Deschutes The Abyss

22 oz bottle shared by me, myself and I. Hot damn, what a great representative of the style. I had ridiculously high expectations for this one due to all the great reviews. Well it fortunately did not disappoint. Everything that all RIS’s aspire to be. The chocolate, espressso flavors are very apparent right from the get go. Very smooth and finishes like silk. Unbelievable.

Bottle shared by some of the excellent people at the Rosso release at Captain Lawrence. Pours a deep brown to black with a rich brown colored head. Aromas of wine, smoke, coffee, and bitter chocolate. Body is smooth and medium thick. Some sweetness, but nothing cloying. Finishes with more of that lovely bitter chocolate flavor. Remarkably complex. Can’t wait to try this one again.

-2006 bottle 11/12/2007 This was a 2006 bottle I have been sitting on for almost a year and I figured it was time to drink up and give it a half-assed review. This was the second time I had this beer and all I remember from the first ingestion was that it was good. This too was pretty damned good. Black color, small tan head, and smells like licorice and chocolate. The taste is more licorice, chocolate, excellent. The alcohol is non-existent until the beer is gone and then it sneaks up, good thing I didn’t drink the whole bottle. The mouthfeel is sticky and slightly thick but not quite as thick as Dark Lord. Good job Deschutes. -2007 bottle-02/23/2008 green, meaning green apples (acetylaldehyde?) and odd, licorice taste and as it warmed a nice choco-ashen flavor, syrupy, too expensive. I preferred the 2006 to this so I will let my remaining bottles cellar... -2007 vintage 11/03/08 Smells like a nice hefty, roasty RIS with a good dose of alcohol and a touch of malted milk balls. The taste is bitter, like old and cold coffee, gritty and grainy. As it warms up it gets better but seems to have a tough edge to it. -2006 vintage 12/14/08 Excellent, malted milk balls and milkshakes, tastes like bitter coffee, no alcohol, no bourbon but wow! Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 11-12-2007 17:03:49

2008 Bottle. Pours black like motor oil with a deep brown head. Definitely one to share with a friend, the flavors are so complex that you really shouldn’t drink it alone! Molasses, coffee. The oak aging gives it a wonderful mouthfeel, very soft.

I’m not sophisticated enough to find all the "coffee" and "salty licorice" and "smoke" and whatever else this beer might taste like, but I know that it blew me away with its full, sharp, roasted flavor; its pitch-black color; and its thick and engulfing mouthfeel. It seems like there is no water in this beer. I had it on tap at Suds & Suds in Corvallis, Oregon. This is also my first review.

2007 bottle courtesy of Beerlando. Pour was pitch black, oily and thick Rich chocolate molasses aroma. Flavor was initially chocolate, smoke, vanilla, malts and increasingly improved with flavor as it warmed. This one definitely lived up to the hype for me.

22oz 2008 Vintage mail order from LiquorMax - Looked like two stroke oil in a glass with the consistency to match. The glass would actually coat as the liquid clinged to it. Nice dark tan head, and very little nose, mostly roasted malts. Almost nothign on first contact, air contact gave an immediate shot of burnt toast. A blast of hops followed, and the burnt toast returned and lingered in an unpleasant way. This thing finished like a shot of Jameson’s, and it’s not for me. I would defer to the Stone IRS.

Pours thick and rich black with brown head. As strange as it sounds for an imperial stout, this beer is all about balance. The aroma contains beautiful delicate notes of oak and vanilla on a bold background of dark chocolate, roasted coffee, and licorice. Flavor is even better- a glorious melding of dark chocolate, coco, bourbon, and oak up front, settling into some roasted coffee bitterness, licorice, and some slight piney hop bitterness lurking in the background. Palate is full and rich, and surprisingly not a sticky as I anticipated. One of the best.