Lost Abbey The Angels Share

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

Bottled 375ml. Vintage 2008. Aroma: Vinous with tarragon, vanilla, tobacco, raspberries, mocha, caramel, lavender, oak, cognac and rosemary showing up. Milk chocolate sneaking in. The caramel, oak and mocha components are most prominent. Appearance: It pours a beautiful, deep ruby brown beer with a very small bubbly head which dissipates rather quickly. Flavor and palate: Full bodied. Caramel, mocha, tarragon, oak and lavender appearing. Sweet. Practically no carbonation. Vinous. Smooth. White grapes showing up. Very low bitterness. Sweet complex finish which is reminiscent of lavender, mocha, mint, liquorice allsorts and caramel. Overall impression: Excellent. I love the first layer of mocha and caramel characteristics combined with the vinous second layer of oak, white grapes and the third layer of lavender and rosemary. Mindblowingly good. One of best beers I have had so far. Sharing it with a friend :-)

Dark brown pour, little head. Huge, inviting aroma! Dark brown sugar, chocolate, caramel, vanilla on the nose. Similar sugary taste with a tremendous amount of vanilla coming through. Alcohol is there but not as obvious as you’d think a 12% barley wine would be. Palate made for some very easy drinking. Simply awesome!

2008 bottle. Absolutely no pop at all upon uncorking. Pours a flat dark brown with absolutely no head nor any carbonation. Lots of floating yeast particles. Aroma of booze, raisin, and lots of malt. Flavor is also boozy (although I don’t get liquor specifically) with lots of sweet malt, prunes, raisin. Cloying and sweet. Not very complex nor tasty to me. 5/3/5/3/12 [2.8/5]

750 ml bottle shared by Eyedrinkale. Pours a deep ruby brown, just about black, with a light brown head. Very pleasant aroma of caramel, vanilla, malt, prunes and oak. The flavor is more intense than the aroma with caramel, vanilla, honey, malt, prunes and oak. Lovely smooth buttery texture not unlike a rich chardonnay. Well hidden alcohol. Properly carbonated. Just an excellent beer.

Dark Brown, Burgundy pour. No head or fizz. Aroma is a staggering amount of sweet musty malt with dark burnt sugar, vanilla, port-like hazelnut sweetness, Cocoa powder and tobacco. Totally flat, unappealing mouthfeel - thin and oily. Flavor is sweet hazelnut, chocolate, sweet oak and vanilla with some booze at the finish. Dark raisin date fruit. The flavor comes through despite the horrific mouthfeel. I’d love a good bottle of this, even flat its good

750ml -- 2009. fairly dark brown -- but thin around the edges and zero(!) head. aroma is ridiculous -- tons of raisins, vanilla, prunes, oak, wine, and strong alcohol. also a bit of Manischewitz, but in a good (?) way. flavor has the same dark fruits but without the slightly cloying sweetness. there’s tons of chocolate and it’s like a vanilla coffee. body is flat and oily, a bit thin even and just not up to the flavor. this was great overall, but completely flat -- otherwise would have been near-perfect.

375mil bottle. Enjoyed at home on the first rainy day of the autumn of 2009. Pours a beautiful ebony with a sustainable light tan head. Incredible depth in the aroma. Chocolate with a mild vanilla. Hints of roast blended with a kind spice and sweetness. The flavor lingers long the with oak and caramel notes. Very deep barley wine yet is not cloying with sweet like many. Finishes moderately dry which just makes the beer more inviting and palatable. This is one amazing beer. I may even drive 8 hours down to San Diego to get some more.

Bottle split with Pat. This session of Lost Abbeys totally blew my mind, and it ended with an epic Barley Wine - unlike anything I have ever tasted within the style. It pours a dark, dark ice tea body with lots of sediment. The aroma is way more chocolatey than I have ever experienced in a Barley Wine, also notes of raisin, malt, vanilla and honey. The flavor is incredibly smooth, and the alcohol is completely hidden. The mouthfeel is excellent with notes of honey, roast, chocolate, and vanilla in the taste.