Deschutes The Abyss

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

Bottle. Thanks to Degarth and Batkins for sending me this. Pours a deep black with nice size head. Aroma is of cocoa, vanilla, oak, wood, bourbon, chocolate, hops- grassy feel, and a nice sweet malt. Flavor is sweet at first but settling down to a nice coffe roastness. The vanilla is very subtle and subdued in the chocolate malt being present. For a 11% this is very smooth and the mouthfeel is just shy of perfect. Has a slight dryness to it that enables it to be a beer that can quench whatever thirst you have in your mouth, but be able to satisfy your soul with a maltyness that just screams into your existence of "this is what you are!, embrass me." The hop bitterness plays a somewhat dull effect, but an otherwise numb feeling. I was slightly skeptical at first about some others ratings but this is the real deal. Wow!

2006 Bottle sampled 1/07: Pours an immensely dark brown/black with a huge brown head. Nose is coffee, chocolate, and well roasted (burnt) malt. Coffee, bittersweet chocolate, vanilla, bourbon, and roasted malt taste. There is also a charred wood note and a hint of alcohol in the tail. Overall, very deep and tantilizing flavor. Original Rating 8/4/9/4/18=4.3 <P> 2007 (2nd batch) Draft @ Brewpub: Aroma is more complex than I remember. Dark chocolate, vanilla, roasty, and that subtle bourbon barrel aged note. Flavors abound with the same, yet maybe a bit more coffee and bourbon/vanilla sweetness. Huge, creamy palate. Rerate 9/4/10/5/18=4.6

2006 Reserve. Black pour with a full, light brown, creamy, pillowy head; good longevity and excellent lacing. Nice nose, just not bold; notes of molasses, chicory, and the bourbon oak barrels with lighter notes of coffee, dark chocolate, anise, and faint whisps of alcohol. The taste is so much more oak barrels; the oak, light coffee roast, and an earthy hop note create a moderate bitterness with other flavors including chocolate, licorice, and burnt nutty toast. Palate is thick and round, almost velvety, but only medium-full in body (time would greatly improve this), and soft. The flavor continues to dry out and you find the sweet malty flavors emerge more until the finish; dry, burnt, nutty, oak-filled roastedness with some chocolate and licorice and a moderate length. A faint, dark fruit character keeps presenting itself in the nose and taste, but it is hidden beneath the other flavors. Very well done oaked imp with the flavors melding so well together, perfect balance between malt complexity, hop bitterness, and oak bourbon flavors. The oak is prominant in the flavor but subtle enough to enjoy the other complex flavors. One of my favorites of the style.

0.65 l bottle at Stockholm Beer Festival 2008. Pitch black with dark tan head. Very deep sweetish aroma with coffee, chocolate, licorice, salty licorice and vanilla. Rich bittersweet and roasty flavor with coffee, salty licorice, dark chocolate and some charcoal. At the end of the long festival day this tasted heavenly. Got to try this sober sometimes.

If the last rating wasn’t 1500 by one site’s count, this serves quite well as THE one... Bottle, courtesy Slob at a long vertical and horizontal run of excellent imperial stouts @ statelineliquors.com. The pour was typical for the style, although the head could have been more grand. The aroma was nice, soft, gentle cocoa, touch of wood chips with warmer temperatures. The flavor was cocoa, choco-coca, some dark fruits (no coffee at all), touch of molasses, wood chips, maybe some raisins, but certainly no bourbon or other strong alcohol flavors. Finishes with some hops to keep it from running away malt happy. The mouthfeel was smooth, far from sticky, fluffy full, yet not thick/heavy and full. A very nice imperial stout, second against only AS Speedway, beating out Stone RIS (03-06), 3F DL (06), RogueIS (01, 03, and 04), and NC Old Rasp Millenium. Thanks, Bert!

This is my favorite imperial stout. For me I would take this over Dark Lord any day.

Pours blak with a small brown head. The aroma is outstanding, very strong smells of rich roasted malts, dried fruit and cocoa. The flavor is incrediable, very strong roasted malt flavor, with a bit of somkyness. Awsome brew all around.

Thanks to joebrew for sharing. Black as night with lots of brown head. Anise chocolate and coffee with some smoke in this very smooth beer.