Lost Abbey The Angels Share (Bourbon Barrel)

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

Dark brown pour with thin head. Nose of bourbon, sweet malts, figs and caramel. Flavor is somewhat oaky with chocolate, vanilla and roasted malts. Very nice.

Draft and Bottled. Pours dark brown with thin off white head. Aroma is bourbon, chocolate, etoh, caramel malt. Flavor is just that with a touch of oakyness. This is a truely outstanding BW. My second favorite beer at EBF.

Beautiful smoke, coffee, hints of cocoa, toffee and an undistinguishable sweetness on the nose. The palate was mossy, and smokey with orange peel and carmel. It had incredible complexity with out being to rich or overwhelming! Superb!

This poured mahogany in color with a creamy head. The nose was nicely complex with scents of roasted malts, vanilla, chocolate, dark fruit and a slight herbalness. The palate is similarly complex and medium to full-bodied with great richness and balance. There is plenty of carbonation to keep this deep beer fresh. Aging should allow this to mellow out a bit and be potentially perfect for my palate.

Courtesy of Immy at the RB Richmond Gathering. Very dark brown and well carbonated. Dark roast malts with oak and bourbon in aroma.Very sweet dark roastyness with chocolate vanilla and bourbon flavors. Honey or maple sugar sweeetness and very full mouthfeel. Finishes with bourbon and a bit of woody bitterness. Extremely tasty...thanks Immy.

bottle. Pours very dark brown with a thin tan head. The nose is very much bourbon and alcohol. Taste was very overwhelmed with the bourbon, instead of just highlighting it. A bit too much for my liking. While the flavors and mouthfeel were complex, the bourbon just took prominence to too high a degree. Shame. Still not bad, but not excellent. Mouthfeel was medium and had a dry finish.

Sampled at Dickinsonbeer’s Hoboken gathering (thanks to beastiefan2k, actually!) - sometimes the barrel makes all the difference - this tastes very much like "regular" angel’s share, but with some toasted coconut, slightly lower sweetness, and more noticeable wood - the bourbon is fairly apparent - the complex notes of dark fruit and chocolate I detected in the original are absent in this one - maybe I’m just tired of bourbon-aged beers, but this barrel turned this into a much less impressive beer - tasty, but hardly transcendent like the original.

375 ml bottle from the Patron Sinners release. When I pulled the cork it nearly took my arm through the ceiling. The gush followed a few seconds later. The pour is very dark brown with some garnet highlights. A very Coca-Cola-esque head to begin with. It eventually settled out to a dark tan ring with some wisps in the middle, and some lace. Boozey bourbon alcohol vapors attack the nostrils. Underneath that you certainly find a pleasant chocolate/caramel character. Here come an aggressive oak character just got me. The flavor seems a bit more balanced. Most of the same flavor. Bourbon is still in the lead. A nice blend of chocolate and oak. I also get a bit more smoke and tobacco character. Levi Garrett anyone? A little bit of cocoa powder in the finish. Medium/light body. High, aggressive carbonation which is sort of a put off for me. Dry warm finish. I am certainly glad for the chance to try this bottle of beer. This may just be a bit too bold for me, I guess. It drinks more like a spirit than beer. When barrel aged beer starts to get to this extreme, they start to turn me off. Still, a fine beer. When you only have one bottle, its hard to stay away for too long.