Deschutes The Abyss

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

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!

Shared at miketd’s tasting

I have been sitting on a bottle of this for a few months now. Since it was on a few people’s want lists I went ahead and cracked it open. It was a solid imperial stout that I am glad to see making a return. It’s not quite in the class of the best of the best but it is not far off either. I’d say it is on par with anything in the 95 to 99th percentile.

Aroma / Appearance - The midnight black body was almost as dark as it gets without being motor oil. A one finger muddy head was bordering on red. Sticky lacing left remnants of strata as I enjoyed my glass. Oak and vanilla were prominent in the nose along with expresso, brownies, smoke and black cherries. It wasn’t the most complex imperial stout I’ve tried aroma wise but it was cohesive and enjoyable.

Flavor / Palate - Smoke, oak, vanilla and expresso formed a very nice set of complimentary flavors. For a barrel aged beer it was easy to drink. Thick malts coated the mouth without being suffocating. A nice cherry finish topped it off. All in all I would say that it was an excellent beer but just short of my personal Top 50.

2007 bottle courtesy of Ryan. Deep black opaque pour with layered light brown head. Really a beautiful pour. Lovely roasty, chocolatey aroma with hints of licorice and oak. Oak was nicely understated and not too sweet. Similar in the mouth; silky smooth palate and lovely chocolate, roasted malt, nuttiness, and hints of licorice, oak, and coffee. Great after-dinner beer.

bottle. midnight black with great tan frothy head. dark fruits, chocolate and mild coffee with nice hoppiness in aroma. smooth mouth. delicious coffee, rich dark chocolate, roasted malts, mild sugars. nice hops and great balance. dark chocolate is amazing.

Bottled. Beer is very dark, motor-oil like brown and nearly opaque. Head is initially small, light brown, frothy. Mostly diminishes quickly.<P> The aroma is rich and dense. Thickly malty with heavy notes of roasted grain, coffee, chocolate, moderate note of caramel, light notes of molasses, toasted nuts; Hoppy with heavy notes of bittering resin/pine; Yeasty with a light note of basement, trace of dough; Light notes of smoke, vanilla, alcohol, wood.<P> The flavor is heavily bitter, moderately-to-heavily sweet, lightly-to-moderately acidic with a long, moderately bittersweet, warm finish.<P> The body is full, the texture is velvety and the carbonation is lively.<P>I think what makes this a stand-out for me is that it’s big and rich, but is totally rounded and balanced. An 11% Imp Stout that one could actualy drink all night.

22oz. bomber at Mullman’s gathering. Dark brown, nearly black color with a small creamy tan head. Nice aroma of dark roasted malts, coffee, oak, vanilla and light smoke. Flavor of dark roast coffee, mild roasted malt, molasses, oak and some char. No real aroma or flavor of the bourbon, which is probably why I liked this beer so much.

Bomber from Liquidsolutions.biz, thanks Matt. My favorite brew from Deschutes. The name itself will tell you what it looks like as it really is like looking down into a bottomless pit. Can’t tell if it is cloudy and unfiltered but at this point it didn’t matter as that smell,smell that there’s nothing else like it in the world, it smells like..... an..... Imperial Stout that has been Barrel Aged. Sorry. The BA-ing not being overdone here which is nice as this really is a very nicely done Impy as it stands.

2007 version. Thanks to MaltOMeal for this beer. Poured at the 1/28 Houston tasting. Pour is dark as an abyss with a beautiful mocha head with nice lacing. Aroma is very earthy wood with a bit of cigar smoke. Taste is coffee with rich hops and molasses. Nice and creamy with a drying finish of bitter coffee and hops. Wonderful tasting, but this will only get better.