Deschutes The Abyss

2009 Bottle. Dark, dark, dark pour. Smooth mouth feel, lots of dense flavors all smashed together. Damn tasty, but this needs some time in the bottle to chill out and let the flavors mature.

Bomber. 2009 vintage. Smells spicy. Also brown sugar, black licorice. Pours as black as can be with a nice head, good lacing. Tastes of licorice, molasses. Strong alcohol presence. Complex. This beer is still young. I plan on reranking it in a year; afterall, the bottle says it’s better after 11/1/10. It’s excellent now, I’m thinking it will be outstanding after that date.

The 2009 on tap at the Deschutes Portland location. Colour... black as night with a thick dark tan head. Nose... not much besides some sweet malt, gently hops and a hint of bourbon. Palate... opulent C02, frothy feel, anise, high cocoa mass chocolate, darkly roasted coffee, moderate smoke, oak, and hops and slightly boozy. Don’t like it as much as previous vintages that I tried on their release day (on tap). Likely needs time in the cellar. Should be bitchin’ in a year or so!

2008 Bottle... Pours a thick black with a dissipating brown head...Aroma is chocolate, licorice and coffee.. Flavor is dark chocolate, roasted malts and smoke, that’s pretty much all I can pick up from it. Don’t really pick up any sign of being in the barrel..A tad to thin for my impy stout likings...Not to bad but it didn’t blow my skirt up either.

Most recently at Parkway Tavern in Tacoma. This is a creeper. For an 11%, you’d think you would get punched in the teeth, but not so fast, my friends. Super dark pour, big dark malty taste, not crazy boozy, but you know from the first pull you’re into something.

courtesy of fiulijn - dark black colour with a little persistent dark beige foam; very roasted malty aroma with notes of smoked salami and molasses; very sticky and oily, full-bodied and salty; an explosive deep bitterness, dry and very bitter and salty aftertaste of roasted coffee, licorice and molasses; robust notes of burning alcohol and cold ashes - very complex; not a beer to sip in front of your football game!

On tap at Enoteca in Post Falls, ID Black gold. Pours dark and intimidating with a thick dark head. Aroma is powerful. Strong malts and determined hops, very smokey with lots of roasted barley. Flavor is intense. Robust roasted malts, wood, leather, smoke, coffee, and chocolate. At 11%abv you’d think the alcohol would be overpowering but you’d wrong. It’s masterfully hidden behind a monster malt backbone and a clever wall of hops. Still, this should come with a warning about operating heavy equipment after consuming.

2007 bottle... nice pour, doesn’t look really thick but it’s black as hell and has a nice brown head. The aroma is amazing... you can pick up the molasses and some of the bourbon. This stuff just smells great. The flavor didn’t hit me in the same way as the aroma, but it’s still pretty good. I’m not a big fan of licorice, and i think that’s what brought this down for me. Weak mouthfeel for an impy stout.