Deschutes The Abyss

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

A giant thanks to buckeyeboy. Enormously woody. Some texture to it with the wood, but a smooth finish. Vanilla and chocolate. Hops are in there and bring out that wood flavor, but not assertive. Bitterness is moderate and balances well. Very toasty too. There is a bit of salty soy sauce that creeps in at times that isn’t exactly great, but it stays mostly hidden. Gets even softer as it warms. There is a slight touch of bourbon, but it’s really just a nuance of the mild sweetness and assertive wood, not its own flavor. Bourbon does come out more as it warms as well. Alcohol can be tasted a bit on the breath, but just slightly. Complexity and the unique huge toasty oak flavor are the big strengths. Lots of points for not being just another imperial stout. However, that saltiness knocks it down a peg and prevents it from really reaching excellence.

Wow, this was some amazing stuff. Pours thick black with a thin tan head. Nice aroma of roasted malt, coffee, chocolate, and bourbon. Great flavor and well balanced, I wish I could get some more.

Thick black pour with nice roasty aroma. lots of roast, coffee, and chocolate flavor. very drinkable beer considering the freshness factor

Aroma is a deep sweet burnt scent. Color is deep, deep black with mellow carbonation and a thin tight brown head. Taste is roasted, sweet and dry. Starting with a full body it goes down with a sharp rich feel. Finish is rich with a deep roasted flavor that is a bit sweet and burnt nest a faint citric and hop flavor come in. The burnt taste comes out with a bitterness that is almost sour then there is a hint of oak and bourbon. After taste is dry with a tiny alcohol feel. As it warms a bit and you drink a bit more the hops show a little more. This is a wonderful Imperial Stout. Its deep, rich, complex and very well balanced.

Pours a deep coffee color with a dark tan head. Minimal lacing. Nose has a definite tone of licorice, moderated by coffee, chocolate and molasses. Very smooth presentation - licorice, toffee and molasses resting comfortably on a bed of alcohol. Mouthfeel was superb - silky and oily, but tempered by just the right amount of carbonation. Aftertaste lets you know there are hops and malt involved in the process. Interestingly, the foretaste lingers nicely as well. One piece of advice for the brewers - lose the wax. It’s a little precious. It’s also quite brittle and went all over my counter.

22oz from HimerMan - thanks, Brian!!! Last year I got a bottle from jake65 but I’m rating the 2007 bottling. Deep, oily, inky, with minimal head on this one. Very prominent molasses notes in the nose, and some of the sharpness of the licorice too (which comes through more in the flavor). I sticky, resinous body that’s just the ticket (wish it head slightly more vibrancy to it, but that’s not a big knock). This year’s young Abyss, however, is a bit less complex than less year’s. There are some nice malts, some earthy grain, and a shit-ton of roasted coffee dimensions, the latter of which tends to overwrite many of the other qualities. Still a very nice drink, but the oaking isn’t really coming through much at all and the roasts are a bit too face-wrecking at this point. Rates highly, but I’ll have to give this a while (or tuck into my remaining 2006 bottle).

Beautiful color. Dark with a nice tan head. Dominating thought is that this is very dry. Thick with a bit of bourbon and hoppy graininess in the finish. Dry dry dry.

clean tasting and a good blend with the right weight to the barrel flavors. tends toward cleaner flavors (away from fat fruit flavors) and the anise and molasses do a great job of rounding out the malt sugars and providing depth. piutch black, some of the darkest foam I’ve seen in a while. even warming it doesn’t expand much flavorwise alth9ough some earthiness emerges. Straight forward and gigantic. Way fun stuff!