Lost Abbey The Angels Share (Bourbon Barrel)

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

Superb aroma of wood, vanilla, caramel and molasses. The flavor is near perfect, there’s some fruits, wood, vanilla, molassses, chocolate and caramel. The body is medium with a liquorous texture and gentle carbonation. It’s like the regular Angel’s Share, simply amazing.

Bottled @ Jbrus’. The aroma has intense fruitiness, cognac/bourbon, oak. Dark coloured beer with an off-white, lasting head. The taste is sweet with vanilla, a lot (dried) fruitiness, bourbon, chocolate. The taste is better than the aroma. Very full body. Explosive taste sensation. Slightly burning. I liked the ’normal’ version better. but hey... You may also wake me up for this one.

Sample on a one year aged bottle at JaBier’s refrigerator reduction tasting on 08/15/09, courtesy of Rogueone. The beer is a rich dark brown color with a medium thin and bubbly light beige head that disappears quickly. Stringy lacing on the glass. Aroma of burnt malt, caramel and subtle bourbon. Full, smooth body with flavors of oak, vanilla, malt and dark fruit. There is a boozy quality but it is not overpowering. The finish is oaky with a warming alcohol presence and a dark malty finish. Very good overall.

This rating for the original 2007 Release.
In short: A big earthy malt orgy the American way, nothing more, nothing less. Excellent.
How: Bottles 375ml. Original bottling (2007). Bottles sent to me by doubleO, hapjydeuce, WeeHeavySD. Thanks to you all guys.
The look: Near black body topped by a small tan head
In long: This is not a normal rating. This is a comparative rating from a blind tasting of the original Angel’s Share (2006 bottling) and the original Bourbon Barrel aged (2007 bottling). Complete description in my Angel’s Share rating which I had on many occasions. This Bourbon Barrel version has a slightly stronger carbonation, soft in the regular Angel’s Share, medium in this one. The Bourbon Barrel has a little more caramel and the alcohol is a bit more present. This Bourbon Barrel aged feels a tiny bit more roasted than the original. But to make a long story short I was surprised at how similar the regular Brandy Barrel and the Bourbon Barrel were. The barrel character was hard to identify in both (very subtle or very well integrated) and during the blind tasting we kept changing our mind about which was which. I really wanted to pick a favourite at the blind tasting but I kept changing my mind. The truth is that it was impossible for me to pick a less excellent. I felt like a father who has to chose which of his two sons to sacrifice in order to feed the starving family. With both sons looking equally delicious.

Dark, rusty appearance. Smell of sweet bourbon. Variations of berries in flavour, including hints of blackcurrant, strawberries, a good dash of cherry and with a finish of bitter redcurrant. Some sweet malts beneath. Brandy-like alcohol to the finish. Stunning drink, maybe a bit over the top. Chosen as the best American cask-beer at The Great British Beer Festival 2008. Very good, indeed, but I had a few better ones during the festival in Earls Court (05.08.2008).

Brouwers Hard Liver festival 2009. 2008 Vintage. Dark brown, one of the darkest beers at the fest. Tall smooth khaki head. Big bourbon character, lots of vanilla and a soft cream/icing like flavor that’s gives an almost butterscotch like note. Silky smooth palate with lingering chocolate and plum notes in the finish. Really well built, and by far one of the best of the festival.

375, corked and baled. Gusher. 08 release. Nearly opaque mahogany with dense creamy tan head, super rocky at first. Thick sheets of lace. Big bourbon and wood nose. Creamy body with nice wooly carb. Woody, bourbony, caramelly. Maybe too much bourbon and too few other flavors, but still delightful.

Pours deep murky brown with tan head. The aroma has malts mixing with oak and mild sweet bourbon and mild sweet and dark roasted malts as well as dark fruity esters nearing the end of the draw. The taste comes across first with sweet malt and sweet bourbon then aged oak and sweet vanilla. The vanilla note really seems to take over toward midway. Very nice offering with rich creamy goodness washing across my palate depositing bourbon, vanilla, oak and mild dark fruitiness into the finish.