Deschutes The Abyss

Brewed by Deschutes Brewery
Style: Imperial Stout
Bend, Oregon USA

07 vintage out of the bottle. Chocolate, coffee liqueur and funk in the aroma with a hint of licorice. Very dark brown, but not black with a dark brown head. This is heavy but not too thick. Its very chocolatey, like drinking chocolate syrup, but good. Licorice, molasses, leather, coffee, and oak are also big players in the flavor. The oakiness is very well integrated and not too strong, it builds more in the finish, where the oak adds to good bitterness, higher than in most imperial stouts. I was hoping for more of a bourbon flavor, but I didn’t get that. A very good stout, though.

[1921-20081222] 1pt6floz bottle. Dark roasted molasses dipped in bread chunks aroma with coffee hints. Black body with a long-lasting creamy dark brown head. Dark roasted malt flavour with sweet molasses and coffee beans and slightly smoky wood. Full body is smooth with hidden alcohol. Surprisingly simple and very, very good, any girl might steal a glass of this...
(Vintage 2007; w/ GregClow, jerc)

Side by side with ’08 from Bevmo, San Marcos, CA. and ’06 from Drewbeerme. ’06 - Opaque black with small burnt tan head. Aroma is dirty coffee, strawberry,surprisingly fresh smelling, chocolate milk, well rounded. Flavor is chocolate, coffee, pine, sweet, resiny. Medium bodied, low carbonation. Nice aging. 8 5 7 3 16 = 3.9 ’08- opaque black with large burnt tan head. Big hop aroma, green, coffee and chocolate roastiness. Flavor is sweet chocolate, burnt ashy, weird. Medium to light body, light carb. Very green, big difference between the two. 7 5 6 3 14 = 3.5 obviouly preffered the aged version

07 Bottle. Extremely slick body, well integrated alcohol and subtile bourbon notes. Flavour is very sweet and dark of vanilla, dark and light chocolate, molasses, liqourice and caramell. The finish is long, somewhat warming with a biting bitterness and a sweet liqourice note lingering forever.

Extra nice chocolate smoothness with a hint of vanilla and bourbon coming through. One of the better stouts out there and worth seeking out. Pours dark with a nice 1/2 finger chocolate head.Drinks very smooth and hides the alcohol content very well!

2007 Bottle. Pours an almost black, touches of brown, really nice looking medium brown head. Aroma is roasted malt, touches of bourbon, chocolate and anise. Flavor is a complex mix of roasted malt, chocolate, vanilla, bourbon and anise. The finish is bitter and this beer stays on your tongue for a long time after. Easily one of the most multi-faceted beers I have ever had so far. So many things hit you at different times that you are noticing new things with almost every sip.

Motor Oil. Licorice dark roast vanilla chocolate. Bourbon some smoke. Creamy smooth. Oily. Licorice.

Nice, black, roasty goodness. Don;t see why all the hype on this beer. A standard, albeit very good, imperial stouts. Probably a bit too much licorice and astingency for my taste. More big and bad than rich and smooth.