Deschutes The Abyss

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

Velvetty smooth. Choarcoal notes. Slight oak. Big chocolate. Very nice, and drinkable. Would like to sit down with a bottle and do this again.

Thanks jake65! 2007 vintage. Pitch black pour with a beautiful tan head that is somewhat slow to recede. Aroma is heavy in the dark sugar department- date, fig and plum combine with molasses, lactic sugar, and brown sugar to culminate in a mildly warming alcoholic booze and heavily roasted barley. Flavor is chalked full of roasted barley, creamy chocolate, espresso, fennel, molasses, wood, burnt caramelized dark sugars, and a foreboding ashen malt profile. Palate is thick, rich, velvety, charred and silky. The uniqueness of this brew in a sea of stouts makes for a memorable and wholly enjoyable quaff.

2006 Reserve 22oz bottle shared with jarspag for the final beer of the 2/9 Death Metal in Carlsbad. Pitch black pour with red edges and a deep beige head and big bubbly center and minimal lacing. Instantaneous aroma of robust dark chocolates and molasses with notes of burnt barley and wood. Faint hints of brewer’s licorice as well. Very smoky flavor with rich chocolate truffle and espresso, with a subtle oak barrel character. Hickory wood and a light soy sauce presence are detectable. I liked how a third of it was barrel-aged, so there is not an overwhelming bourbon presence, yet the smoothed oak presence is very nice. Thick and soft body with the palate transitioning from sweet to bitter very efficiently at each sip. Yum yum yum.

Thanks to ajm for popping my trade cherry. Pours jet black from the bottle with a firm reddish brown head. Light in the nose, but overwhelming in flavor. Full of dark cocoa, molasses, licorice, caramel, coffee, chalk, and mild hops. Full-bodied and syruppy. Worth hunting.

2008 bottle shared. Poured dark brown with a nice tan head, some lacing. Aroma of chocolate, licorice, vanilla - from oak. Very nice nose. Taste is very heavily malted, with chocolate and coffee. Some vanilla oak taste as well, with some mild bourbon notes. Mouth is very smooth, as is the finish. Very full-bodied. A very enjoyable brew.

Thick black with a fluffy brown head. Rich mustard, dark chocolate, liquorice, rummy alcohol and potting mix. Extremely complex and rich. Massive body, thick, oily and bitter. Flavour carries loads of mustard, dark chocolate, peach leather, tobacco and warming alcohol. Hot, long finish. Would love to see this with a bit more age. Thanks Mullet

Thanks to chef201atc for fetching this nice beer from Colorado! Pours black with a big brown head that dissipates only towards the end. Aroma of licorice, espresso, very dark chocolate, mint, and alcohol. Initial flavor is delicious fudge (which I love in a stout), dark chocolate, wood, dirt, light vanilla, and a bit of booze. Finishes with more vanilla, but it’s quickly overtaken charred wood and ash. That lingering unsweetened espresso aftertaste is a bit too ashy for me. Oh so drinkable, creamy and thick, a bit hot, and the carbonation is nice and soft. Very good beer, good flavor transitions and a lot to offer. I’ve got others I like more, but I would never say no to this.

Bottle 2007. Pours with a very dark color and a brown head. Not much of an oak character but very interesting flavors of dark chocolate, caramel and coffee. It needs to warm up significantly before it can show its full compleixcty. Medium body, not too heavy but not watery. Quite good, but probably a tad overhyped.