Deschutes The Abyss

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

to me the 2007 was a better year for this beer. the 2008 seems a little more tannic and a little thineer than last years version. I will rate the 2007 version. This pours black and like the name suggest "The Abyss" makes you contemplate if you were to jump in to the glass you may never return due to the black hole it forms in your pint ware! the head is a nice tan head that escapes the blackness to linger around for a while. The taste is that of roastyness, cholocate, coffee, dark fruits. This beer has it going on

One of the finest beers I’ve ever had and I’ve purchased 2 cases in the last year to prove it. You know it’s a winner the moment it hits the glass and all that aroma is released. Rich roasted malts, coffee, licorice, dark chocolate. ON the back end the oak leaves a smooth vanilla and sticky molasses. Hides the alcohol surprisingly well

Can only post a short note as the system wont allow it to be lengthy. short of it, ok now and potential to be better than 08 with time. 2007 bottle. Cool wax dip and label. Right from the start, BOOM this brew is stellar. Dark rich smoke, oak, lavish and layered. But extremely balanced. I’m guessing the acidity and alc just marry up perfectly with the complexity and strength this brew posesses. Intensity but elegant. Could also age this brew for several years. A bit of sweet but almost dry. Oily cigar white smoke, deep and rich coco and coffee but still subtle. $14+ is what this retails for I guess? Worth every penny.

Its not a bullish stout like Stone’s Imperial Russian, but its softer, sweeter, more delicate. The oak conditioning and maple create smooth aroma and woody flavor. Oh god is it good.

This beer pours black as night, with a beautiful dark brown head. Wonderful aroma that is not overpowering. One of the most delicious beers I’ve tried, with a great balance between ingredients. Just the right amount of hops to even everything out.

2008 Bottle. Pours black like motor oil with a deep brown head. Definitely one to share with a friend, the flavors are so complex that you really shouldn’t drink it alone! Molasses, coffee. The oak aging gives it a wonderful mouthfeel, very soft.

black, black, and more black. A NAP in a bottle. Time and time again Deschutes knocks me out with their superb seasonals.

Thick vicious pour thats incredible to watch unfold its heft into the chalice. Sits black and thick as newly wettened tar and caps the top with a roof of dark brown foam that’s thick, spongy, and lush. Inky glared stings of lace fling about after each sip. Aroma is thick and oaky with a dark chocolate heft over a tang of rich molasses, cherry, fig, and the ever present oaky bourbon scent that helps add a bit a of wondefully fulfilling, nose whirling, heat. Trace of burnt coffee ensues with a nice addition to the profile. Taste is immaculately woven with dark chocolate and a smoothly thick, lush body tranfused with all sorts of vanilla, molasses, coffee, and bourbon oakyness. A very well balanced and heavy treat. The chocolate is tenderly bittered with the heat and quite dark in its efforts. Anything and everything dark from the cocoa bean has been placed in every inch of its flavor. Spiced with a touch of peppery hops, coffee, and a terrific, if not down right perfect notion of bourbon hints wavered all throughout the chocolatey body. This is some pretty thick stuff, noticed in the pour, felt on the palate, and rendered in the gut. Smooth and velvety, thick, lush, and firm with a great creamy sense of chocolate and cream. Nice feathery spiced finish that stays creamy and enduced within a deep, darl chocolatey depth thats quite incredible to behold. It really makes a solid impression. A supurb stout!! Wonderfully thick, chocolatey, and lasting with a great impression of a well made brew. Deschutes has themselves a big time winner with this one! Wow!