Deschutes The Abyss

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

Dark roasted coffee with burnt chocolate notes. Pours black with a tan head. Bitter chocolate roasted barley, hints of wood, a very strong bitterness, rich, with hints of dark fruits like dates. Very decadent beer! It seems to hide the 11% well!

22 oz, bottle, 2006 reserve. I was going to include this in my top-rated stouts blind tasting series but decided to drink the four from the barrel aged group over the next week to better enjoy each. Dark brown with a pocked tan head that leaves lacy chunks. Nose is coffee and chocolate cake. Notes of oak and vanilla with touches of licorice and alcohol. Smooth and tingly that abruptly thins with alcohol. Taste is coffee beans, dark chocolate, bitter grass and grapefruit. Very good but not quite special for me.

Bottle shared above DDC. Poured a super thick viscous black with a light tan creamy head. Aroma of coffee, chocolate, tobacco and espresso beans. Full bodied with some noticable alcohol warming but not bad considering the 11%. Flavor of chocolate coffee with a slightly bitter burnt aftertaste. Very good beer but not even in the same league as Peche Mortel.

2007 22oz bottle enjoyed at An Evening with Pantanap #4. Pours black with a creamy brown head. Nose is lots of chocolate with some roasted and toasted biscuit malts. Creamy roast and chocolate flavors. The subtler notes were of coffee, dark fruit, molasses and vanilla. The bittersweet chocolate has a bit of a chalky flavor to it. Finishes really dry. Good beer, but I’m not blown away by this one.

’06 and 08 side by side thanks to xnoxhatex and 17th floor. Both pour a dark black with a beige head. 06 has a rich chocolatey nose that’s slightly ashy with molasses and bourbon. 08 is flatter with mostly just malt and some ash. 06 has roasted burnt ashy flavors that are slightly sour though not distracting. 08 is much more sweet and nutty, kinda hard to drink. The 06 was more enjoyable and better than most times i’ve had it. 8/4/8/4/16 = 4.0 08’s sweetness and lack of depth made it not fun or too enjoyable. 7/4/7/3/12 = 3.3

2007: I bought this off of bockyhorseThis is a very robust version of this style. Pouring next to black and thick as jerry curl. It throws off a decent head and reduces slowly leaving behind a nice spattered canopy. Strong aromas of heavily roasted malts and a very distinct nutty waffer which gives it a nice unique quality. Full nectar with good carbonation producing an almost creamy texture. I already feel a Trump coming on. First off this brew lacks the Bourbon essenceI’m looking for. It’s mightily roasted shoving charcoal down my throat like a starved locomotive. Only mildly sweet with a defined hop component to help balance this monstrocity. It’s quite complex with heavy doses of leather, iodine, cocoa, barn blanket, copper kettle. The finish is long and bittered well. The high abv is undetected. Another classic to make it’s way to AZ. Overall: It’s a classic but I am dissapointed about the lack of Bourbon flavor. I’ll have to Trump this one.

07 bottle courtesy boltz7555 poured into a snifter. Pours inky black with a thin dark tan head. Aroma is roasted grain, coffee, chocolate malt and a hint of vanilla. Taste is smooth chocolate malt, roasted grain, vanilla. Big thick chocolaty mouth feel. Finishes roasty and chocolaty. While you get a lot of the malts and chocolate, this is a very smooth and well balanced Impy. Definitely sneaky alcohol, very well masked by the complex flavors. Just a delightful beer.

Fresh its usually very hot and boozy. Tons of bourbon, oak and vanilla with lots of bitterness. Taste is smooth and sweeter with some age and very present hops when fresh. Tons of roast and bitter chocolate too.

Source:2008 bottle supped while watching ESPN.
Glass:Krombacher Snifter.
Appearance:Dark brown/black pour with a two finger, dark brown head.
Aroma:Roasted malt and a hint of bitter chocolate. As it warms, a hint of licorice comes out, along with some oak, molasses and maple.
Flavor:Very ashy beginning, harsh bitter finish. Can’t discern whether this is messed up, or if this was the intent. Either way, not very good.
Palate:Medium/full body with mild carbonation.
Overall:Hope to rerate at a later time, but the flavor wasn’t appealing. Not infected, but bad.