Lost Abbey The Angels Share (Bourbon Barrel)

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

Dark brown colour. Plummy, slightly smokey with hints of wood. A little bit spritzy (subsequent samples were not, ftr). Spicy, with a bit of alcohol burn. Well-rounded. Three recent resamples have revealed some wonderfully rich malts, and a well-integrated bourbon accent.

Name: Angel’s Share 2008 Bourbon
Date: April 04, 2008
Mode: Bottle
Source: Brewery
Appearance: opens with a loud pop and a quick gush, solid black, creamy tan head that stirs up big and thick on demand, thick sudsy lace
Aroma: bourbon and chocolate aroma with lots of vanilla sweetness and a hint of peppery alcohol, eventually some sweet dark caramel shows up, aroma is too faint for a beer this big
Body: huge thick and creamy body
Flavor: rich chocolate flavor, nice dark caramel sweetness blends with the whisky and vanilla to give it a candy quality, touch of ripe dark fruit, the sweetness continues to pull out the richness of the chocolate, just a hint of oak adds complexity rather than balance as the beer is already quite balanced by the rich array of flavors
Overall: I did not think it was possible to beat the original brandy barrel version, I was wrong

Name: Angel’s Share 2008 Bourbon
Date: July 03, 2008
Source: Ale Atlanta
holding steady

Name: Angel’s Share 2008 Bourbon
Date: December 13, 2008
Mode: bottle
Source: tasting
Appearance: carbonation is huge but pulling it out a 33 degree fridge works great
Flavor: flavor holding steady

Name: Angel’s Share 2008 Bourbon
Date: April 04, 2009
Mode: bottle
Source: cellar stock
Appearance: from the super cooler it opens and pours with normal carbonation, good tan head with drippy streaks of lace
Aroma: sweet bourbon and oak aroma, dark caramel and vanilla adds to the sweetness
Flavor: sweet caramel and vanilla flavor is well balanced by tempered bourbon, nice chocolate
Overall: characters are melding together well, loosing some of the sweetness

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 9/10; Palate: 9/10; Overall: 18/20
Rating: 4.3/5.0
Drinkability: 9/10
Score: ***4

Name: Angel’s Share 2009 Bourbon
Date: July 26, 2009
Mode: Bottle
Source: Brewery
Appearance: opens with a nice pifft, opaque dark brown, scant head, viscous
Aroma: sweet bourbon aroma, vanilla sweetness, dark caramel, dark fruits, tart oakyness
Body: sticky body
Flavor: sweet caramel and bourbon flavor, hot caramel, vanilla sweetness, earthy oakyness, chocolate, dark fruit

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.7/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4

A dark brown appearance with a carbonated beige head. The aroma is whiskey, chocolate, dark fruit, alcohol, and licorice. The flavor contains a slight sour presence with some chocolate, raisins, licorice, oak, and whiskey. The aftertaste is thick and sweet. Overall a nice beer!

06 version tasted at the Bistro’s 2nd Barrel-aged Festival. Strong malty aroma, brown sugar, molasses. Thick chewy body, slight acidic edge, lightly roasty. Assertive, woody, bourbony; comes off as more bitter and less soft/refined than the brandy barrel version, despite having more age on it. Still really good though.

We tried both Angels Share blind during a tasting and just guessing which is which was already a challenge. Surprisingly, the Bourbon one came out as my favourite of the two. Basically, it felt less alcoholic to me and also seemed tighter in its aromas, with more of the pleasant vanilla overtones. Both remain quite similar, very complex and integrated barley wines with endless dessert malt and fruit layers all the while not being fatiguing with its high sweetness. The body also felt a bit tighter, not necessarily rounder, but less oily in the bourbon one.

Bottle. Pours cloudy dark brown with a small, fizzy, off-white head, somewhat lasting with spare lacing. Aroma is heavy malt (cookie, caramel, toffee), average hops (flowers, perfume), heavy yeast (dough, leather) with notes of average alcohol, plum, date, wood, maple syrup, and vanilla. Full bodied, thick texture, average carbonation, and a bitter finish. Long duration, heavy sweetness, moderate acidity and bitterness.

The test of a ball-buster of a good beer that stands on it’s own?.?.?.the aroma and flavor standing up to the whiskey barrel process - CHECK! This monster retains the cherry and date and plum elements - but carries them in sequence with the vanilla/coconut lead. Solid.

375ml. bottle thanks to Toncatcher. Dark brown color with a small tan head. Lots of vanilla on first whiff, followed by the bourbon and some oak. Smooth bourbon flavor with some roasted malts and again some nice vanilla notes along with brown sugar. Warming alcoholic finish.