Deschutes The Abyss

@ blind tasting - Black body, light brown head, some lacing; Quite metallic very clear burnt wood aromas, some soft notes like oatmeal as well; Soft texture, slightly fruity, slightly sweet body; Long milk chocolate soft finish, slightly fruity sweet, slightly bitter. Strange composition.

black body and light brown head. oily web pattern on the surface after the head goes. aroma is sweet chocolate malt, vanilla, some molasses and licorice. a little soy sauce too. flavor is dry deep roasted malt, some oak, actually a lot of oak, and coffee. baking chocolate and licorice root too. a little bit salty in the finish. alcohol is subdued.

Bottle. [#17 Blind tasting session @ Sk8viking]. Small creamy light brown head that mostly lasted. Good display of lacework. Black color. Aroma of heavy malt, coffee, chocolate, burned malty notes. Light floral, oatmeal notes. Full bodied with a light alcoholic texture and flat carbonation. Moderated sweet flavor with heavy bitter notes. Bitter burned finish. 07-09-2007 Re-Rate: #32 Bottle [Sk8viking great American blind tasting] Small brownish fizzy head that mostly diminished. Fair display of lacework. Pitch black color. Aroma of roasted malt, coffee, chocolate. Over the palate came bitter liquorish, bitter chocolate and burned malt. Full bodied with a soft carbonation and thick alcoholic texture. Moderated to heavy sweet and bitter flavor. Lingering bitter English liquorish finish. 8 / 3 / 8 / 4 / 17 = 4.0

Bottle. Black coloured with a beige head. Roasted aroma of chocolate and coffee. Roasted flavour of dark chocolate and coffee. Dry roasted finish.

2006 Batch Score: 4.5/5.0
2007 Batch In short: A complex stout with everything you can ask for
2006 Batch How: dmac Montreal batchelor party tasting session. Thanks to dmac621 and/or Dickinsonbeer for bringing this one
2006 Batch In long: Wow! What a soft & creamy but intense stout. Lots of bitter black chocolate wrapped in molasses wrapped around roasted campfire wood and dipped into black liquorice. Very roasted. The leafy hops feel like freshly picked green hops and help to make the beer feel lighter and more drinkable than it should be. Overall soft creamy cake feeling. Body couldn’t feel more full. The oak barrels showed-up in the form of campfire wood but I didn’t get any bourbon. Superb Imperial Stout.
2007 Batch Score: 4.2/5.0
2007 Batch In short: A black liquorice-heavy stout
2007 Batch How: One of the many bottles I got from WeeHeavyHD, after4ever, JW77 and others. Thanks to you all guys
2007 Batch In long: Like the 2006 batch but with a lot more black liquorice (too much), less chocolaty and less of a fresh green hops feeling.
In conclusion: The 2006 was a masterpiece and I was disappointed by the “only” excellent 2007 batch. But may that be a lesson of pride and bravery, when facing the Abyss, Glouglouburp The Great didn’t back-down.

Bottle. A black beer with a big beige head. The aroma is of roasted malt, coffee, chocolate and rye bread, so is the taste. Medium body with a dry light alcoholic finish.

Bottled. A pitch black beer with a lazing brown head. The aroma is sweet malty with strong notes of chocolate, and lesser notes of bourbon. The flavor is sweet malty with strong notes of chocolate, medium notes of caramel, and light notes of bourbon, leading to a bitter finish.

(Bottle 65 cl) Courtesy of moejuck. Pours completely black and opaque with a creamy, light brown head. Hard roasted malt aroma. Medium-bodied with very burned, coffeeish malt accents and a distinct malt astringent bitter finish. Very solid. 070907 and 260708