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.

Bottle arrived on the doorstep this afternoon. Perhaps I should have let it sit, but....

Cork pops with a whoosh and the beer bubbles up but doesn’t overflow. It pours a deep luxurious walnut brown with an ample tan head, leaving rainbows of lace along the sides of my glass. The aroma is simply divine, a sure 10. Rich caramels meld with -- rather than being overlaid by -- deep bourbon aromas, true vanilla and oak rather than brash young burnt oak chips, dates and pecan pie, lovely.

After the relatively sweet aroma, the flavor startles -- not nearly as sweet as I expected, actually some mild sour notes, a bourbon richness that is so beautifully melded it’s like no other bourbon aged beer I’ve ever tasted. This is to other BA beers as fresh wild strawberries are to strawberry starburst.

I’d meant to add to my description as I savored the bottle over the course of the evening, but it didn’t last long enough. Next time!

’08 bottle sampled July ’09. Explosive pop of the cork but not much spillage; everything I wrote above (which I had to seriously doubt when I re-read last week) is true. Dang this is a good beer.

2007 vintage thanks to the Tampa Tasting Group. Pours cola brown with a tan head. Nose is malt, bourbon, brandy, overripe dark fruit, caramel sweetness, and lots of fruity, bourbony, sugary goodness. Flavor is malt, bourbon, wood, vanilla, dark fruit, caramel, and lots of mellow sweetness. Balanced for a bourbon beer, yet still boozy. Medium bodied, sweet finish, and overall pleasure in a bottle.

Pours super dark brownish amber with a massive rocky 3 finger head that almost overflows the snifter. Retention and lacing are excellent. Smell is wonderfully sweet with brown sugar and caramel. There is a definite boozy bourbon aroma as well but extremely well integrated with the sweetness of the malts. I actually also got the slightest hint of sour in the nose at the finish. As much as I would like to "buck the hype", this is one of the best tasting beers I have ever tasted. It’s wonderfully creamy with molasses and caramel up front with the bready malts. The bourbon is present but very subtle and plays with the sweet vanilla tastes and dark fruits. In a word, spectacular. As mentioned before, for a bourbon barrel beer this one is incredibly smooth and creamy yet highly carbonated. The bubbles just tingle the tongue...so, so good. This is my first Angel’s Share and I have to say it’s one of my desert island beers. The flavors are so big yet so well balanced, the hype is completely deserved.

First release bottle (EDIT: 2008) shared with a couple friends and courtesy of one of several possible people. Pours a murky brown, bright red edges, fairly hazy, with brown bubbly head, big at first, but dies to a film and clings a bit. Aromas are a nice sweet and toffee maltiness, oat and light dark fruit, bourbon vanilla and oak comes in fairly well, a bit sweet a bit boozy but overall very nice. Initial is fairly full, a bit sweet ad thick pushing caramel and toffee malts strong, light bitterness, bourbon pushes good alcohol, vanilla, and oak. Booze is hidden well, and mixes in with a good balancing bitterness on the backend, light dark fruit notes, and overall, a very pleasant experience. Cheers!

Shared by nolonkowal. I was very unimpressed with this beer. The regular version was better in my opinion. Lighter body with a mostly a watered-down bourbon flavor with some heat, and hints of oak. Definitely not a good mix.

Sweet, sticky, rich, roasty and warm...Cork ejects with a big pop which leads to just a bit of gushing. Pours dark brown with about a finger or so of tan head that recedes to a thin lasting layer. Sweet, rich, deep aroma of caramelized sugar, raisin, roastiness, creme brulee, bourbon, vanilla and oak. Oh yeah. Mouthfeel initially just kind of average with a bit of fizziness/light prickliness that detracts a bit but eventually settles out to a warmer, smoother palate, becoming lightly silky. Fairly sticky esp. in finish. Some light fine rings of lacing and a syrupy film inside snifter. Flavor of caramelized sugar, raisin, roast, molasses and a touch of bourbon. Hot but it is kind of a smooth alcohol presence. As it warms the oak and vanilla emerge more amd meld with the other flavors. Medium-bitter bite through finish. Lovely and big. Rating 1K down the hatch. Mucho thanks to IrishBoy for the treat of this 375 ml bottle.

Beautiful dark amber brown pour with a nice creamy tan head that lasts forever and leaves wondeful lacing. Sweet malt, caramel, fruit, chocolate and vanilla in the aroma. Also a bit of some woodiness. Smells fantastic. Wonderful flavor as well. All of the above with smoke and cherry. Creamy medium body, with a nice warming sensation on the finish. Truly a great brew.