish Head classic and aged it on oak with real vanilla beans! With a little tender love and care we foster this beer from smooth, sweet wort into the big, bad blackend stout it always longed to be. Its bold, port-like complexity goes great with (or as) dessert.

==Introduction==
Back in 2012, along with 120 minute IPA and Fort were some of the most strongest beers I have ever had. At the time, super strong beers were hard to come by and these 3 beers were insane to find. So much so, that I had not brought them back for a review until this year. The original World Wide Stout is still a miss for me and I have not found it again in bottle form. So when I saw the made a vanilla oak aged one, I definitely had to bring it to the site. While I have enjoyed many vanilla stouts and even spirit aged vanilla beers, I have not had a chance to try an original like this that was aged on vanilla and oak. Especially for that 16% ABV which at the time, the original, was 18%!Let’s have a go at this monster and see if you should seed out this special treasure, cheers!

Aromas:

Rich marshmallow, chocolate smores, fruit cake, oak, roasted coffee, dark chocolate, dark fruits, rum hints, toasted coconut, pecan pie, molasses, mint, Irish cream, Danish cream, flan, bananas foster, hazelnut nectar, and banana sundae.

Flavors:

Super rich vanilla, oak, smokey hints, roasted barley, dulce de leche caramel, flan, sweetened condensed milk, pecan ice cream, tiramasu, mocha, specialy coffee, hazelnut nectar, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, Belgian chocolate, German chocolate, Bakers chocolate, banana sundae, cookie dough ice cream, Irish cream, Danish cream, chocolate mousee, pecan pie, dark frui raisins, figs, plums, dark cherries, raspberry Chambord, blueberry notes, marshmallow smores, rocky road ice cream, bourbon hints, rum notes, toasted coconut, molasses, cinnamon, burnt sugar, Jericalla Jaliscan custard, Bananas foster, grilled plantains in powdered sugar over with raspberry syrup and crème brulee.
Aftertaste:

Finishing up with complex chocolate, banana sundae, vanilla, fruit cake, custards, mocha, dark fruit, caramels, crème brulee, flan, marshmallow, coconut, oak, burnt sugar and rum notes. Despite the 16% ABV, it is hard to find the alcohol. I am not even sure why, I should sense some type of slight booziness but all I taste is complex flavors. Pitch dark black full body, creamy, velvety, smooth and rich chewy mouthfeel along with a sipping drinkability.

Overall:

Fucking exceptional! It was only in March 2017 that I had tried the original on tap by a lucky find and now this?!?! Well this blows everything into high gear! Lots of rich oak, vanilla and so much complexity that even at the high level of ABV content, it sure is damn hard to see where the alcohol went to. Anyways, if you love specialty stouts, I highly recommend this one, if you can find it!

Anime Corner:

Cryska Bachernowa from the Muv-Luv Alternative Total Eclipse series was used in the original World Wide Stout when I first tried it years ago. So since I could not find another WWS to bring to the site, I settled with bringing her again to this beer and showcasing some colors what would fit with the original (and apparently, the new label as well) with the yellow. This is not a Russian stout but the extra roastiness and body of the beer makes it so and so aside from the colors, she is also Russian to boot! So there is much to complement with this type of pairing for sure!