Deschutes The Abyss

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

2008 bottle. Very dark black pour with some light brown head. Aroma is very raosted, chocolate, some wood. Flavor is very roasted malt, a little meaty and burnt. Kind of strong, but not that good tasting. I am just tired of beers full of crappy flavors and barrel aging.

GABF 2007, 2006 Vintage. Dark black, mostly transparent pour with a thick head of well sustaining tan foam. A distinct barrel character wafts from the beer, complimenting the roasted malt complexities nicely. Silky smooth coffee and dark baker’s chocolate blends with some doughy caramel, baked pretzel, and thick molasses. There’s a really nice balance between all the different dimensions, creating an aroma that is aggressive, but at the same time prevents the roast, barrel, alcohol, etc. from dominating the nose. Medium full bodied, exquisitely soft, creamy mouthfeel. Both the appearance and mouthfeel of this beer are notably exceptional. Sweet chocolate nougat warms the tongue up front, before revealing some chewy caramel and a touch of star anise spice. A bourbony caramel warmth slowly starts to build along with some oak, joining the roast flavors in the creschendo toward a drying bitter roast finish. Long lasting, silky roast finish with a gentle warming alcohol. This was my favorite imperial stout (bourbon barrel or not) of the several I sampled at GABF.

One of the more complex and intriguing beers I’ve had in a while and I don’t say that lightly particularly with Impy Stouts. But thes pours like an impy stout and has a sweet molasses finish. Roasted coffee flavors are involved with this subtle and complex brew. Plays on different parts of your palate nicely. At first you get a prune, cocoa, chocolate aroma. The palate is first cocoa which leads to roasted coffee and a sweetness that reminds you of molasses and finishes sweet as well. Slight vanilla and wood flavors mid palate. Thank you Old Mr. Crow.

"If you stare into the Abyss long enough, the Abyss stares back at you" - Friedrich Nietzsche. This is a bruiser of an imperial stout. Lord knows I didn’t want to get into a staring contest with it, but out of the corner of my eye I could see it was as black as the name suggests and topped with a massive dollop of cappuccino foam. I was worried that if I sniffed it, it would sniff me back but damn it, I had a job to do, so I took the chance. Boy, was it worth it. This is a symphony of molasses, oak, pistachio and coffee grounds. [The Abyss’s rating of Highlandlad refers to "a stench of haggis, socks and cheap aftershave" and rates him 1/10 for ’Aroma’ - but he refuses to hold that against it.] In the mouth, this was thick and creamy - just the way I like heavy stouts. It’s a layer cake of bitter chocolate, marshmallow, coffee milk-shake syrup and turpentine with a rasping, astringent finish like the strongest espresso your Italian barrista can deliver. It’s the kind of beer you can wallow in for hours and wake up next morning several thousand brain-cells short of a full set but with a wry grin on your weary face. Then you get up, put the newspapers back on the park bench and try to work out where the hell you are. (Bottle courtesy of Linc at Sully’s Sydney RB Xmas gathering 2007)

Mildy soapy and astringent nose with notes of tobacco and bourbon. Overly roasted with heavy black patent notes. Mildly sour and phenolic on the palate with a lingering astringency on the finish.

So many beers. So much hype. The problem with hype is that it’s hard to live up to you. On one side, you have the fantasy of what you expect. On the other, you have what you receive. Still, despite this gap, hyped beers can still be magical. The Abyss is one such beer. It could never live up to the hype, to being sold out everywhere, to the one or three beer limits. But it doesn’t matter. Aligned with that hype is the creamy, dark, roasty taste of this stout. Its tatste lingers inside of you. Its richness captivates. It is as good as it was hyped.

Sampled at HotShotz Indy tasting May 24, 2008 - Batch #1 - Aroma is roasted dark malts, licorice and dusty cocoa powder. Pours black with a ring head and good lacing. Flavor is vanilla, molasses, chocolate, licorice and burnt malts. Palate is exceptionally smooth for 11%. Strong and powerful flavors that go down easy.

Thanks Bockyhorsey old pal!
After cutting my wrist open getting the wax sealed cap off..the beer poured engine oil black with a super thick creamy, long lasting brown head and heavy lacing. How in the hell can anyone give this anything less than a 5 for appearance!? Aroma and flavor of rich burnt roasted malts, coffee, molasses, dark chocolate, alcohol... with pine, citrus and alcohol on the finish. Awesome beer...better than Keystone for sure!