Lost Abbey Serpents Stout

Brewed by Port Brewing/Lost Abbey
Style: Imperial Stout
San Marcos, California USA

Thanks a bunk to xmarcnolanx for sharing this one. Pours black with a deep burnt orange head. The aroma has dark roasted malt, raisins, figs, some dark chocolate, cream and vanilla bean. Medium / thick body with some graininess and semi-soft carbonation. The taste is not as complex or interesting as the aroma. It starts with some sharpness, graininess, roasted malt that is bitter, dates, some anise and quite a bit of alcohol. The finish has some dark chocolate as it warms and the alcohol stays persistent. This is a good beer, but didn’t live up to the hype for me.

In short: An above average big roasted impy stout with notes of chocolate and espresso. Very good.
How: Many times. This rating for a 6 months old 750ml bottle that I drank by myself.
The look: Black body topped by a medium mocha head that quickly recedes to a small ring of foam
In long: Nose is breakfast time with burnt toasts and a cup of espresso coffee. Taste is rather chocolaty. Black chocolate, burnt toasts, espresso coffee. Leafy hops attempt to lighten-up the beer adding some kind of freshly cut flower flavour. Aging or batches seem to make a big difference because I’ve had different experiences with this beer. I usually found it a bit too much syrupy/molasses but when I decide to sit down and rate a full bottle I get dry-ish chocolaty espresso flavour. So the serpent said to Eve “c’mon girl, just drink a bottle of my stout”. And Eve could not resist and drank the entire bottle. She was pretty plastered and started to make out with Adam. Then God said “Get a room you two”. So you see, Adam and Eve were not banned from the garden of eden. They just moved to a sleazy motel room.

Source:Sample from a 750 mL bottle at a tasting in Nashville.
Glass:Taster.
Appearance:Dark brown pour with a huge brown head.
Aroma:Roasted malt and coffee.
Flavor:Roasted malt. I didn’t get much else here. Excellent though.
Palate:Full body with soft carbonation.
Overall:This was an excellent example simple is good as well. Not a huge amount of complexity, but a solid, well made IS.

On tap at brewery tasting. Pours beautifully rich and dark brown. Aroma has a rich blend of chocolates, some molasses sweetness, and late-espresso. Flavor leads with intense espresso (more than was suggested by nose), riffing on this note while the palate builds with soft carbonation, and is subtly oily. The middle flavors then contribute raisins, toasted chocolate malt, and some background floral hops. The finish contains deep bittersweet chocolate as well as vanilla. This is simply a delicious Russian Imperial Stout. I didn’t know what to expect, since LA does primarily Belgian-style stuff, but Serpent Stout can hang with the best of them. It has mostly everything I love about a good RIS: nice full mouthfeel, a blend of espresso and dark chocolate flavors, a hint of something else (raisin/vanilla), and a smooth finish. Well done, I’ll have to re-try this in a bottle to see if it stands up.

Bottled. Very dark brown colour, close to black, with mediumsized beige head. Some lace. Aroma is mildly roasted malts along with some caramelly and vanillash notes as well. Mild wooden and coffeeish notes. Flavour is rather syrupy sweet along with some roasted malts, burnt wood, alcohol and some hints of chocolate. Quite alcoholic burning finish along with burnt wood and caramel.

Original review date 5/6/2008...Ultra-thick 2-finger banana nut bread-colored head. Body pours like liquid licorice. Nice stuff. Needs ample time to warm up. A little licorice candy - almost a hint of roasted corn tortillas and peanuts (?!). Ultra-charred malt. A little smoke, cinnamon sugar and molasses. Grassy hops are abundant and bitterness cuts the sweetness - sort of the same way with semisweet chocolate chips. Alcohol burn slides to back of mouth with sweet viscosity. Charcoal lingers throughout finish. Somewhat unbalanced but powerful. Enjoyable but never seems to warm efficiently to achieve true balance; the alcohol may be the main contributor. Don’t get me wrong, though - this is very good stuff. Another note: Probably one of the best beers I’ve had to pair up with an ultra-charred steak right off the grill.

Bottle 75cl. @ Papsoes blindtasting. [ Bottle #20. ]
Clear dark black brown color with a average, creamy, good lacing, mostly lasting, light brown to beige head. Aroma is moderate to heavy malty, roasted, caramel, chocolate, vanilla. Flavor is light heavy sweet and bitter with a long duration. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. [20090501]

Batch 1 Thanks to Hellbilly for the bottle! Jet black pour thin tan head and spotty lace. Rich espresso aroma. Chocolate, dark fruits, coffee, and light alcohol