Lost Abbey The Angels Share (Bourbon Barrel)

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

Bottle at Paul’s Hoboken Gathering: Muddy brown pour with a thick tan head. Nose has lots of vanilla, rich toast, sweet/fresh tobacco and bourbon. Dense and creamy body with a rich flavor. Woody and earthy, vanilla, almond, fresh tobacco, and a smooth bourbon sweetness. The finish has a prolonged toasted malt subtly. Very nice stuff, just like the original Angels Share.

Appearance: Pours a reddish, dark brown body with some gunky murkiness to it and a large, fizzy, tan head. Smell: Pleasantly pungent aroma of heavenly, heavily caramelized sugars, golden raisins, and a gratifying waft of alcohol. Plenty of distinct bourbon barrel accents, too. Taste: Dark, rich caramelly malts, tons of dark fruitiness, a spoonful of vanilla creme brullee, and with a big taste of brown sugar striking the palate. Nice, complimenting blend of woodiness and top-shelf bourbon. Faint, faint touch of roast picked up on the otherwise sweet, warm, and wooden finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-full body. Full carbonation that really fizzles up the mouth. Drinkability: For me, it was more than a bit overcarbonated, but thankfully it delivered a satisfying tastiness to warrant fighting the fizzies.

Extremely loud pop that echoed in the large warehouse I’m drinking this in. The beer is EXTREMELY carbonated. Violent carbonation is visible in the murky dark brown/black body. A GIGANTIC 6 finger foamy tan head sits on top. Very nice lacing. Fortunately it didn’t gush because I had it pretty cold. The aroma is strongly molasses and brown sugar meets bourbon and oak. Smells like an old ale. Some strawberry hops. Chocolate and dried wood. Caramelized malts. The flavor is rich milk chocolate that morphs into a deeply caramelized molasses and dark fruits like dates and raisins. Bourbon is strong but doesn’t impart alcohol. Surprisingly smooth for 12.5% ABV. Rich full body that isn’t sticky but has a nice lingering quality. I like this beer a lot!

Bottle. Aroma of Bourbon and wooden barrels along with some caramel malt. As Ipopped the cork had a gusher to deal with kind of took me by suprise with the foam stain still visable on the pool deck. Decent lacing and some setiment found on bottom of glass. Dark body with foamy head a puor to remember. Carmael and bourbon alcohol flavors are most prevelant. Sweetness lingers on a dry palate yearning for some water. Solid brew may of just maded he price of sinners membership which I thought was little high worth it.

2008 bottle release; Sampled April 2008
Wow, Bourbon Barrel Angel’s Share is a gusher, I lost something less than a quarter bottle, even though the bottle was at 48°F / 9°C. A careful pour yields an over-flowing six-finger thick, darkened tan colored head. The beer is a deeply burnt, amber color, and shows a hint of concentrated ruby if held up directly to the light. Rich caramelized malt notes are immediately proceeded by Bourbon barrel notes of vanillin, spicy oak / Bourbon and some buttery oak character. The barrel / Bourbon notes are fairly restrained, but still are perhaps the most noticeable character in the aroma. As my nose gets used to the beer, the butterscotch / butter barrel notes become more apparent as does a warming alcohol aroma. Even a touch of mustiness seems to lurk in the background. The Bourbon barrel character actually gets a bit sharp, even harsh at times, but for the most part the nose remains deeply caramel infused, smooth bourbon barrel character.

It has been ten minutes since pouring this beer and it is still quite well carbonated; a quick swirl of my glass releases the excess CO2 though. Sweet and deeply caramelized with malt induced flavors of toffee and raisins. Starting in the middle a toasty, brown malt character kicks in and provides a touch of dryness, though not enough to offset the lingering, rich, complex, malt sweetness that just sticks to the palate. Quite a bit lighter than one might expect from a beer that is 12.5% abv; it does have some heft to it as it is certainly a sipping beer, but it definitely has a light feel to it and at times can seem a bit thin. The Bourbon barrel character is quite a bit softer than it was in the aroma. Typical flavors of spicy oak, vanillin and buttery oak (this last more so in the finish) are found here and the Bourbon provides some alcohol heat. Somehow the beer actually tastes a bit vinous to me; a mix of port, sherry and a full bodied Sancerre. The finish is spicy and sharp with hot Bourbon notes (though not overwhelmingly so).

Somehow not nearly as well integrated, nor nearly so tasty as the 2006 Brandy version (I have yet to try the 2007). I could see this getting close, but somehow the base beer has changed too much while residing in the barrel. I wonder if the changed flavor, lightened body, along with the gushing, is caused by a slight infection? If so it is not so much as to drastically effect things or even be overtly noticeable, but this beer is just enough off to keep it from being great.

375 ml bottle. After a very loud pop o’ the cork I got a dark mahogany body with a large fizzy dark brown head that faded to a thin covering. Lots of heavy lacing, light visible carbonation. Very big nose that’s really well balanced between the malt and the bourbon barrel. Rich fruits and heavy toffee with some light roast competes with the bourbon, vanilla, and oak. A little oxidation maybe, Very well integrated flavor. I love the flavor, the heavy maltiness combines with the oak and vanilla flavors so well. Such a big beer, but not boozy in the slightest. Toffee, tobacco, great dry oakiness, and no real alcohol flavor or heat. Some chocolate and coffee, figs, maybe some dates, on the finish. The initial mouthfeel is rather annoying though. If this weren’t so damn fizzy and prickly it would be great. Once you get past that initial burst of carbonation the body is sufficiently thick and hearty. This was just incredibly delicious. Took me over an hour of letting it breathe enough to calm down the carbonation with constant swirling, but after that it was excellent.

375mL bottle. Pours a dark, murky brown color; slightly viscous; fizzy light-tan head with patchy lacing. Lots of warming bourbon, dried fruits, and chewy brown sugar in the aroma; soft, generous bourbon character. Highly carbonated. Full mouthfeel: chewy bourbon, toasted oak and dried fruits; intense, viscous chewy malts underneath, coupling well to a generous bourbon presence; impressively tasty and dense, although I think I prefer the original brandy version a bit better. Lengthy finish, showing chocolate, dried fruits and caramel, and lingering soft bourbon.

Bottle from Zinister, sampled at his tasting. Thanks!
After the cork exploded into the air and shocked all in the room, the beer poured a deep black with a cherry oak nose. Flavor is oaked cherry wood with chocolate smears. Full mouthfeel. Dang good.