Deschutes The Abyss

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

On tap at Churchill’s in San Marcos, Ca. Incredibly dark and viscous with a large, very dark tan head. Aroma low on hops but strong on the roasted barley with background chocolate and coffee and alcohol. Flavor is hugely dominated by coffee but develops quite a bit. Strong molasses flavor in the beginning but that soon develops into roasted barley, coffee, a small bit of chocolate, vanilla, and a strange sweetness I can’t put my finger on (actually was a rather dissapointing part of this beer.) Finishes with a huge coffee bitterness that I don’t think was favorable. Overall... good, but an off flavor that made it less enjoyable.

Thanks to puzzl and/or EDA for this one... I can’t remember which of them actually gave this to me. Pitch black, sticky and oily pour topped by a thick dark brown head. Aroma is really intense, heavy roast, rich sweet cocoa and chocolate, light licorice and a very soft and surprisingly subtle oak/bourbon vanilla character as well. The aroma is really lovely, molasses, dates, brown sugar and rich cocoa/vanilla. Really lovely aroma that is rich and sweet. The flavour is equally intense, rich roast/cocoa with a lovely oaky sweetness that accents rather then dominating everything. Sweet and chewy with some light molasses and brown sugar. Even a hint of smokey roast. Really tasty impy stout.

Dark, with thick, rich light brown head. Earthy, coffee-laden aroma, quite woody. Soft, sweet but bitter espresso bean flavor. Extremely roasty with a significantly bitter finish.

2007 bottle courtesy of iowaherkeye. Pours black with the prettiest dark tan head that slowly subsides. Aroma of rich sweet malt, oatmeal, coffee, molasses, and just a touch of bourbon. Flavor of sweet molasses and sweet malt, smoked and charred malt with some woodsy notes. Thick mouthfeel with an alcohol burn in the finish. Just a little bourbon, which works well for me. This gets a little too sweet by the end and is a bit hard to drink. I liked it but would prefer better drinkability.

Bottle and tap ratings averaged.

Bottle. Aroma starts off with a strong coffee character before developing into a blend of coffee, chocolate, molasses, and complex notes from the subtle bourbon aging that seem to come and go, sometimes with more bourbon, sometimes with more wood, sometimes with more alcohol sweetness. Flavor is big with the same notes, and I continued to be impressed with the subtle yet tantalizing bourbon component. Bitterness arrives cumulatively in the form of hops, bitter coffee, and intensely roasted malt as the glass goes down, building on the tongue and in the back of the mouth, balancing out all the sweetness in a businesslike but necessary manner. Huge creamy mouthfeel. Great beer. 8-5-8-4-16/4.1

On tap at the third release 11/08. I didn’t take notes, but looking over my first rating, it sounds pretty accurate. However, the incredible balance of bitter coffee (especially at the finish) with the rich, chocolaty malt and sweet subtleties contributed by the bourbon really stood out to me in this super fresh form. This balance also translated perfectly to the mouthfeel which became unbelievably silky, milky smooth, less viscous than than my impressions from the bottle, but losing nothing in richness. 8-4-10-5-20/4.7

pours thick with a small brown head. the aroma has lots of spice in it and some nice hops. Flavor was bitter, with a burnt coffee and some hops. It hid the 11% alcohol very well. All in all this is a good beer though a bit one dimensional on flavor.

Thick black pour with a red brown head. Very nice looking, although a bit thinner than other imperial stouts. Very spicy hoppy aroma, surprising for this style. Coffee and cream as well as some floral notes. Hoppy bitter flavor. Very dry. Chocolate, coffee and cream. Lots of alcohol lingers in the mouth.

A black appearance with a moderate tan head. The aroma is dark chocolate, coffee, licorice, raisins, and some alcohol. The flavor is rather sweet with more dark chocolate, coffee, molasses, and raisins. The finish is very smooth considering the ABV. Overall a very good beer!