Deschutes The Abyss

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

#600. 2007 vintage from kramer. Pours into snifter a very dark brown with small dark tan head. Aroma is complex with roasted malt, vanilla, coffee, bourbon, chocolate and some molassas. Flavor is roasted malts, coffee, chocolate, bourbon, sweet licorice and some wood. Palate is soft and smooth. You get a little bit of alcohol warmth at end. Letting the this beer sit on the counter for over a half hour really brings out the flavor of the beer. I have been waiting to try this beer forever and has been sitting in the cellar for a long time by my standards. While it may not be at Dark Lords level in my opinion it is still a pretty damn good imperial stout.

Big thanks to scrizz for that bottle. Looks really, really good. The beer in the glass is deep black, nice brown head. Starts very malty, scratchy, woody. Warming notes of alcohol and liquorice. The finish is much softer, like velvet, still warming-strong, but not as dry as the beginning. Very enjoyable beer!

Sample at July 17, 2009 Beer Club meeting. My GOD this is dark! Even the head, though thin, is dark. Aroma of roasted special malt, but with a sweetness. Ah, like home. Silky-smooth going down. This is a really good beer. Lovely palate... this is a keeper!

Finally got to try this thanks to hophead22 - THanks tim. pours a deep brown with a nice brown head. notes of dark chocolate, licorice, subtle bourbon, molases, and coffee. smooth, sticky, grainy mouthfeel. very well balanced. The alcohol is quite a compliment to this one. Very niceee.

2008 Bottle @ Sthlm BWF. Black with a brown head. Roased Sweet licorice well balanced herbs hops alkohol. sweet strong aftertaste.

Original review date 3/12/2009...shared with a few fine folks from the industry and accomplices...into Sam Smith half-pint glasses... Mildly viscous...definitely opaque. Licorice, spent motor oil, whatever ya wanna call it...this shit is fuckin’ wicked DAAAHHHK... I picked up some Vermont maple candy here off the top...makes sense from the label regarding molasses. A little licorice is in there too. Hops provide some raw green wood here-not pine, not grass...maybe something deeper...huge, copius malt has a good bourbon quotient but not obtrusive. This has a little less sweetness than, say, Dark Lord (2008) but has a fortuitous heft...a little boozy heat, lots of XXX-roasted malt with a dry caramel sweetness, and a slightly austere hop package that resonates well with the licorice, charcoal and bourbon-snifter oak quality. Although this has dry bites to it from the licorice, hop profile and a bit of booze, it gives off a great creaminess on the finish. A little more all over the place...may need some time. Top notch and won’t pass it up. Sure, it’s a little young but there’s a lot of craziness in this one. It’s got an edge like a street gang, no doubt. But it’s profound as hell and the creaminess is like the soothing tone of a mother settling her little hooligans down. One of the great ones.

Bottle 66cl. @ home.
[ Courtesy of Secret Santa ]. Clear black black color with a average to large, frothy, good lacing, fully lasting, light brown head. Aroma is moderate to heavy malty, chocolate, dark roasted, wood, moderate hoppy, sweet english licorice, alcohol. Flavor is light heavy sweet and bitter with a long duration. Body is medium to full, texture is oily - creamy, carbonation is soft, finish feel is light to moderate alcoholic. [20090424]

Big big beer. Poured pitch black though not quite as thick as I was expecting, though still had a big heft. Nose was big and alcoholic. Lots of tastes, molasses, dark malts, vanilla, wood, dark fruits and vinious notes as it warmed. Seemed to come in layers and was an a very interesting effect. Lots of complexity and life. Smooth and warming on the finish. An excellent offering. Thanks for sharing TimE!