Lost Abbey The Angels Share (Bourbon Barrel)

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

Bottle. Near black pour, nice persistent 1 cm thick dark khaki head. Nice looking beer. Aroma is a sweet mix of oak, caramel, vanilla, light oak, treacle, some alcohol. Lightly sweet taste with caramel, vanilla, nice tannic finish. Alcohol is extremely well masked. Aroma gets even better as it warms up.

I am not a big fan of this style but when i got this bottle i sat on it for a while until now and i was very surprised to see how good this was with a nice but not overwhelming bourbon taste that poured a nice dark amber and had a malty and alcohol kick to it.CHEERS!

Draft at the Drafting Room (Exton) for their Port/Lost Abbey event. Poured cloudy amberish brown with a thin tan head that diminished quickly. Aroma of dark fruit, bourbon, slightly sweet caramel on the nose. Taste is quite complex with notes of bourbon, vanilla, tobacco, nuts, dark fruits, raisins, toffee, and oak. This palate takes you on a journey through some incredible flavors. Finishes a little boozy, but with the complexity of this, it works well.

Bottle. [thank you, after4ever]
[vintage 2008]
Pours dark brown with a big, frothy, brownish head. Fizzes away rather quickly. Impressive aroma. Lots of dark chocolate, fresh ground coffee mixed with a heavy load of prunes, raisins, toffee, burnt caramel, vanilla, oak and bourbon. Lowish carbonation, fat and oily mouthfeel. Flavour is equally many-facetted, but somehow seems a bit more composed than the aroma. High sweetness with prunes, plums and raisins as its base. Then dryish oak and more sweet spices - vanilla, coriander. There is no hint of the alcohol anywhere except in the far finish, when it warms nicely. Here, the chocolate creeps up again. There is some bitterness in there as well, but this is mostly a sweet BW. Still, it is truly magnificient.

Shared by turdferguson, thanks Sam!!! Got to try this next to a bottle of Angel’s Share. Pours a dark ruby brown with a one to two finger head. More carbonated than the Angel’s Share. The aroma shows more oak than Angels Share, sweet, very oaky, nice vanilla, light alcohol, very light bourbon undertones. The flavor was sweet, oaky, vanilla, oak tannins, as Sam said "the base beer seems hidden". The oak is very nice but it seems to detract from the foundation more than Angels Share. Still great though.

Bottle via dchmela. Dark, reddish, purple color. Smell of dark fruit, caramel, vanilla, oak, bourbon, alcohol, malt, brown sugar, nuts and hops. Taste of bourbon, oak, caramel, prunes, hops, vanilla, alcohol, raisins, touch of chocolate and nuts. Wonderful brew. I wish I had a bigger bottle.

375 ml bottle (9/18/08) Courtesy of Hopscotch CU/WVU throwdown)-Pours a dark brown with a nice small tan head. The cork flew out of the bottle upon opening. Aroma of caramel, roasted malt, dried fruit, alcohol, and molasses. Flavor was the same with the bourbon mxed in throughout. This full bodied brew is the best Barley Wine Ive ever tasted. Very well balanced, Awesome.

375ml bottle from the Sinners Club. A vigorous pour, dark brown to burgundy, with a fast rising but quickly diminishing head. Crisp carbonation makes the complex nose even more rich, with not only a nice balanced wood and bourbon aroma but a subtle, vinous character that’s extremely appealing. Hard to ignore the nutty aroma and flavors in there too, a nod to the glories of the English style. It all blends together sumptuously. There are lovely hops in there, making the barrel presence light rather than syrupy and cloying. The malts are also not too sweet, but just there to add depth. Dark fruits and bourbon mellow out into something with a full, smooth mouthfeel but with a liveliness and zest that you wouldn’t ordinarily expect. So much going on with this beer. It’s truly awesome and I’ll be very curious to see how it ages.