Deschutes The Abyss

old rating: 7/4/9/4/18 - 4.2. pours a jet black with a medium size brown head, excellent lacing. smell of cocoa, coffee, molasses, touch of walnuts, some smoke, some caramel, and sour malt. taste is creamy and thick, bakers chocolate, dark chocolate, coffee, woody, black licorice, some walnuts, caramel, a little smokiness, and a touch of vanilla, excellent bitter ending that is just a touch on the dry side.

Burnt brown dissipating head on a black, abyssful body. Deep soot black patent charcoal aroma with veins of chocolate, coffee, licorice and a tingle of bourbon. Bourbon definitely invades the edges of flavor that is also of burnt coffee and other similar to the Black Butte Porter. Strong alcohol presence, though one would still not think 11% as it is well integrated. Medium dryness.

22oz bomber, 2007 Reserve. The beer looks awesome. Pours thickish dark black with a dense and creamy light brown head. Smells like moldy drywall and bark. Tastes of dirt and ashes, it does have a malty aftertaste once the taste of ashes finally fades. Maybe a hint of chocolate in there as well. Full, but not thick bodied. OK carbonation. It’s different, I’ll give it that. Not very good in my opinion.

22oz bottle from Bev Mo Carmel Mountain. I think this is the darkest, thickest beer I’ve ever seen! Poured a deep coffee brown almost black. Head was big at first then dissipated, looked like bubbling milk chocolate. Great lacing was left on the glass. Nose was big on chocolate, coffee, molasses and alcohol at first. As the beer set, more bourbon and licorice became present. Big rich and oily mouth feel. I think I was expecting a bit more from all the hype, but overall, a killer Imperial Stout.

aroma of damp forest floor and raw alcohol. beer looks amazing, so thick, inky and heavy the head appears to sink into the black hole below. alcohol permeates all flavors with a bright flash. i’ll let it warm and see what comes out. the anise and oak come out, but the bite remains strong and prohibits the delicacy.

Really nice, on tap at Sam Bond’s Garage (Tom Waits Tribute Night)... A little to earthy/smoky for my wife - the second pint was even better than the first.

22 ounce bottle. The Abyss poured raisin black, with the faintest aura of ruby red. The head was a frothy dark brown that left behind spectacular lacing. The aroma was complex. A slight woody scent was accompanied by thick molasses, dark chocolate, raisin, plum, licorice, and berries. The first sip was the taste equivalent of a mostly charred log in a campfire that has started to cool down. This lent the overall effect to be a smokiness that offset the sweet of some of the other flavors. The sweetness comes through in molasses and various fruit flavors—raisin, plum, cherry, berries. Faint bitterness is provided by dark chocolate and coffee. For an 11% ABV ale, there was surprisingly no alcohol "bite." The flavor matured as the ale warmed, with the smokiness diminished somewhat and the other flavors moved to the foreground. The Abyss was thick on the tongue. It engaged the entire mouth equally—lip, tongue, gums, palate, the top of the throat. The sum was definitely the focus, rather than the parts. The experience was near perfect, heavenly. I cannot wait to have the other bottle after a few years of bottle conditioning!

Thanks to decaturstevo for sharing this one at his inaugural tasting. This starts with a black opaque pour that throws up a dark mocha head. Huge coffee and dark chocolate aroma. Smooth, great body. Very complex and satisfying flavor. Very well done.