Lost Abbey The Angels Share (Bourbon Barrel)

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

12.7 oz bottle thanks to rustychiles for this trade. Pops with a loud "pahp". Pours with a lot of carbonation and black bits of yeast on top of the tall rootbeer float-ish head on a mahogany brown body. First sniff .. I guess this a bourbon aged beer. Bourbon, oak, that rich toffee, almost buttery notes of bourbon. A touch of spice and raisins underneath. Creamy smooth medium body. Rich buttery bourbon flavors. Chocolate, banana, cherries, raisins,vanilla. Flavors are rich and hot. Lots of alcohol mixed in with that oak and dried fruits. Great beer, but I think they went a little over board with the bourbon. It tastes like one of the finest bourbons that I’ve ever had. But as a beer, it would be better to get more of the wonderful angel’s share out from under Heaven Hill.

#1250. 12.7 oz bottle. Pours a very dark rusty brown with a medium light brown foamy head. Aroma of dark fruit, figs, dates, maple syrup, oak wood and whiskey. Taste of rich dark fruit(figs, dates) maple, oak wood with a nice bourbon finish. Has a malty wood aftertaste.

Bottle. Poured a cloudy brown (worse than normal...really looked like crap) with a one finger beige head. Aroma of bourbon, vanilla and toasted malt. Flavor of molasses, chocolate and bourbon. Medium/full body with soft carbonation and a creamy mouthfeel.

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.

2008 version, 375 mL-corked & caged, sampled 30 June 2009: the bottle released a small pop as I pulled the cork and the beer immediately began carbonating and within 20 seconds the bubbles were coming out the top of the bottle...my angels share poured a fairly opaque, rusty mahogany with a generous dark tan cream that eventually diminished into a thin, but persistent (lasting a full 2 hours while I enjoyed every drop). Deep vanilla bean and raisin aroma-it actually smells chewy. The bourbon is subtle in the aroma-there is more fruity sweetness than whiskey sweetness: pears, over ripe apples, mashed sweet cherries and plums. Mouth feel is super creamy and soft...the carbonation adds to the creaminess instead of making it fizzy. Flavours match the aroma in depth, but the sweetness is subdued-the raisins are more malty and bready than sweet and the over ripe apples a tart bite and the plums have morphed into prunes: rich and almost chocolaty. Lingering stickiness on the tongue and lips smacks with wisps of whiskey bitterness and oak. More balanced than any bourbon barrel aged beer I can remember...amazing that the alcohol is hidden too-I believe this is what everyone strives for when the put beer in bourbon barrels: sweetness to enhance the aroma and depth of flavour to enhance the taste-without being cloying or tasting like a nip of whiskey. Very well done.

Tasted side by side with the Brandy Barrel AS, so I think my notes are skewed a bit as I compare them to each other. I plan a re-rate on this one, tasting it all alone.

375 bottle. Quite a bit different than the brandy barrel release. More tart fruit notes. More wet wood presence and surprisingly less alcohol. Vanilla and a non abrasive bourbon hotness. Tart fruit skin. Pours dark, rich ruby/brown with a sustained thin khaki head. Flavor is dominated by tart fruit and toffee malt. Big barrel presence, but doesn’t compliment the beer quite as much as the brandy barrel. Almost too much carbonation for this style of beer. Woodsy alcohol on the finish.

375 ml bottle - foaming off-white head slowly foams out of the top of the bottle; pours thick and dark brown w/ suspended haze; overall, the aromas are very delicious and sweet - sugar, dates, molasses, vanilla, wood and alcohol; flavors along those lines and seems to change with every sip as each characteristic takes a turn standing out ; creamy texture and just a mouthful on every level; very sweet and remains drinkable; flavors mix together to form a very rich and desert like brew; lots of expectations, but it fits the bill and then some; it feels (and tastes) good to be a sinner

Just kept getting better and better as it warmed,at first it was all oak and some bourbon,but soon the rich malt,and yeast ester became plesantly evident,taste was same way ,the bourbon barrel dominated at first,but soon the rich caramel malts and all those fruit esters came to forefront, the malting would have to be more a competitor with the bourbon for this to be upper eschelon. Still a top notch brew. Thanks Kingpin