Deschutes The Abyss

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

22 oz bottle via Liquid Solutions. Chilled in the back of the car all day at 48f then in the freezer for 30 minutes. Serving at approx 45f. Pours a thick midnight black motor oil. Nose is subtle, some mild chocolate, vanilla and nuts. I typically hate oak aged beers so do not expect much. Let’s try it. Oh frak frak triple frakkin hey!!!!!!!! I am speechless after the first drink. let’s try another..ok...Taste is incredible and complex. Starts with a semi-sweet chocolate, then a bit of vanilla, some espresso and ends with a wicked dry roasted malt finish. Some oak notes as well but they are complementary and not overwhelming. Lots of bitter cocoa in the aftertaste. Some citrus hops in the finish as well but they are subdued as they should be (and so often are overpowering in a West Coast Imp stout....i hate grapefruit in stouts and am so glad this one does not have that) No hint of the alcohol. This is a shockingly incredible world class Imp stout...i am absolutely speechless as i did not expect this. **********1/27/2008-rerate**orig rating was 2006 bottle and 10/5/9/5/19***************** 22 oz bottle via Liquid Sol. She pours a thicky yummy looking midnight opaque black with a large tan head. Nose is subtle oak, cocoa, vanilla, and a bit of roastiness...absolutely divine aromas. Think chocolate cheesecake with almonds on top and a bit of rum, baked on great grandma’s old woodstove! Mmmmm tastes just like that but with pure cacao. I wonder if most people know the joys of pure cacao, without manmade processed crap that is added to chocolate like milk, sugar....in any case, this reminds me of my 85% lindemans cacao bar dipped in some coffee that i roasted at full city +...anyways this is good..but needs a mix of 50/50 i think instead of only 33% oak.....whatever..it is all good. 10/23/2009-6:45 pm PAC time RERATE- orig was 10/5/10/4/19--22 oz bottle, stored in cellar for for almost 3 years now! Pours black black, did i mention black? yes B-L-A-C-K, friday night black! Nose is total divine luscious full city + espresso and cream. MMM and it actually tastes BETTER than it smells. Which is rare in my experience for an Impy. Taste is CACAO (chocolate), fresh roasted coffee, chocolate, prunes, chocolate, coffee and a touch of anise, then more choc/coffee. If you like chocolate and fresh coffee, this is the ATOM bomb! Damn, this is the best Imp i have ever tasted and has really come into it’s own. THis from someone who normally hates aged beers, and the oxidation/port/sherry flavors associated with aging. THis has NONE of those. Body is full. Carbonation is medium. It does not get ANY better, and i wish i had more than one bottle left in my cellar. Perhaps the 07’s will age this well. One can only hope!

old rating: 7/4/9/4/18 - 4.2. pours a jet black with a medium size brown head, excellent lacing. smell of cocoa, coffee, molasses, touch of walnuts, some smoke, some caramel, and sour malt. taste is creamy and thick, bakers chocolate, dark chocolate, coffee, woody, black licorice, some walnuts, caramel, a little smokiness, and a touch of vanilla, excellent bitter ending that is just a touch on the dry side.

Happy to say this is my 100th rating!!! Pours heavily-used motor oil topped wth a frothy milk-chocolate shake. Licorice and sticky sweet fragrance wtih a bit of oak, smoke, and vanilla. More sugary than most in this style, doesn’t begin with bitter but definitely displays chocolate and campfire burn. Extremely complex with multiple layers...caramel/toffee erodes into an almost hop finish. You can paint with this it coats the palate so well. Amazing beer...wish it was more readily available!!!

Pours thick and opaque black with a thin cap, slowly diminishing. The head is an odd looking combination of light brown with some white swirls. Upon nosing I’m surprised how mild the aromas of chocolate and roasted malts are. The bourbon is at a medium level, vanilla large and looming. Hops are kept at bay in the pleasant aroma, while oak and molasses flourish. Flavor is bitter hops, chocolate, licorice and a nice combination of molases and wood. The bourbon is much more dominant, almost crushing, in the flavor. Also noted are more vanilla and alot of sugary syrup. The woodiness is biting, raw and jagged. Finishes dry and very tannic, an oak bite is dangling about on my tongue for a while, and feels like it’s cutting into it. Far too much oak character for a stout that is only comprised of a third of the final product having seen barrel aging. The part of the oak that has a new French barrel is quite tasty though and adds a welcomed dimension to a new beer. Soft on the palate for the most part, if not for the lashing my tongue recieves from the brash oak. Other than the French oak character this is just another imperial stout. Not enough malt to excite, not enough hops to interest, not enough unique character to elicit my curiosity again. It is a smooth one, but so was the Jacobsen Dark Lager I tried that night, and it was garbage. I had hoped for more.

2007 Botle - As I poured it into my glass, the room seemed to darken around me. It’s like a black hole from which nothing can escape (in a good way). It smells like espresso and caramel, and has a wonderfully complex taste. Malt, vanilla, coffee and yeast. It showed a lot of the bourbon oak flavour from the barrel, and easily could supplant port after dinner... could probably even pour it over ice cream...

22oz bottle, 2007, from NYbeer, thanks Steven. Very dark black pour with a nice brown head. Chocolate, coffee and a little sweetness, quite smooth with a slightly bitter roastiness in the finish. Very well done.

black body and light brown head. oily web pattern on the surface after the head goes. aroma is sweet chocolate malt, vanilla, some molasses and licorice. a little soy sauce too. flavor is dry deep roasted malt, some oak, actually a lot of oak, and coffee. baking chocolate and licorice root too. a little bit salty in the finish. alcohol is subdued.

Side by side tasting of ’06 and ’07 bottles. Big thanks to theisti. The beers were remarkably similar. Roast, milk chocolate, and cocoa aroma (with the ’07 displaying a strong molasses note). Dark brown, nearly black with a mocha colored head. Thick bodied. Taste is dark chocolate, dark fruits, lactose along with coffee, molasses, and treacle in the ’07, while the ’06 was more integrated, making individual flavors stick out less, but also providing a more complex flavor. A nice imperial stout.