Dogfish Head "Utopias Barrel-Aged World Wide" Stout

Fresh off the trilogy of Goose Island beers that have similarly been barrel aged, I got this beer from my sister in law. I immediately told her that I'd already had this beer, and I liked it. She told me to look closer, and this one is aged in Utopias barrels. I don't know why Sam Adams decided to partner in this way, but I'm going to just dive into this sucker.

The syrupy black beer is a bit mahogany at the free ends, and I hurried to get the head in the picture and pretty much failed. It went away very quickly, and possibly a dozen small bubble floating here and there give an indication that the beer has carbonation at all. The aroma is laden with chocolate malt and booze with a solid oak backing. As this is an unusual beer, I’m going to take a whiff of the Utopias that I happen to have sitting around. The Utopias is stronger and sweeter than the stout, but the stout seems more accessible.

First sip has quite a bit of the barrel-aged wood and booze quality, but I’m not sure I’m picking out the Utopias in it. Instead, the thick chocolate malt is shining through with earth and a dry finish rounding things out. I don’t have the original version of the World Wide Stout on hand to compare this to, and I’m kind of regretting that now. I’m not sure what impact the Utopias is really having on this. I assume the heavy booze taste.

Tip-in is sweet chocolate with light vanilla over a slightly cherry syrup and no carbonation to speak of. The middle suddenly swells with carbonation as the booze just about takes over and pushes the attempt at a chocolate malt to the side. The finish is dryer with a slight bitterness from the chocolate hitting as sweetness is left on the lips.

Bottom Line: An interesting experiment.

3.0/5