Lost Abbey Serpents Stout

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

Bottled. Pitch black with a small deep brown head. A lot of burnt caramel, candied fruits, plum, cocoa powder, vanilla, blue cheese, brown sugar and strong coffee in both nose and taste. Subtle carbonation. Alcoholic and syrupy. Strong bitterness. Warming on the swallow. Sweet. Not much lacework. Black chocolate, cocoa powder, strong coffee, vanilla and alcohol in the finish. Powerful. Reminiscent of Stone Imperial Stout.

Pours pretty black with just a tiny tiny bit of highlight around the top. Mocha colored head turns into a balding crown with some decent lacing that pulls it up to good. Smells of booze, rasins, figs, dark fruits, but not fruity in the sense that I got from Speedway. Also some chocolate and maybe a tiny hint of roasted malt. Taste is similar to that of the smell with more roast in the finish making for quite a tasty beverage. Stouts I feel can go either to the dark fruit side or the more roasted and chocolate malt side, I feel while this one leans fruity, it is different enough to warrant a pretty high rating in this category. Not perfect, but excellent none the less. Mouth is medium in carbonation and body. Good. I love sludgy stouts, and while this isn’t quite that thick or flat, the mouth fulfills it’s role to enhance and not distract or detract from the taste. Lost Abbey has been getting some guff here lately, and while this isn’t "Beer Zero," this is a fine example of an imperial stout and the first beer I have had from them deserving of hype. To hell with the red poppies and angels shares, come on home to this.

Bottle: Black pour with a brown creamy consistent film of head. Nice smooth roast in the aroma- some mild licorice, black malt, black chocolate notes. Velvety on the palate with a nice flavor- licorice, black chocolate liqueur, fruity raisin undertones fennel, later roasted and mocha character. A nice and balanced stout.

Pours a very thick, dark black with dense, dark tan head. Aroma is very sweet, light roast, chocolate and light coffee but honestly isn’t that strong. Flavor is very sweet with a chocolate start, bitter coffee bite, lots of roasted notes in the middle with a very dry finish and overwhelming alcohol flavor. The beer is really thick with sugars making it a very very dense brew with a slightly oily feeling. Overall the beer was very good but the alcohol was a lot for even sharing only half of the bottle.

Bottled sample shared with oakbluff. Jet black in colour with medium carbonation. Aromas are of malty sweet cereal grains, and a bit of chocolate. The chocolate (syrup) element is far stronger in the mouth along with secondary notes of coffee, vanilla, herbal hops, and mild berries. Medium to heavy bodied. Strange that the nose was so simplistic, while the flavors were far more dynamic. Good overall.

Pours midnight black, with solid immovable three finger mocha head. Nose- sweet malt mostly. Taste- vanilla, dark chocoate, dark fruits with a roasty finish. Hops and roast combine for a nice bite. No overwhelming flavours. Nice balanced.

Pours a deep dark chocolate brown with a small mocha head. Intense aroma of molasses, brown sugar, dark chocolate, vanilla, and soy. The flavors are surprisingly sweet and light given the dark, rich aroma. Lots of milk chocolate, vanilla, roasted malt, and over-toasted almonds. Nutty finish with a slight bourbon and dark chocolate kick at the end. I dig.

Bottle@Oslo Øljunta Olympen gathering. Opaque black, with a tanned ring of foam clinging to the glass. Initial aroma of licorice and beef-stock. Coffee, hard roasted malts and bitter chocolate to come. Complex and surprisingly rounded malt body. A great deal of roasted dark malts of course, also a broad range of other flavors; coffe-beans, dark chocolate, alcolhol, vanilla, acidic fruits, and an appropriate amount of fruity/peppery hops. Medium to full body. Slick mouthfeel. Malty-sweet and bitterish ending. Nice all over.