Lost Abbey Serpents Stout

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

750 ml bottle
Thanks to ckschubert for sending this a couple of months ago. With winter fading away and my cellar overstocked I have been looking for quality beers to clear. This one was an easy target. Finally pulling the trigger I was not disappointed in the least. This ranks right up there with Stone RIS and North Coast Old Rasputin as a West Coast imperial stout that is almost flawless.

Aroma / Appearance - The deep oak head was a great contrast for the black oily body which left sheets of clear lacing along the sides. Black coffee, anise, dark chocolate, oatmeal, and smoke complement a well rounded and robust experience.

Flavor / Palate - The taste is even better than the aroma. Near flawless in both thickness and complexity it holds a blend of coffee, bittersweet chocolate, smoke, anise, and rich malts. Deceptively drinkable even at 11% ABV I had no problems finishing this off in short order. I may have to get another one some day if I run across it while visiting the West Coast.

Bottle at Jannik’s Easter Party. Black - brown head. Coffee, chocolate, burned, high malty, light oiley, sweetness, flowery, licorice, light tobacco, light leather. Very nice, soft and smooth. Well balanced.... Again: #20 - Amerikaner Blind-Smagning 01-Maj-2009 hos Papsoe. Bottle. (8/4/7/4/17).

Bottle (2009). Head is initially small, frothy/fizzy, brown, mostly diminishing. Body is opaque black (flashlight tested), bottle conditioned. Aroma is moderately malty (coffee, roasted grain, dark chocolate, fudge, nuts, husks), lightly hoppy (grapefruit), with notes of vanilla and alcohol. Flavor is heavily sweet, lightly acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Finish is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, moderately to heavily bitter, unclean, slightly husky. Full body, velvety/syrupy texture, lively carbonation, moderately alcoholic. It’s close to being great, but has some glaring rough edges (esp. in the mouth) that need repair. The most obvious problem is the aftertaste...it’s as if there is a plastic wrapper of some kind coating my tongue. It’s not horrific or anything, but it makes it very hard to drink much of it. Otherwise the balance is very good. Some grainy/husky character in the nose, but for the most part the aroma is very alluring. Quite good relative to expectations, but still a miss.

750ml caged and corked bottle (2009 vintage) and served in a snifter. This poured a slick, motor oil black with a thin cap of mocha foam that quickly receded into a lasting ring. Hardly any lace. The aroma was full of bittersweet chocolate, molasses, some tobacco, and also some burnt malt. The flavor was slightly ashy with a good dose of chocolate and burnt caramel. Chewy roasted malt and molasses with a hint of dark fruit at the finish. The alcohol was hidden nicely. The mouthfeel was full-bodied but seemed a bit chalky and thin on the tongue. Very mild carbonation. A well made impy. Worth a try.

750ml bottle. Pours a black color with a medium sized beighe head. Aroma is filled with roasted malt and licorice. Taste is roasted malt,licorice,dark chocolate and some faint tobacco and leather notes. Some alcohol can be felt.

Bottle. Pitch black with a medium sized head. Notes of chocolate, coffee, flowers, grain and hops. Pretty well balanced. P.S. Mette is crazy about it, but is not allowed to rate it - or so says Papsoe :)

Pours a dark dark brown with a decent size tan head. Aroma of chocolate and roasted malt, some alcohol also. Nice mouthfeel, a bit bitter at the end.

Lost a point only for being over 10% alcohol; any damn fool can get enough esters to dissolve in that much alcohol, but most don’t. Smell of bitter chocolate, bitter espresso, and roasted malts. Wonderful. Pours a dark, viscous, black, totally opaque, with a small dark brown head. Gorgeous. Taste of chocolate and coffee, of course, makes me think of my first cup of truly extraordinary espresso, with hints of Cuban tobacco and dry leather. Sweet notes and a touch of hops in the finish. And, of course, a pour that pours that thick needs moderate carbonation to save the mouth feel, and it is there. Just about perfect. Is 4.4 too low? Maybe.