Deschutes The Abyss

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

Bottle shared with GMCC2181, Thanks Homie. Poured pitch black with tan head. Nice aroma of chocolate and roasted malts with an alcohol finish. Taste was Same as aroma and finished smooth. Thick texture. Enjoyed til the last drop.

Whoa, I thought this would be another tasty Imp. Stout, ala Tenfidy, but it’s just a tad more complex. pour and head as expected. Licorice (yes), chocolate and that burrnt layer of turbuno sugar on a creme brulee. Long chocolate finish. Yum...

07 vintage out of the bottle. Chocolate, coffee liqueur and funk in the aroma with a hint of licorice. Very dark brown, but not black with a dark brown head. This is heavy but not too thick. Its very chocolatey, like drinking chocolate syrup, but good. Licorice, molasses, leather, coffee, and oak are also big players in the flavor. The oakiness is very well integrated and not too strong, it builds more in the finish, where the oak adds to good bitterness, higher than in most imperial stouts. I was hoping for more of a bourbon flavor, but I didn’t get that. A very good stout, though.

Bottle 2009 Vintage. Pours deep inky black, a more substantial head than expected for the large ABV. Nose is roasty and dark chocolate as expected, but with a vinous/tart characteristic to it that is really inviting. A touch of vanilla comes on as it warms. Taste is very smooth, the initial notes of ’standard’ Impy stout roasted coffee and dark chocolate, then the wood comes on in the middle and really rounds everything out and lends a litle nuttiness as well. FInish is tasty black licorice and just a hint of bourbon character. The hoppy bitterness that’s part and parcel of so many RIS is well-rounded by the wood. All in all - this was delicious.

2009 Bottle. Dark, dark, dark pour. Smooth mouth feel, lots of dense flavors all smashed together. Damn tasty, but this needs some time in the bottle to chill out and let the flavors mature.

2008 Bottle also with my pleasure... I think the bottle from the outside is already amazing. The inside pours full black with a nice rounded, dark brown, appealing head. Aroma has some real bitter bite of grassy, floral hops. Aroma is also dark chocolate, lots of molasses, toffee, some roasted coffee and great hints of oaky wood and vanilla. Flavor is kind of a balanced mix between the bitter hops and sweet toffee malts. There’s also some nicely roasted coffee, chocolate, liquorice, wood and vanilla, hints of tobacco and ash syrup and some herbal, hoppy notes. Nice long and dry finish of chalky, roasted coffee and bitter hops. Full-bodied, softly carbonated, some tingling of hops on the palate tough. Beautiful beer by Deschutes.

clean tasting and a good blend with the right weight to the barrel flavors. tends toward cleaner flavors (away from fat fruit flavors) and the anise and molasses do a great job of rounding out the malt sugars and providing depth. piutch black, some of the darkest foam I’ve seen in a while. even warming it doesn’t expand much flavorwise alth9ough some earthiness emerges. Straight forward and gigantic. Way fun stuff!

Big alcohol whaff--like brandy. Oil black color, frothy head on sides. Served in a snifter. Chewy roasted malt middle, espresso end. Heavy body and a warming alcohol down the throat. Huge beer. Huge.