Lost Abbey The Angels Share (Bourbon Barrel)

Brewed by Port Brewing/Lost Abbey
Style: Barley Wine
San Marcos, California USA

Very deep dark burgundy coloured brew with a thin tan head. Aroma is loaded with rich oaky character, soft vanilla/bourbon sweetness and a touch of deep cocoa as well. Very soft sweet oaky flavour. A nice soft fruitiness and a bit of cocoa over the top of it. Intense flavours of cocoa, bourbon, vanilla and oak. Lots of dark malts, some dates and prunes pop out of here as well. There are also some lighter spicy aromatics as well. The cocoa and caramel really match well with a light herbal backnote. There is a touch of light rye character and a sticky sweetness that is cut quite well by the high carbonation. Woody, oaky rich and luxuriant. This is quite a subtle and very tasty brew.

The cork flew out of this 375ml and then the beer erupted. Dark brown, it looks just like the brandy version. Nice bourbon and wood smell. Tastes like cola and vanilla coupled with bourbon, some licorice. This is a very flavorful beer and the alcohol was well hidden. I preferred the profile on the brandy barrel version a little more but this was still very good. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 04-28-2008 00:57:07

[Bottle] Pours a somewhat hazy caramel brown with a huge beige head that slowly dissipates. Aroma is oak, bourbon, vanilla, and a hint of chocolate. Flavor is mostly bourbon and oak flavors with some vanilla, caramel, and chocolate. I’m a fan of the more carbonation. The alcohol isn’t terribly present, but it can be felt on the way down. This was good, but the bourbon had a little more influence than I was hoping, and I feel like it masked a lot of the subtle complexities of the base beer.

Gift from wetherel. 375ml Bottle. I was keeping this one for a special occasion but since I heard few people saying there might be infection issues with this offering, I decided not to wait long to open it. Well! I can say there is a lot of stuff in this small bottle but certainly no infection. Pours dark mahogany color with a big tan head. Carbonation is too high for this kind of beer but if you wait a little it is getting way better. The aroma is awesome! strong malt, caramel, bourbon and vanilla. Same strong taste profile with a great balance between sweeteness, alcool and bitterness! This is spot on to what I think a barley wine should be! John, I can’t thank you enough for this treat!

375ml Bottle. Pours a rich mahogany color with a slightly tan head. Nose is predominately soft Bourbon, caramel and oak. Lots of flavors on the tongue here, definitely showing toffee, caramel, bread, leather and overly ripe dark fruits in addition to the subtle Bourbon flavor. Flavor is also extremely woody, tastes as though someone squeezed the juice out of an ornery oak tree and bottled it. Mouthfeel is on the fizzy side and if there is one area to knock this beer its that the overcarbonation is distracting. Beer is not at all heavy or syrupy for a 12.5%. Alcohol is almost frightening unnoticeable throughout. Very well balanced and much better as it warms. Give it time to air out in the snifter. Outstanding!

Hark! Thanks to ajm for allowing me share what the angels left behind. Pours a dark molasses from the bottle with a creamy brown head of foam. Smells exactly like walking into a log cabin, with notes of powdered cocoa, and alcohol. Loaded with balanced flavors of caramel, cocoa, and butter. Amazingly complex and labored over.

12.7% bottling from Joey at SouthBay! My rating has gone down .3 since Ive had more time to think about this. Pours a very heavy and intimidating dark brown - liquid woodchips. Heady aroma of wood, chocolate and a very slight coconut balance. The palatte and flavor are very heavy, but I think my tasting partner bullseyed it when he said that it smells slightly better than it tastes: the heaviness of the flavor gives the beer such concentrated direction as to almost be... lacking in depth. Scotch, wood granules, massive roast and charcoal are what you feel and taste, but as much as this liquid oak is impressive, theres simply no room left for the beer, and this is why it couldnt hit higher scores for me. I told nbutler11 that I dont think I will ever be in the mood to drink this beer as I dont see myself spiralling into depression in the near future though the thought of having to finish even a 375 of this myself brings me close.

Rating #200. Bottle from diggity7. Pours black with brown edges, and a big creamy long lasting dark drown head. Aromas of booze, bourbon, wood, vanilla, caramel and a little more booze, which I don’t seem to mind. I also get some brown sugar and raisin. Flavors are sweet malts, caramel, raisin, and alcohol. Long finish, great body, but as we all know over carbonated.