Lost Abbey The Angels Share (Bourbon Barrel)

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

375 ml corked bottle. A cloudy dark brown beer with a huge, frothy, mostly lasting light brown head. The aroma very malty with notes of caramel, toasted grain, dried fruits, oak, alcohol, vanilla, bourbon and light licorice. Fantastic nose. The flavour is heavily sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. A bit syrupy and creamy. Full body, soft to lively carbonation, long finish with light to medium bitterness. Amazing and exciting beer, wth well integrated bourbon and rich of flavours. I hope one day to put my hand on another bottle of this and the brandy barrel

Pours a murky brown with no head, a couple of quick bubbles that disappear as quickly as they show up. Dried fruits, vanilla, coffee, and brief alcohol. Feels like I’m drinking water again because of the missing caronation. Vanilla, toffee, caramel and coffee beans with a lasting alcohol film. Still tastes good, but would be better with what my last few lost abbey/port realeases have been missing, carbonation.

2009: Absolutely flat pour, of course. gem stone brown shine is a beautiful color had it had some clouds in the sky, it might actually look decent. peppery nose of bourbon, vanilla, nostril clearing grain alcohol, blanched licorice, molasses carpet stain, and strawberry..(2nd beer of the night with strawberry notes...most likely in my head rather than the beer...whatevs.) Icey mouth...wet, flat, anisey, and somewhat bitter. The flavor profile is on the thin, icey side to the begin with...in the background theres subtle tangy citrus-touched anise or fennell...the bitterness level is on the high side at colder temps, there’s some vanilla and tangy bourbon notes...which seam to clash with the bitterness at first...kind of tastes like an ashtray. When it warms things seem to mellow out and all the clashes seem to slowly come together, though with that "is this really the right puzzle piece" kind of looseness. Did i mention that it’s completely flat. Oh, wait...it’s a lost abbey beer, you already knew that. Overall, it should be drunk at room temps and expecting no carbination...it really ends up as a bourbon bomb at warm temps, bur good smooth bourbon

On tap DDG release at Port/LA. Loved it. Dark brown in the glass and sweet on the nose. Complex. Lots of things going on in the nose and in the mouth. Sweet, spiciness, booze, brown sugar, vanilla, dark fruit, caramel? Hope my bottles are as good.

Nice brew. Aroma is of chocolate and bourbon. Flavor is very similar to aroma but not as powerful, nice though.

100th Rating! 375 mL bottle (2009 release) purchased at the brewery on release day ($15). Pours a very dark brown with virtually no head. Aroma is fantastic: bourbon, wood, sweet malt, chocolate, vanilla, booze, maple syrup(?) -- it’s all very complex. Flavor features many of these same things, notably the bourbon / sweet booze and the dark chocolate. The reviewer below me describes it as "bourbon-drizzled chocolate cake" and I would have to agree. Yet its only mildly sweet which is good because over-sweetness would probably ruin this. The finish is full of bittersweet chocolate and alcohol, reminiscent of drinking whiskey or other spirits. An excellent beer. Glad I bought an extra bottle to age.

Thanks to ucusty. Bottle, 2008. Lovely, dessert-like aroma of nougat, toffee, bourbon-drizzled chocolate cake, very light, restrained oak. Flavor not quite as rich as the aroma had me desiring, but basically similar overall. Was so very different from the generic, sweet-malt-and-nothing-else barley wines that seem to comprise 95% of the style, and as a result, I quite liked it.

Bottle (2008 I think). Bottle a dark brown with a thick tan head. Aroma of cohcolate, roasted malt and bourbon. Flavor of sharp bourbon initially. Some buttery popcorn too. Hmm, I like the aroma but the flavor is too bourbony. Overall, ok but not great. 8/4/7/4/14 (3.7/5)