Deschutes The Abyss

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

Dense blackness, dark as you get...huge head, burnt tan, slowly crumbling, leaving lace... Roasty, toasty aroma, chocolate and espresso, yes, and more...carob and raisins, dark rum, and molasses...ah! Dark and lovely! Whoa! Once in the mouth, it’s a delivery of rich, thick, deliciousness....whiskey-toned, a bit, mixed with dark chocolate...indulgent, decadent...full, but surprisingly smooth. Velvety...someone should paint a portrait of Elvis on this. Here comes the whiskey kick again...here comes the blackstrap... I’m only halfway through the bottle, and I’m feeling mighty satisfied. Do I wish I’d saved it for friends? Maybe, but I’m too content to worry about them now.

Very happy to finally be able to taste this - I’ve missed it at multiple gatherings in the past. This was a Relentless Thirst. Black, virtually no head. Flavor is chocolate liquor, coffee, and roast notes. Flavor matches, with a definite shot of alcohol heat throughout. Not bad, but in some ways, just a big imperial stout with some boozy notes.

22 ounce bottle. Late 2007 version. Leathery, ethanolic aroma initially. Kind of salty, too. I get some roasted choco malts and pine needles, but the aroma on this is pretty underwhelming to say the least. It is a gorgeous, opaque, black body with a large, brown, rocky, head that has plenty of stamina and lacing. Truly beautiful. Inky, oily mouthfeel to start, which becomes quite roasted, burnt, and coffee-like. A little chocolate and a little anise is also present. The oak aging just doesn’t really make much of a presence in this beer. It does finish quite dry and bitter with some pine/grapefruit hops melded with some ethanolic booziness. Still kind of hot. I will be sure to re-rate this in a year or so.

Thanks to joebrew for sharing. Black as night with lots of brown head. Anise chocolate and coffee with some smoke in this very smooth beer.

22 oz Bomber. Tres Fancy. The aroma is rich roasted malt and chocolate with licorice, cocoa and a faintly dusty earhty aroma that could be oak. Decent smelling, but not mind blowing. The body is a stygian black that absorbs light and easily supports a two finger thick head that is both frothy and creamy looking and that doesn’t yield ground very readily, staying erect and ready long after my normal 5 minute sniffing routine. <P> Flavor is somewhat low key with licorice, molasses, coffee, chocolate, fudge and piney hops making a massive play at subtlety, but not offering anything mega-fantastic as far as flavor concetration. It has a creamy chocolatepudding flavor/feel to it that is very enticing and lets you forget shortcomings. There is also a spicy note in the far finish that I assume is the oak. Other than that, and a mild dusty, earthy, woody feel also in the aftertaste, the oak is reserved. Overall It’s a hard beer not to like, but it isn’t too hard not to love.

Many thanks to badnewsbeers for sharing this bottle. Deep black-brown body, thin to medium tan head. Huge, bitter aroma, complex, with cocoa and coffee taking first billing, an emphasis on roast and bitterness. Licorice lurks about. The body began with an acrid, astringent bitterness, with massive charred malts and coffee, hints of oak and vanilla, and a big bitter finish. A few sips somewhat subdue the palate and allow sweeter undertones to develop. Still, the bitterness was over-the-top for me, keeping this from reaching the echelon of great Imperial Stouts. Very good, yes.

Bottle. Pours black with a dense brown head. Nice appearance with notes of chocolate, coffee, dark fruit and hops. Has a somewhat dry finish.

This is a very dark beer out of the bottle, with a short lived brown head that shrank to a lasting whisp. Viscous coating on the side of the snifter. Dark sweet aroma of charcoal, molasses, and coffee. This is an incredibly complex beer. Lots of coffee, chocolate covered cherries, vanilla, alcohol, and wood. You feel every bit of the 11% without it really interfering with the flavor. Thick mouthfeel. This is one of the beers that lives up to the hype. Big flavors in a big beer.