Deschutes The Abyss

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

Bottle courtesy of tytoanderso, thanks Tyler! Pours an evil spawn of satan black with a beautiful creamy brown head. Aroma of powdered cocoa, chocolate, coffee, roasted barley and brown sugar. This beer has a nice creamy mouthfeel and flavors of coffee, powdered cocoa, malt, barley and wood all come together to form a very nice imperial stout. Well done Deschutes, YUM!

Bomber, from Liquor Collection. Pours pitch black with a gray brown head. Rich roasts in the nose, with espresso, wood and some baker’s chocolate. Palate is smooth, primarily, with soft supporting carbonation. Flavor starts with wood, roasts and black licorice, then transitions into black coffee, smoke, and chocolate. Finishes with an extremely well balanced bitterness, complemented by creamy vanilla, oak and coffee. This is every bit as good as advertised, and such a pleasure to drink.

Looks fantastic; very dark brown with a choc / orange head. Chocolate biscuit aromas (Oriel cookies?), roast, chocolate.....damn good. Bitter chocolate flavours early before some sweetness kicks in mid-palate. Very firm and tight flavours from this point onwards. Great length. So so young....this will live a long time.

Thanks MikeTD. Pitch black pour, small brown head. Aroma is coffee, oats, chocolate. Mouthfeel is thick, chewy and lots of carbonation. Flavor is coffee, dark chocolate, espresso, a caaramel sweetness touch also. Tons of straight dark chocolate the whole time, coffee riding along, some smoke and roastiness. Great thick mouthfeel with a creaminess to it and tons of flavor. Hop bitterness is there with fresh leafy hops.

Bottle courtesy tpd975. Pours blackwith a small but lasting tan head that leaves good lacing. Aroma of molasses, roasted malt, coffee, licorice, oak, dark fruit, caramel, and bourbon. Taste is the same as aroma. Full oily wonderfull mouthfeel with a moderate amount of bitterness and very well hidden alcohol. One of the best Imperial Stouts ever.

Thanks to Davecooks for sending me the bonus bottle about one year ago. Pours almost black and has a medium head. Aroma of deep roasted malts, licorice, molasses and dark fruit. The oak and bourbon come out mostly in the taste. Very dry, oak tinged finish. Extremely nice.

1-27-08 bottle (2006 and 2007 tasted side by side) at a mini tasting.
Both the 06 and 07 were very similar in ratings for me. The 06 had more vanilla in the aroma and flavor slightly, but the 07 stood out a little more overall - although nothing too distinguishable.
Motor oil black pour with spotted tan lacing from a nice tan head. Aroma is that of a sweet chocolate vanilla with caramel in there too. Strong chocolate and vanilla flavor. Palate is dreamy - so creamy and perfect. The texture and finish are incredible. One of the best beers of the style I’ve had - without a doubt!

2007 bottle. Enjoyed at Noog4. Had this outside at night, so as near as I can tell this stuff is black as pitch. Lots of coffee in the aroma, sharp roasted/toasted grain and wood notes. Lots of coffee in the flavor too. Also some chocolate, plenty of roasted/toasted grain with wood. Semi-dry mouth feel and med-full body. This was good but not worth the hype.