Deschutes The Abyss

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

Bomber, courtesy of kyzr (thanks!), pours a dark black with a sizable dark brown foamy head and good lacing. Aroma of espresso, molasses and some faint chocolate, bourbon and licorice. Flavor is espresso, with some burnt/roasted malts, and bittersweet chocolate; licorice is faintly detectable. Palate is full and creamy, with some alcohol warmth and a lingering bitter finish. A very nice IS, and imagine it would age well.

Bomber, 2007 reserve. Pours very dark, thick looking black with a nice, medium sized compact foamy head that is dark brown. Head has good retention but slowly recedes to a thin film on the top. First impressions of aroma are: chalkiness, dark fruits, some hops – I think, light char, just the faintest scent of bourbon – though that could be placebo. At colder temperatures the aroma reminds me of Old Rasputin. As the beer warms a more salty, smoky aroma comes out that is nice and reminds me of Mikkeller’s Black Hole. Flavor is very rich with intense chocolate and some coffee components. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, maybe even a bit thin, for my liking at least. Finish is very dry. This is a quality Imperial Stout, no doubt, but it really doesn’t stand out among its competitors in my mind. We’ll see how some age affects this one.

Bottle pours pitch black with a thick tan head. Aroma is mainly roasted malts, vanilla, and some oak. Has a medium heavy body with some carbonation. Flavor is dark chocolate, vanilla, licorice, oak, and a slight amount of bourbon flavor. Overall is a solid brew. I prefer more balance to my BA bourbon beers. This one could have had a little more bourbon flavors.

(bottle, thanks for sharing tytoanderso!) Pours out black with a lasting dark tan head. Aroma is strong with licorice, roasted malt, some coffee, and a slight bit of oak. Taste contains the usual suspects for an impy, with roasted malt, coffee, chocolate, with a light bit of vanilla, and a hint of oak along with roasted malt in the finish. Full, thick mouthfeel, very well made.

(2007 bottle, via Gunhaver) Pours inky black with a dark tan head, perfect five. Aromas of smoke, coffee, licorice, roasted malt, and dark chocolate. When warm, the beer takes on a sweeter aroma. Just an amazing taste of dark roasted coffee, roasted malt, and a good dose of chocolate that really stands out mid-palate. The finish of this beer is the highlight, with just a perfectly roasty/bitter finish, that is not overpowering or astringent like some Impys can be. Very well made, and a year of aging has vastly improved this beer.

-2006 bottle 11/12/2007 This was a 2006 bottle I have been sitting on for almost a year and I figured it was time to drink up and give it a half-assed review. This was the second time I had this beer and all I remember from the first ingestion was that it was good. This too was pretty damned good. Black color, small tan head, and smells like licorice and chocolate. The taste is more licorice, chocolate, excellent. The alcohol is non-existent until the beer is gone and then it sneaks up, good thing I didn’t drink the whole bottle. The mouthfeel is sticky and slightly thick but not quite as thick as Dark Lord. Good job Deschutes. -2007 bottle-02/23/2008 green, meaning green apples (acetylaldehyde?) and odd, licorice taste and as it warmed a nice choco-ashen flavor, syrupy, too expensive. I preferred the 2006 to this so I will let my remaining bottles cellar... -2007 vintage 11/03/08 Smells like a nice hefty, roasty RIS with a good dose of alcohol and a touch of malted milk balls. The taste is bitter, like old and cold coffee, gritty and grainy. As it warms up it gets better but seems to have a tough edge to it. -2006 vintage 12/14/08 Excellent, malted milk balls and milkshakes, tastes like bitter coffee, no alcohol, no bourbon but wow! Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 11-12-2007 17:03:49

One of the highlights of the BIF Race 2007 Sinister package from Eyedrinkale, The Abyss (2007 Reserve) came in a 22 oz. bomber with neck dipped in black wax. Luckily it was the pretty soft and came off without much struggle to allow me to get to the real attraction. The beer poured out absolutely black in color as expected, and holy crap did it have a dark head. The color of the head was like chocolate syrup at first, and as it died down to foam, it revered back to khaki. The smell was roasted coffee, but it did not seem overdone. The roasted aroma was mild enough to allow some light hops to poke through. The much anticipated first sip was quite dry and the astringency made my cheeks pucker. As I adjusted to the graininess, chocolate, toffee, malted milk balls, vanilla beans, oak shavings, and black coffee made themselves known. This was a big, bruising, hefty stout, and needed to be approached with the respect it deserved. Not very easily approachable, unless you already know you want something like it.

Not much aroma but amazing flavors and a perfect full creamy feel. Spicy as it warms up & a little bitter too. 11% isn’t noticeable at all. Incredibly drinkable.

22 oz bottle - 2008 vintage - Pours a totally opaque black color with smallish light brown head. Aroma is mildly roasty, notes of vanilla and oak, light ash and toasted coffee. Flavor is robustly roasty, lots of coffee and vanilla, bit of ash and oak, molasses, anise, fair amount of herbal hops. Finish is firmly bitter, a very faint metallic finish. Pretty good, but not quite up to the hype Ive heard.