Deschutes The Abyss

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

..#1700...22oz bottle from cbkschubert. Aroma is sweet molases and has good oak wood aroma also. Black oil colore body with dark tan head and good lacing. Sweet licoice thick body texture. The oak leaves a dryness there, but the bomber has enogh sweet liquid in it to savor till the bottle is empty. Dry palate and alcohol leaves eyes little heavy but beer well woth it if you can get it..

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.

Big alcohol whaff--like brandy. Oil black color, frothy head on sides. Served in a snifter. Chewy roasted malt middle, espresso end. Heavy body and a warming alcohol down the throat. Huge beer. Huge.

22 oz bottle, a generous gift from Zathrus13. Pours a pitch black body under a creamy and foamy one finger dark brown head that slowly faded to a thin film. Aroma is an odd combo of roasted peanuts, chocolate, tar, pressure treated plywood, black licorice, and burnt malt. No molasses, vanilla, or bourbon really, which I find quite odd. The flavor is really quite harsh. Lots of roast and burnt malt up front, but then the finish is astringent and tannic as hell. I just kept recalling that pressure treated lumber I got in the nose and could only imagine that this is what it would taste like to chew on some. At least the alcohol is well hidden, and the bourbon isn’t overdone. Mouthfeel is full bodied and a little oily in texture with moderate fizzy carbonation. This is just one beer that doesn’t do it for me. No idea what everybody sees in this one that I don’t.

22oz bottle shared at Columbus Tasting V - Pours Black with a big mocha head that clings to the sides of the glass in an oily fashion. Aromas of Chocolate, bourbon, coffee, oak, and molasses. Flavor is chocolate, oak molasses, bourbon, and some liccorice. Oily palate with a smooth thick body. Warmth from the alcohol at the finish. This one was quite impressive!!

22oz bottle, courtesy of Crosling. Thanks, Nick! Pours a dark black center; medium tan head with great lacing. Milk chocolate and vanilla in the aroma. Long, viscous mouthfeel: plenty of bitter chocolate, toasty vanilla and wood; a well-concentrated imperial stout. Long, woody and vanilla finish; bourbon aging shows through only as a toasty vanilla and wood character.

Served on the warm side of cool. The beer pours with a frothy, easily three-finger thick, creamed, chocolate brown colored head that sits atop an opaque, pitch black colored brew. Aromas of oak and concentrated, burnt malt waft to my nose as I pour this brew. The first draught of the aroma yield ample roast malt character that makes me think of dark-roasted espresso beans, chocolate malt ball candies, burnt caramel and a huge, toasted malt character that is coupled with an über-nutty aromatic note. The aroma is quite rich and expressive, the roast malt character clearly dominates. It is interesting that I was able to smell the oak as I was pouring, but it gets mostly buried under all of the dark malt aromatics when going in for a more dedicated smelling of the aroma. Having said that the aroma does yield some subtle oak aromatics, including a touch of spicy wood, some soft butterscotch and a hint of a woody backdrop.

Creamy feeling up front, yet somehow still fairly drinkable & light. After the first sip has left my mouth, the finish at first is roast malt dominated then moves to a spicy oak character, but then a sweet, burnt fruit character becomes noticeable and then it seems to start over again. This has a very long finish and it seems to move between roast grain notes, light oak character and a rich, concentrated fruitiness. Quite interesting, and I haven’t even taken a second sip yet. Sweet tasting up front, obviously contributed by an ample malt character (burnt caramel notes); the sweetness accentuates a bright (though clearly roasted), concentrated, fruit character that runs throughout this beer. It also accentuates a deep, dark chocolate character that melds quite well with the silky texture. The burnt fruit notes remind me of raisins, prunes and, especially towards the finish, of cherries. The oak is really not noticeable until just before the finish where it shows up as a spicy oak character. It might contribute some soft vanilla notes & perhaps a touch of butterscotch, but these notes really serve to accentuated the malt character rather than really jump out on their own.

Serving this beer so warm (about 65°F / 18°C) has really muted the oak contribution, as the last time I had this it was much more noticeable. Even when cooler it is still on the subtle side though, which is really what I want in a beer made with oak; add a bit more to the complexity without over doing it is the only way to go. The proof that this is a very well made stout is that despite the over the top roast character, there is very little harsh acidity contributed by all of the roasted grains. Definitely not the thickest and richest Imperial Stout out there, but still this is quite satiating and I really like how the various flavor components of this brew balance each other out. This is simply quite delicious; lots of sweet malt & fruit notes to stand up to the over the top roast character, plus a subtle backdrop of oak to kick the complexity up another notch.

Bottle, 2007 Vintage, at the second Doubletree tasting, provided by MaltOMeal. Thanks! Pours black and mysterious with an aroma of plastic chocolate oak and the erasers one had in Kindergarten. Flavor is dry chocolate hops with alcohol and oaked bourbon. Full and pleasing mouthfeel. Clears the sinuses. More enjoyable as it warms. I’d love to have another and pair it with a good cigar.