Deschutes The Abyss

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

On tap at the Deschutes tap room in Portland - This was a surprise beer to get in the summer, and it was not even on the menu! And on Brewfest weekend! What a treat! This is a beer for beer lovers. It is a very good stout with some complex flavors. I’m looking forward to the next winter’s brew!

On tap at Enoteca in Post Falls, ID Black gold. Pours dark and intimidating with a thick dark head. Aroma is powerful. Strong malts and determined hops, very smokey with lots of roasted barley. Flavor is intense. Robust roasted malts, wood, leather, smoke, coffee, and chocolate. At 11%abv you’d think the alcohol would be overpowering but you’d wrong. It’s masterfully hidden behind a monster malt backbone and a clever wall of hops. Still, this should come with a warning about operating heavy equipment after consuming.

This stuff is good. Dark and delicious. Chocolate and Espresso dominate the taste. You really can tell that this beer is 11% ABV. Nice burn going down.

A great beer. Pours very thick - kind of like motor oil. The taste is fantastic tastes a little bit sweet at first, and finishes a tad bit bitter. The aroma smells like a lot of chocolate with a hint of molasses and caramel. Fills you up pretty quickly too! After one is done it feels as though you have been satisfied with a great full meal!!!

2007 bottle courtesy of Beerlando. Pour was pitch black, oily and thick Rich chocolate molasses aroma. Flavor was initially chocolate, smoke, vanilla, malts and increasingly improved with flavor as it warmed. This one definitely lived up to the hype for me.

2008 Vintage poured into DFH Snifter. A - Pours black as black can be with a coffee/tan head which quickly vanishes leave tan bubbles around the edge of the glass. Nothing mind-blowing but looks good, nonetheless. S - Right off the bat, I get roasted coffee/expresso beans mixed with dark chocolate and a hint of alcohol. I could go on smelling this one for days but I think it’s time to move on. T - Nice dark chocolate notes up front along with some coffee grounds of some sort with a slight oak-alcohol kick on the end which warms me up a bit. A really nice sweet milk chocolate aftertaste. As it warmed & opened up in my glass, the hint of alcohol almost disappeared, amazing. M - Medium in body, not too thin, no too thick for this one. Very smooth & creamy with a dry finish. D - A very nice example of a RIS that is worth of its top 10 rating. Better then Dark Lord? Personally, I don’t think so.

Original review date 3/12/2009...shared with a few fine folks from the industry and accomplices...into Sam Smith half-pint glasses... Mildly viscous...definitely opaque. Licorice, spent motor oil, whatever ya wanna call it...this shit is fuckin’ wicked DAAAHHHK... I picked up some Vermont maple candy here off the top...makes sense from the label regarding molasses. A little licorice is in there too. Hops provide some raw green wood here-not pine, not grass...maybe something deeper...huge, copius malt has a good bourbon quotient but not obtrusive. This has a little less sweetness than, say, Dark Lord (2008) but has a fortuitous heft...a little boozy heat, lots of XXX-roasted malt with a dry caramel sweetness, and a slightly austere hop package that resonates well with the licorice, charcoal and bourbon-snifter oak quality. Although this has dry bites to it from the licorice, hop profile and a bit of booze, it gives off a great creaminess on the finish. A little more all over the place...may need some time. Top notch and won’t pass it up. Sure, it’s a little young but there’s a lot of craziness in this one. It’s got an edge like a street gang, no doubt. But it’s profound as hell and the creaminess is like the soothing tone of a mother settling her little hooligans down. One of the great ones.